Relationships with others are a fundamental human good. Few would regard a life without friendship or love relations as a life well-lived, and philosophical theorizing has not shied away from substantive treatment of friendship and similar relations. But while friendship and similar relations are important aspects of the good life, the focus on them misses a wide section of the human interactions we actually have. We hang out with casual acquaintances, chat with strangers on the train, and enjoy the company of others while watching a comedy or horror film. None of these relationships need constitute friendship, but without them human life would be significantly worsened.

In this book, Dale Dorsey attempts to correct this by considering the value of "fellowship." Drawing on sources from the history of moral philosophy and contemporary psychological inquiry, he argues that fellowship is not only intrinsically valuable, but it is an essential feature of the good life. Moreover, the value of fellowship helps us to explain and understand a range of human virtues. Fellowship, as Dorsey argues, is far from a lesser form of friendship. Rather, it is one of the most significant goods in human life.