Euthyphro, By Socrates: What Is Pious?

Everyday people make choices, whether they are good or bad. These choices are usually known as good or bad, already. What makes them good or bad? Are they good because morally we think they are, or is it something more? In the words of Socrates, “Is it pious being loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is being loved by the gods? (10a)” From reading Euthyphro, I found that there is not a clear answer, but rather it is more of an opinionated answer. To come up with an answer, one must really dive into their thoughts, and reason out why they think a certain way, just like Socrates did with Euthyphro. While I read, I could not help but think that not all gods agree on everything, and not all religions do, either. How are we to know which is right? For example, people are strictly forbidden to get tattoos in Islam, but in Hinduism they are allowed. How would we know which the gods loves? If we agreed that all gods loved the same things, like Euthyphro and Socrates do, we still have a problem on whether or not we agree or disagree with what the gods love or hate. The use of Euthyphro and my own thinking made me decide that the pious is pious for no other reason than it being

pious because piety stays pious without regard of how the gods feel. We could even take the gods out of the scenario because as a society we are deciding what pious is, we are doing pious things for ourselves, not the gods, and we already have wisdom and knowledge that leads us to piety.
If I was asked this question about what makes piety pious before reading Euthyphro, I would have not known what to say. Reading the text gave me a clearer understanding of the question. In this text, Euthyphro and Socrates are discussing about the piety and impiety of things, and who know what is right. It leads to Socrates to ask, “Is the pious being loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is being loved by the gods? (10a)” At first, Euthyphro does not understand Socrates, so Socrates breaks it down for him with different terms. He asks if whether the thing carried is something carried because it is being carried, or for some other reason. There is no other reason. If you set this object down it is no longer a carried object. They talk about the same thing with something being led, and something being seen (10b). Socrates wants to make sure that Euthyphro and he are on the same page, so he goes on to make sure that an object is changing because it is changed, and it is affected because it is affected. Euthyphro agrees with him, assuring they are on the same page. Now, they go on to talk about love. It is not being loved, because it is loved, but rather it is loved because something loves it (10c). Socrates begins to tie piety back in. He asks Euthyphro, if all the gods love piety, and of course they do. Euthyphro agrees that piety is being loved by the gods because it is pious, and something is god-loved because it is being loved by the gods. Socrates tells Euthyphro that god-loved and piety are different then (10d). Euthyphro wants him to explain this to him. Socrates restates their points that the pious is being loved because it is pious, and god-loved is loved because it is loved by the gods (10e). This is where Euthyphro’s points, and reasons catches him in a snag. Socrates tells him that if something was loved by the gods, and it was pious, it would be god-loved and pious at the same time. They would not be different, then (11a). By Euthyphro crossing his reasoning, it makes everything they just managed to decide wrong, and sending them back to the beginning to find a new way to explain this.
My first reasoning on why pious is already pious is because of what we do as a society. As I pondered my thoughts to find the answer of piety, I thought of what things we do that are pious. For example, some may volunteer, or donate. As a society we find these things very generous and caring, and could find them very pious. If the gods decided what was pious based on what they loved, those would be our laws. However, our laws do not go with the Bible. We have a separation between church and state, because we have religious freedom. So, we are following what our society thinks is pious, not the gods. For example, in Christian beliefs, gay marriage is not allowed, but it is legal now in the United States. Another example is that in the Bible, slavery is allowed. However, we as a society have laws against that. We are not following what the gods love, we are actually going against them. These examples show that the society is making the decisions on what is good and what is bad. If we break these laws, we face the punishment of the government, not the punishment of the gods. What is pious to us, is what we believe is morally right as a society. This to me shows that things are pious, because they are pious because the involvement of the gods is not needed.
My second reasoning for piety already being pious is that we are doing pious things for ourselves, not the gods. This reasoning started from reading Euthyphro when Euthyphro says we are serving the gods like slaves would their masters (13d). He says that we are sacrificing, and praying to the gods, but not benefiting them at all (15b). This strikes me because in our religious free society, not everyone is praying to the gods; therefore causing the problem that people are not doing things to serve the gods. People volunteer, donate, and work to make themselves feel better. It is morally satisfying to do good deeds. People are doing pious things to please themselves, their communities, and even society as a whole. Since it is not benefiting the gods, what is the point of piety to them beside them liking it? Since piety does not benefit the gods, it shows that piety does not involve the gods.
I did stop and think about the other side, while I pondered for my answers. The opposing side would say that it is pious because the gods love it. They would argue that the gods make pious things because they love it. Why would it be holy if the gods did not think so? Everything the gods love is god-loved, so the gods loving something would make it pious. The gods decide what they love, and if we are not fulfilling what they love, then we simply ask for forgiveness. We pray to them in times of need, or in times of happiness. We ask them for wisdom, follow their rules, and in return, this makes the gods happier. All of our attempts to make the gods happy does benefit them. We follow the things they love because it is pious, and god-loved.
I do not agree with that reasoning. This is where my third reasoning comes in that we already have wisdom and knowledge that leads us to piety. When people pray for knowledge, or wisdom, it does not just appear in one’s head. We have the knowledge already and if we do not we learn from others around us. As our knowledge expands, so does our beliefs on what is pious. Even if all the gods and religions agree, we still follow what we believe is right and what is wrong, based on societal norm. Some may believe what the gods, or their religion says is right, but not everyone believes in that type of stuff. Therefore, our views on what is pious, is based more generally on what we know, and believe. This brings in that we, overall, do not need the gods opinions on piety, because it is already pious based on the societies knowledge and wisdom.
It is very questionable what is pious and what is impious.

A question that breaks off from that is, “Is the pious being loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is being loved by the gods (10a)?” Without reading Euthyphro, understanding this question would be nearly impossible. I think that the answer requires a lot of thinking. Piety is pious simply because it is a pious thing, not because it is loved. If you take gods out of the scenario, piety is based on societal beliefs, pious actions are done to please ourselves, and we already have the knowledge to make pious things. Socrates was not found guilty of being impious, but he was found guilty for not believing the same way his society did, showing that piety is linked with society, not the

gods.