In the beginning, of the Euthyphro Socrates is getting ready to go to his trial when he runs into Euthyphro at the courthouse. Socrates believes Euthyphro to be a very pious person, so he enlists his help to define piety. In this paper, I will discuss the definitions Euthyphro gives to Socrates of piety. I will further give Socrates response on why those definitions are incorrect. According to Euthyphro his first definition of piety is turning in your father for murder. He believes that act of turning in anyone for murder is piety. Next, Euthyphro describes piety as what is agreeable or pleasing to the gods. Additionally, Euthyphro describes piety as what is loved by the gods. The last definition Euthyphro gives Socrates of piety is that …show more content…
which concerns care for the gods. In response to Euthyphro’s first definition Socrates explains why that cannot be a definition of piety.
Euthyphro described piety as turning in your father in for murder. Socrates immediately identifies that as incorrect. Euthyphro mistake was giving an example of piety and not an actual definition. Since Socrates is looking for a definition he rejects Euthyphro first attempt. Euthyphro tries again to define piety and he concludes that piety is what is agreeable to the gods. Socrates likes that the definition is more general but quickly points out that the gods disagree constantly. The gods have different opinions about most things and it will be hard to get them all to agree. Trying to find a new definition for piety Euthyphro comes up with what is loved by the gods. Socrates soon ask, “Is it pious because the gods love it” or “Is a thing pious and that is why the gods love it.” The first question raises the problem if the gods love something that does not necessarily mean it is pious. The gods might love something impious but because they love it the action or thing will be pious. The second question states that the object or action is pious and that’s why the gods love it. Furthermore, how are we to determine something is pious. Everyone can have different opinions regarding pious things. In order to, determine the pious action or object we would need an objective
truth. Lastly, Euthyphro attempts one last time to define it by telling Socrates piety is concerned in looking after the gods. Socrates takes issue with the definition because the gods would need people to look after themselves since they cannot do it themselves. Socrates suggests that the actions we do makes the gods more holy. For example, if we care for the god’s as parent’s care for children. Since we are taking care of the gods they are no longer all powerful. Euthyphro then suggests that he meant caring for the gods as slave’s care for masters. In that lies the problem that the gods are dependent upon us. The masters need the slaves to complete work to makes their life better. This definition still makes the god less powerful than we think and are dependent upon us. In conclusion, Euthyphro failed to create a definition of piety that was acceptable for Socrates. At the end of the Euthyphro we are left with no definition and Socrates gets ready to go to court.
During the dialogue, Euthyphro defines, “Piety means prosecuting the unjust individual who has committed murder or sacrilege, or any other such crime, as I am doing now, whether he is your father or mother or whoever he is.” Given this Euthyphro overarching principles can be summarized as divine law requires to prosecute the offender no matter who she or he is. Also, the ideology should be what befits humans as well. Socrates is fine with how Euthyphro accounts the factual evidence of his father’s misguided acts. What Socrates takes problem is how Euthyphro uses greek mythology to highlight that taking action against your parents is the correct direction of action. Due to the fact that mythology isn’t confirmed to be true in any sense, socrates feels as though this is extremely inappropriate. Euthyphro actions should be based on divine law with results in him being impious. Socrates ultimate principles can be summarized as respect for parents should be the ultimate law combined with whatever does not befit the gods shouldn’t befit everyone else. Insert another
In the context of the dialogue, this simply segues to a logical argument about the definition of piety, and the question is more or less rhetorical as Socrates asks it. When Euthyphro chooses the first option, the discussion moves on to his next point without further ado, and the implication that this limits the omnipotence of the gods is ignored, probably because the omnipotence of the pantheon of gods wasn?t an assumption of Greek theology (after all, as we read in the dialogue, the father and grandfather of Zeus were castrated; what kind of omnipotent being would allow that to happen to himself?). However, when read with a Judeo-Christian concept of God in mind, the dilemma becomes this:
Euthyphro by asking “whether the pious or holy is beloved by the gods because it is holy,
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
When discussing specific knowledge, it is often hard to pin down an exact definition of what it is you are discussing. Often a concept or word will get thrown around so often that it will begin to be taken for granted and when pressed, a person may struggle to pin down specifically what it is they mean. Realizing this, Socrates often went out and attempted to fix these kinds of problems and find out what people actually knew, compared to what they just thought they knew. In the dialogues Euthyphro and Meno, Socrates attempts to pin down definitions for piety and virtue, respectively. In doing so, we are shown that the thinkers in question struggle to define these terms, and attempt to do so in vague terms that may vary heavily under different circumstances. What Socrates is attempting to find is one definitive definition of piety and virtue, what is called his One Form Requirement. Rather than defining something by classifying different parts that make it up, Socrates maintains the belief that piety and virtue both can be simplified into one specific form that describes exactly what makes all F actions F.
Euthyphro’s second definition of piety is “the pious is what the gods love”. Socrates takes this idea and
In the Euthyphro, Socrates is making his way into the courthouse; however, prior to entering he had a discussion with a young priest of Athens, Euthyphro. This dialogue relates religion and justice to one another and the manner in which they correlate. Euthyphro feels as though justice necessitates religion and Socrates feels the opposite, religion necessitates justice. Euthyphro claims that religion is everything, justice, habits, traditions, customs, cultures, etc. all are derived from religion. Socrates went on to question what exactly would be the definition of pious. Euthyphro offered Socrates three definitions of pious and in all three Socrates was able to successfully find fault...
