Socrates: A Revolutionary Philosopher Who Posed a Threat to the Government and Society

Throughout the dialogue between Euthyphro and Socrates, they both try to come up with an understanding of the relationship between piety and justice. Within the discussion, Socrates questions Euthyphro to see if he can define the difference and similarities between justice and piety, and if they interact with each other. Eventually, Euthyphro and Socrates came up with the conclusion that justice is a part of piety. This is the relationship that I agree most with because in my own opinion, I believe that all of the gods and people agree that human beings who commit unjust actions need to be punished for their actions.

In this interaction, Socrates considers Euthyphro to help in explaining all there is to be known about piety and the related impiety. Euthyphro confirms that he is indeed an expert in the matter relating to religious issues and can thus assist Socrates in the charges that face him. In their argument in the efforts to define the true meaning of piety, Socrates and Euthyphro engage in the analysis of issues that threaten to confuse human understanding about the whole issue of holiness and impiety in the society, (Plato & Gallop, 2008). To understand the true meaning of piety, it is of great importance to take a holistic analysis of the beliefs of the people about

Socrates does not have good citizen characteristics in Aristophanes’ Clouds , for, he behaves outside the political community. The primary example of his individualism is his disregard for the common beliefs of his society. Greek gods get credited for many of the societies occurrences, yet Socrates tries to disprove the work of the gods throughout his life. In Clouds, Strepsiades goes to Socrates to learn unjust and just speech. The first lesson Socrates teaches him that “we do not swear by the gods”(Aristophanes 248). In response to this statement, he asks Socrates what gods he swear by, and for the rest of the play, Socrates praises the clouds as gods. He is a brazen man who denies the power of Zeus, the infamous god. His beliefs against the greek gods makes Socrates appear as a radical. In connection to his lack of worship for the

According to Euthyphro, piety is whatever the gods love, and the impious whatever the gods hate. At first this seems like a good definition of piety, however, further inquiry from Socrates showed that the gods have different perspectives vis a vis certain actions. As the gods often quarrel with another, piety cannot simply be what is loved by gods, since they differ in opinions. For, if the gods agreed on what is just, surely they would not constantly fight with one another. Therefore, the first proposition of Euthyphro is wanting. Socrates, thus, is teaching a particular style of inquiry whereby, facile statements are challenged by their own propositions. Socrates does not make any claims initially, but rather questions the logical consequence of Euthyphro’s answer.

Finally i will have to tell you who is this man you are falsely accusing today. Even though we all, men of Athens, hates Socrates’s way of seeing and doing things and the way he embarrassed our greatest men of Athens in public. But the past had proven to us that he is a good wise man that rarely been mistaken in term of what was good for Athens. Moreover, one event that we cant forget is the trail of the 8 Generals where he oppose the exception of the 8 men. Even though he was threaten to take the same fate as theirs. Athenian thought he was crazy back then and ordered to execute the 6 Generals they have at hand and the same fate awaits for those who fled. However, few years later Athens needed as much strong men as they can get so they dropped

Socrates was a moral philosopher who was accused of impiety and was about to be tried for a crime, the nature of which no one seemed to understand. The trial and death of Socrates has four dialogs known as the Euthyphro, the Apology, the Crito, and the Phaedo which describes the process of Socrates’ controversial and insightful trial that raises the questions about human morality. Within the story we learned that the relationship between morality and religion might not be as clear-cut as some might think, Socrates forces the witnesses of his trial as well as ourselves to come to conclusions which result in a paradox that conflicts with the individual beliefs of his audience. In the event in which, Socrates poses a question to himself and Euthyphro, an attempt to answer the question "What is piety?" It has a specific tie to the events in “The Trial and Death of Socrates”, for Socrates had been accused of impiety and was about to be tried for the crime of heresy. The Euthyphro dialogue was written twenty-four centuries ago, and its conclusion is devastating for the whole idea that holiness and morality are very well connected. The idea that, “if God does not make something good by commanding it, but rather instead identifies that which is good, what measurement of morality does he use to make this judgment?” If something is right because god commands it, then it follows that something would be just as right if God instructed differently. If god declares that it is right to

