TEHRAN – The Persian translation of the book “The Passion of Strangers: A Philosophy of Friendship” written by Marina Garcés has been released in the bookstores across Iran.

Translated by Elham Shoushtarizadeh, the book has been brought out by Atraf Publication in 240 pages, Mehr reported.

Friendship is such a good thing that no one would want to live a life without friends, the classics said. From this assertion has sprung a long philosophical and literary tradition that has extolled the value of friendship and continues today through television series, films, and self-help books. 

The common thread of this tradition is that there is a perfect or true, even pure, friendship that is not to be confused with the exchanges of social life or the dependencies of other relationships. The value of friendship is placed at the center because if anything causes us suffering today, it is our lives, which are often dominated by falsehood, isolation, and unwanted loneliness. 

First published in 2025, this book begins with a questioning of this ethical ideal of friendship. What lies behind this ideal of purity? How has it managed to remain stable over time, and to whom is it directed? Who does it exclude? Does it help us understand the meaning, the pain, and the fears that permeate our friendships? 

Exploring these questions reveals another way of understanding the role that friends play in our lives. Why are they there? We could live perfectly socialized lives through partners, family, work, or hobbies, and never have a single friend. In fact, friendship is the only stable social relationship for which we haven't invented any institution. We don't sign up or register, nor do we sign any laws or contracts to be friends. Friendship is a strange passion that opens the door to the world of strangers.

Marina Garcés, 52, is a Spanish philosopher and essayist. She is a professor of philosophy at the University of Zaragoza and part of a collective project of critical and experimental thinking called “Espai en Blanc” (Blank Space). She has published several essays on contemporary politics and critical thought.

Born in Barcelona, Garcés studied philosophy at the University of Barcelona, where she received her doctorate in 2001. Since 2002, she promotes and coordinates the “Espai en Blanc” project. 

She teaches a philosophy course on comparative philosophies of East and West at the University of Zaragoza. Her work has been influenced by philosophers like Merleau-Ponty and Diderot.

SS/SAB