...an was virtuous or not. However, in Socrates’ view the only kind of person who would be named virtuous was one who was able to follow God’s order without question. Hence, society believed they where able to create themselves virtuous, but in the eyes of Socrates God was the only one who was able to reward a person of virtuousness. Ways society judged virtuousness was by the man’s ability to fight, maintain control of his household, and worshiping his ancestors and the polis’ Gods. These virtues where not important to Socrates, because he believed in himself and his morals. Things Socrates did that God deemed moral was the way in which Socrates measured his own virtues. I think Socrates was correct; it should not matter what a person’s peers think but only what God thinks, because when the time comes God’s judgement is the only one that really matters.
Keeping true to Socratic/Platonic methodology, questions are raised in the Euthyphro by conversation; specifically “What is holiness?” After some useless deliberation, the discussion between Socrates and Euthyphro ends inconclusively. Euthyphro varying definitions of piety include “What I do is pious to the gods,” and, “What is pleasing to the gods is pious.” Socrates proves these definitions to be insufficient, which leads us to the Apology.
Imagine the time just after the death of Socrates. The people of Athens were filled with questions about the final judgment of this well-known, long-time citizen of Athens. Socrates was accused at the end of his life of impiety and corruption of youth. Rumors, prejudices, and questions flew about the town. Plato experienced this situation when Socrates, his teacher and friend, accepted the ruling of death from an Athenian court. In The Last Days of Socrates, Plato uses Socrates’ own voice to explain the reasons that Socrates, though innocent in Plato’s view, was convicted and why Socrates did not escape his punishment as offered by the court. The writings, “Euthyphro,” “The Apology,” “Crito,” and “Pheado” not only helped the general population of Athens and the friends and followers of Socrates understand his death, but also showed Socrates in the best possible light. They are connected by their common theme of a memoriam to Socrates and the discussion of virtues. By studying these texts, researchers can see into the culture of Athens, but most important are the discussions about relationships in the book. The relationships between the religion and state and individual and society have impacted the past and are still concerns that are with us today.
The story that is found in Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro proposes a dilemma that has since been a very controversial subject. When Socrates encounters Euthyphyo, he is on his way to trail to face charges against his own father. His father had been accused o...
Euthyphro was arguing that by doing what the gods believe is holy and pious you are making them better, in other words you are taking care of them and it is like a kind of service that you are doing towards the gods. Euthyphro said, “The kind of care, Socrates, that slaves take of their masters” which meant that you are taking care of them in the sense that you are making them better and not actually caring for them (17, 13d). In other words, you are helping improve them and this is a service that the gods appreciate and want you to do. He believed that this service is improving the gods and that they like this service. The gods believe that being holy is a service towards them, therefore there should be a reason on why the gods use us and want to reward our holiness. He believes that the gods choose what is holy for a reason and should be approved by
Traditionally justice was regarded as one of the cardinal virtues; to avoid injustices and to deal equitable with both equals and inferiors was seen as what was expected of the good man, but it was not clear how the benefits of justice were to be reaped. Socrates wants to persuade from his audience to adopt a way of estimating the benefits of this virtue. From his perspective, it is the quality of the mind, the psyche organization which enables a person to act virtuously. It is this opposition between the two types of assessment of virtue that is the major theme explored in Socrates’ examination of the various positions towards justice. Thus the role of Book I is to turn the minds from the customary evaluation of justice towards this new vision. Through the discourse between Cephalus, Polemarchus and Thrasymachus, Socaretes’ thoughts and actions towards justice are exemplified. Though their views are different and even opposed, the way all three discourse about justice and power reveal that they assume the relation between the two to be separate. They find it impossible to understand the idea that being just is an exercise of power and that true human power must include the ability to act justly. And that is exactly what Socrates seeks to refute.
In The Euthyphro, Socrates uses his Socratic Method to disprove the Divine Command theory to his friend, Euthyphro. According to the textbook, the Socratic Method is a method that Socrates would use to get to the foundation of his students beliefs. He would ask continual questions about a student’s belief or assumption until a contradiction was raised. By doing so, Socrates would force his students to question their own beliefs and truly discern why they believed them. Socrates applied this method to Euthyphro when Socrates and Euthyphro had a conversation in regards to the definition of holiness. During this conversation, Euthyphro states that holiness is what is agreeable to the gods. However, Socrates disputes this idea by stating that gods quarrel just as humans quarrel in regards to issues such as right and wrong, holy and unholy, and justice and injustice. With this reasoning, Socrates argues that what one god may view as right or moral, another god may view as wrong or immoral. Thus, an action may be acceptable and moral to one god and unacceptable and immoral to another, and what is considered to
The interesting dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro demonstrates this Socratic method of questioning in order to gain a succinct definition of a particular idea, such as piety. Though the two men do not come to a conclusion about the topic in the conversation seen in Euthyphro, they do discover that piety is a form of justice, which is more of a definition than their previous one. Their conversation also helps the reader to decipher what makes a good definition. Whenever Euthyphro attempts to define piety, Socrates seems to have some argument against the idea. Each definition offered, therefore, becomes more succinct and comes closer to the actual concept of piety, rather than just giving an example or characteristic of it. To be able to distinguish between a good definition and a bad one is the first step to defining what Socrates so desperately wished to define: w...