Thus, Socrates asks Euthyphro "…what sort of thing…the pious and impious are…" (Plato, Euthyphro, 5d) and "…is not the holy, just by itself, the same in every action…" (Plato, Euthyphro, 5d). Euthyphro, responding to the second question first, affirms that piety and impiety have discernible characteristics. Subsequently, he states that piety is "…prosecuting murder and temple theft and everything of the sort…"(Plato, Euthyphro, 5e). Socrates points out that this answer is not a definition, since, instead of stating what constitutes piety, it merely provides examples of it. Consequently, Euthyphro states that piety is what is dear to the gods. Socrates responds that, if the gods disagree as Euthyphro previously states in the dialogue, different gods would believe that different things are "…just and beautiful and ugly, good and evil…" (Plato, Euthyphro, 7e). Thus,

pious, but every answer he offers is subjected to the full force of Socrates' critical thinking. Socrates systematically refutes Euthyphro's

Socrates does not care about the wisdom of Euthyphro, but he should because Euthyphro is a priest and should have the highest knowledge of the gods and what it is to be pious. Overall, Socrates questions the wisdom of a very experienced priest and does more harm than good, by opposing Euthyphro’s idea of

As Euthyphro tried his best to define the meaning of piety, Socrates began to guide him to the truth that Euthyphro really is uniformed. He did this not because he wanted to mock Euthyphro, but rather to teach him and show him of his ignorance in the matter. When Euthyphro started to defend his decision to persecute his father, he mentioned his expertise in all religious matters, significantly what is piety and what is not piety. He believed prosecuting individuals who commit wrongdoings is piety, compared to not prosecuting those which he suggested is impiety. He also referenced Greek myths in his response as an example, in which he deemed to be exactly true, contrary to most people during that time. Socrates on the other hand, found these

What is Implied about ‘piety’? A conclusion to the dialogue of Euthyphro and Socrates Susan Waldner 131163 70: 163 Critical Thinking Steve Robinson February 2, 2016 Euthyphro is a dialogue between Euthyphro and Socrates written by Plato. The dialogue begins when Euthyphro and Socrates meet near the king-archon’s court and Euthyphro is surprised to see Socrates there, for he is not the kind of man to have business with the court of justice.

Euthyphro then offers his second definition of piety. Euthyphro then states “ What is dear to the Gods is pious, what is not dear to the Gods is impious “ ( Euthyphro 6). Socrates rejects this definition by basically saying that all the Gods won’t approve of what is pious and impious. Euthyphro offers the next definition which basically says that if all of the Gods think it is pious then it is pious and all of Gods don’t think it is pious then it is impious. Socrates rejects this idea by basically saying that it can not be a definition because it still does not give an essence of what piety is.

Socrates presses Euthyphro for another definition of piety, begging that he answer the question properly. Euthyphro replies, “...what is dear to the god's is pious, what is not is impious.” (7A) This is a much different definition than the first—it has a much greater scope. Euthyphro argues that the gods have some ability such that their love of something makes it pious. Similarly, the gods have some power such that what they disapprove of or simply do not like is consequently impious. This is precisely the sort of definition that Socrates is looking for; if it is true, then all Socrates must do is determine whether or not some action is loved by the gods to know whether or not it is pious.

If everyone took the time to discuss holiness / piety (reverence for God), there would always be many different interpretations or perceptions on what it really is and just how to determine that it is being done. The best philosophers in the world have engaged in many conversations about this subject for decades. Socrates has been one of many that discussed this subject. Socrates was a man that was accused of impiety and corrupting the youth. He wanted the best representation he could find to help him plead his case against the state. When he begin to speak with Euthyphro about his own accusations against his father, Euthyphro was bringing accusations of murder

Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, the three original thinkers and intelligent teachers of ancient Greece, together made the Greek philosophy reach its highest state and also opened up a new world of western philosophy and culture. Among three of them, Socrates was the very first one who appeared in history, and was the very first teacher and spreader of ancient Greek philosophy. His entire life was a legend that he had numbers of followers and students. However, unlike Plato and Aristotle, this great man did not leave any writings at all. Fortunately, Plato, as one of Socrates’ most faithful students, organized most of his dialogues and lectures after his death. Among these writings, Euthyphro and Apology had great influences on the temporary Athens city. In these two writings, Socrates did not only challenge the justice of the ancient Athens city, but also raised the question upon the definition of piety. Socrates rejected Euthyphro 's distinction between attends to the gods and attends to people and claimed his own understanding of the relationship between piety and justice.