The Euthyphro, Socrates And Euthyphro

If it were the exact definition, only Euthyphro would be pious. He said that Euthyphro did not understand the difference between a definition and an example. Next, Euthyphro says that piety is found in things that are dear to the gods (7a). Socrates again rejected Euthyphro’s definition of piety. The Greek gods were anthropomorphic; therefore, another may despise what would be dear to one god. This definition offered was not distinct. Finally, Euthyphro said that what is pious is what loved by the gods (9e). However, Euthyphro can’t answer whether something is pious because it is loved or it is loved because it is pious. He can’t conceive the difference between cause and effect. It is in the Euthyphro that Socrates begins his defense of his actions and principles to the reader. A priest can’t give him a concise answer as to what is religious; therefore, how can anyone else, especially one less religiously guided than a priest, accuse him of blasphemous actions?

In Plato’s Euthyphro, a dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro, the nature of piety is discussed. Euthyphro proposes several “definitions” of piety and focuses on the relation of piety to the gods. For one of these definitions, he proposes that piety is that which is loved by all the gods. In reply to this, a dilemma arises; and Socrates asks whether the pious, or holy, is loved by the gods because it is pious, or pious because it is loved by the gods. A similar form of this question asks whether the Good, or good action, is commanded by God because it is good, or good because it is commanded by God. If Euthyphro accepts the

Socrates helps Euthyphro to give meaning to the word ‘piety ', and this serves to bring a new meaning to the respect to the divine beings and help in the explanation of the whole context of the divinity in the society. In this manner, there is the need to create a clear definition and help Euthyphro in getting ideas that he can use to teach Socrates to answer the resulting question about the piety. This is to enable Socrates to have a string defense against the charge of impiety and help in tackling the challenges that he faces in the society. The story and the relationship between Socrates and Euthyphro arise when Socrates is called to court to answer to the charges of impiety by Meletus, (Plato et al, 1927). In the courts, Socrates meets Euthyphro, who comes to the courts to prosecute his father who is a murderer.

However in Plato’s Euthyphro, it can be argued that Socrates plays a similar role. In the Euthyphro, Socrates discusses piety in general and what makes things and people pious. Socrates claims he wants to learn more on the subject so that he may better defend himself against the treasonous charges against him. In a way, Euthyphro represents the traditional Athenian way of thinking. He believes in and supports all of the gods and does not submit to Socrates’ prodding of the subject, although he does walk away from him in frustration at the end of the dialogue. However it can safely be said that most Athenians would agree with Euthyphro’s opinion of the gods and to disagree could most certainly be punishable by law, as Socrates was. Socrates’ search for the definition of piety is a difficult one that tests Euthyphro’s patience and ultimately leaves the characters and the reader without an answer. Every time Euthyphro proposes an answer, Socrates is quick to counter it with some thought. Interpreting Socrates’ tone and meaning here is important. Some may see Socrates to be quite demeaning in these instances, almost teasing Euthyphro because he claims to be so pious yet he cannot even define the word. In this way, similar to Aristophanes’ Clouds, Socrates plays a subversive role in the Euthyphro.

Socrates accurately contests that this definition does not provide the true nature of piety or why pious acts are in fact considered pious. By challenging Euthyphro’s perception of piety, Socrates attempts to obtain an objectivist definition of what it truly means to be pious. Socrates’ queries provide powerful support for the notion that one’s judgements regarding value is a response to objectively existing values. That is, the pious leads the gods to love it or the morally just leads one to approve it. However, perhaps the reason the dialogue draws to an aporetic conclusion, is the fact that piety may not be defined objectively. Pious acts may be considered immeasurable as they are based upon subjective individual values. Thus, the meaning of piety can differ as a result of one’s individual views and values. As one’s definition of piety may contradict another’s, acts may be regarded as both pious and impious simultaneously. Additionally, one’s own definition of what is considered pious may shift overtime, due to experience or greater understanding of a situation resulting in further discord between piety and impiety. However, whilst this Socratic dialogue does not result in a concise definition of what it means to be pious, it does indirectly enhance one’s understanding of piety by encouraging one to evaluate what the pious is

A9: Socrates believes that the first definition piety given by Euthyphro is very vague; Euthyphro has only given an example of what piety is (his current action in prosecuting his father) not a definition. Socrates wants Euthyphro to be more specific in what he defines as piety.

