Brito, Marisol2017-03-142017-03-142014-12https://hdl.handle.net/11299/185195University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation.December 2014. Major: Philosophy. Advisor: Sarah Holtman. 1 computer file (PDF); ii, 179 pages.This work examines the importance and value of relationships to learning and growth. I focus particularly on the importance of fostering and supporting friendship between persons with differing life experiences -- friendship across diversity. Rooted in the work of John Stuart Mill and Chimamanda Adichie, I claim such friendships provide a foundation not only for learning, but also for creating knowledge in the world. As a case study, I examine friendship between women and men in contemporary American society. I claim such friendship is a vital, yet under-supported, aspect of our development, as individuals and as members of a pluralistic society. In light of the potential benefits of friendship across difference, I advocate developing ways to increase societal support for such friendship and suggest how we might do so, in education and in wider society.enEqualityFeminismFriendshipJohn Stuart MillSubjectionThesis or Dissertation