Philia

Philia is one of the three "types" of love; it refers to a fondess for, or an appreciation of, another. It also includes concepts of loyalty, to one's family and one's community, both local and political/professional. The English concept of friendship may approximate to philia.

Aristotle argued that the prerequisite for philia was self-love; he meant this in a philic sense, however, as a reflection of one's pursuit of the noble and virtuous, with friendship with others then becoming necessary as one contemplated worthy actions and shared these in discussion and thought. He also believed that a condition of philia was reciprocity, even if not to exactly equal extents.

The other two "types" of love are agape and eros.