Euthyphro responds by asserting that piety is that which is approved [loved] or sanctioned by the gods; whence impiety is whatever is disapproved of by the gods. However, as Socrates points out, the question poses a dilemma for those who believe as Euthyphro does that Truth is revealed by divine authority alone.

Basically saying it is all about pleasing the Gods, if they love certain thing because they are pious, then their loving of them is purely incidental. This theory is faulty because as he states pious would be pleasing the gods, but would be persecuting your father be morally acceptable according to the gods? Euthyphro responds that all the gods agree that someone who commits murder of someone unjustly should be persecuted. Socrates mentions that conflict does not come about to acknowledged that the wrongdoer should be persecuted, but if or not the person has acted unjustly. For Euthyphro's claim to have any credibility, he must display not that all the gods agree that someone who murders unjustly should be punished, but that the gods in unison agree that this murder was unjust. I feel that the gods would want the situation to work itself out and leave the reason Euthyphro would be persecuting his father is for his own selfish reason, not because he is satisfying the gods.

Euthyphro intends his definition of piety. If right actions are pious only because the gods love them, then moral rightness is completely

Plato's "Euthyphro" introduces the Socratic student both to the Socratic Method of inquiry and to, or at least towards, a definition of piety. Because the character of Euthyphro exits the dialogue before Socrates can arrive at a reasonable definition, an adequate understanding of piety is never given. However, what piety is not is certainly demonstrated. Euthyphro gives three definitions of piety that fail to mean much to Socrates, who refutes each one. In this paper, I will present Euthyphro's definitions along with Socrates' rebuttals. I will also show that Socrates goal in the dialogue is two-fold: 1) to arrive at a true definition, and 2) to exercise his method of teaching/inquiry. At the conclusion of this paper, I will give my own definition of piety and imagine what Socrates might say in response.

Distinguished as one of the greatest reflective thinkers of all time, Plato was the innovator of many written philosophical dialogues. Accompanied by his teacher, Socrates and his most notorious disciple, Aristotle, Plato set the groundworks of Western philosophy and science amid dialogues such as Apology, Euthyphro, Republic and Laws. These dialogues provided some of the earliest handlings of political inquiries from a philosophical viewpoint. In the Euthyphro, Plato composes a dialogue that transpires in 399 BC, weeks before the hearing of Socrates, for which Socrates and Euthyphro try to determine an absolute meaning for the word “piety” also known as holiness. To enable the comprehension of the dialogue, this essay will restate the dialogue’s key claims through differentiating between the dialogue Euthyphro, which begins by probing for the definition of the good (a matter of epistemology) and the dilemma presented by Socrates within the dialogue (a matter of ontology). Furthermore, through recapitulating Euthyphros’ various endeavors in defining piety, the essay will contend that Plato utilizes diairesis in the dialogue (definition by division) to elucidate the nature of good. On this basis, the dialogue will exemplify the two conflicting views of religion made by both characters.

because, how can all the gods find everything to be pious when what is just to

At the beginning my impression was that they were two friends making idle chat in front of the king-archon’s court. But, then as the dialogue went on it delved into a more serious discussion when Euthyphro explained his reasons for prosecuting his own father. When Socrates continued the dialogue it seemed to revolve more around the definition of piety, and what is pious and pious. However, as Socrates continued to try to understand the difference using different analogies, it became harder for me to tell if he was honestly asking or just sarcastically talking around the subject until Euthyphro was the one asking him what he meant. I mean Euthyphro said “Nay, Socrates, I shall still say that you are the Daedalus who sets arguments in motion;

What is piety and impiety? This broad question is exactly what Euthyphro and Socrates debate about the true meaning of these two words. When society hears the word piety, they think of worship for God or religious fulfillment of sacred obligations. However, when Socrates attends the king's court on charges of impiety by Meletus, he encounters Euthyphro there who is going to prosecute his own father for accidentally killing one of his workers. Even though Socrates feels that Euthyphro has courage for prosecuting his own father on a charge that can be seen as disputable, Euthyphro mentions that he still knows everything about the true meaning of being holy. At this point, Socrates exhorts Euthyphro to teach him what holiness is and help his

In order to understand what “piety” means in an ancient context, it is useful to remove assumptions and preconceived ideas of what religion and piety are about. James Schall, in his essay “What is Piety?” makes useful note of this sometimes overlooked, but obvious fact: