Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.

C. S. Lewis wrote this line in the aftermath of World War II, when he was reflecting on the nature of love and human relationships in a society increasingly tempted to justify everything by “utility.” The remark appears in his book-length meditation on the “four loves” (affection, friendship, eros, and charity), where he treats Friendship as a distinct, freely chosen bond rather than a biological necessity. By contrasting Friendship with survival-driven needs, Lewis situates it alongside pursuits like philosophy and art—activities that may not keep a person alive, yet help explain why life is worth living at all.

Lewis argues against reducing human goods to mere instruments of survival. Friendship, he suggests, is not required in the way food, shelter, or reproduction are; it is “unnecessary” in a strictly biological sense. Yet precisely because it is not compelled by need, it can be a uniquely elevating form of love—chosen, contemplative, and oriented toward shared truth or delight. The paradox is that what does not help us survive may be what makes survival meaningful. By placing friendship beside art and philosophy, Lewis frames it as a civilizational and spiritual good: it enriches the inner life and gives texture, purpose, and value to existence.

1) “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.”
2) “Friendship is unnecessary… It has no survival value, rather it is one of those things which gives value to survival.”