Introduction: The assigned reading was in the Euthyphro. The reading is about Socrates and Euthyphro having a discussion of what piety is. In this paper, I will discuss the moral significance of the question that Socrates proposed. And 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?”(Prompt). I will start off by giving a brief summary of the reading and then I will move on to the question. In the question I will discuss the moral significance of it and how it affects us in today’s society. Finally, I will end with my conclusion. Summary: In the Euthyphro, Socrates is having a discussion with Euthyphro about the meaning of piety. Instead of giving a definition of the word, Euthyphro gives examples of the word and never quite gave a …show more content…
When Socrates asks Euthyphro to define the word pious he dodges the question and rather gives an explanation of what being pious is. Socrates is trying to figure out if it was a good thing for Euthyphro to turn in his own father. Euthyphro then says that any of the gods won’t care if they (humans) care for them. And with that said that would mean “pious is pious because it’s loved by the gods” (Prompt). It won’t matter if a citizen worships the gods or if they do what is right or wrong; in the end, the gods aren’t affected by it at all. Turning, Euthyphro’s father in is wrong for the reason that the gods don’t care what he did, because it doesn’t affect them. If Euthyphro would have kept the secret about his father, then Euthyphro could’ve protected him and lied for his father because it’s his father. The majority of people would say it was morally wrong to turn in their fathers, because it’s their fathers and they could protect them. If he actually loved him, then he wouldn’t have done that. But since, he did do it, then that would mean that he cares for the law much
Certainly, Socrates’ arguments about the limitations of godly knowledge of the “moral good” devolve the idea of divine command as a cause of piety, but more importantly, it defines the philosophical evaluation of piety as a way to educate Euthyphro to analyze his pre-assumed beliefs with greater conviction. In this dialogue, the issue of the “moral good” becomes a more complex relationship between Euthyphro’s religious and moral perception of philosophy: “I told you a short while ago, Socrates, that it is a considerable task to acquire any precise knowledge of these things” (177). This new perspective defines the effectiveness of Socrates’ argument to dispel the overly confident assumption that the gods approve of piety, since piety has its own unique qualities that need to be defined. This moral and religious relationship is ambiguous because Socrates has opened the possibility of Euthyphro coming to his own conclusions about the gods and the “moral good”, which should be presumed by religious doctrines or in the divine command of the
In Plato’s work the Euthyphro, his main goal is to come to a solid understanding of the definition of piety. In the dialogue, Euthyphro, a man who is suing
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
This leads to Socrates point that considering that the gods have different opinions as to what things are just and good that means they must approve of different things. Furthermore, as indicated by Euthyphro's definition of piety, those things would be viewed as both holy and unholy, since they are approved by a few of the gods and objected by different gods. Nonetheless, in Euthyphro's eyes he believes that most likely every one of the gods would concede on the fact that a man who murders somebody unjustifiably ought to have consequences. Socrates makes the point that the question doesn't emerge with respect to whether someone who has done something wrong ought to be punished, but as to whether the individual has in actuality acted
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.
In the Euthyphro, Plato has Socrates, his student, explain the argument that “Holiness” cannot be defined as “whatever (all) the gods love”. Euthyphro is a priest in the story where he is supposed to know a great deal about his preaching. Then through some conversation, Euthyphro expresses that it is holy it is loved by the multiple gods. He claims that “Holy” is loved by the gods because it is “Holy,” and it’s the case that being holy is because the gods love it.
“It is not living that matters, but living rightly” - Socrates. In Plato’s Euthyphro, Socrates asks Euthyphro what the definition of piety and impiety are, so that he may survive the indictment set upon him by Meletus. Throughout their dialogue Euthyphro concludes that what is pious is what all the gods love and what is impious is what all gods hate, and in response Socrates challenges his claim by asking, “is the [pious] approved by the gods because it’s [pious], or is it [pious] because it’s approved?” Socrates’ question is important because it helps uncover the absurdity in Euthyphro’s logic, the question leads to personal knowledge of our motives, it also leads to richer philosophical inquiry, and it teaches In its rigor, the question attempts to figure out what the essence of piety is instead of conforming to the popular belief that the gods decide what is good. Throughout the Euthyphro, the titled character can only find a few definitions of what piety is, and they are all variations of the same definitions he starts with, “what’s lovable to the gods that’s pious, and what’s not lovable to them that’s impious” (Euthyphro 13 7a).
Socrates argues that piety can’t be defined because the gods love different things - this proves the concept of subjectivity, “the same things then are loved by the gods and hated by the gods, and would both be god-loved and god-hated.” However, Socrates does not acknowledge subjectivity in his own dialogue with Euthyphro. The significance of Socrates failing to acknowledge his own subjectivity in his search for a definition of piety, that is not by example, in his dialogue with Euthyphro, is Socrates devaluing the usefulness of his argument. Socrates’s method of questioning Euthyphro’s beliefs in a series
The pious is loved by the god because it is pious, there is something in the nature of being pious which makes the gods love it. However, this is not the case for the god-loved, the thing is said to be god-loved because it is being loved by the god. The difference here is, the nature of the pious is independent of anything, the pious has a quality of being loved by the gods, but even if the god didn’t love the pious, the pious would still be pious. This is the opposite case for the god-loved, whether a thing is god-loved does depend on whether the gods really love it. If the gods decided not to love it, then that thing would no longer be god-loved. The nature of pious never changes, regardless of the circumstances; the affect or quality of the pious, which is being god-loved, does change, it relies upon the gods. Therefore, when Euthyphro says the pious is what all the god loves, he is giving an affection of being pious, not the nature of pious, and Socrates is looking for the answer of the latter one. After all, it is clear to see that why Euthyphro has not given out the definition of pious from the statement “the pious is loved by the gods because it is pious”. The statement explains nothing about what is pious. We can ask the question: why do the gods love it? The answer would be: because it is pious. Then we may ask: why is it pious? This question
Euthyphro was a religious intellectual, so he should’ve been able to define piety. However, Socrates wanted to show Euthyphro that he wasn’t as knowledgeable as he thought. Socrates knew beforehand that Euthyphro wouldn’t be able to give a sound definition, or standard, for what is pious, so this dialogue is a reflection on Euthyphro’s reasoning.
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.
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.
As it is alluded to in the Euthyphro, the concept of piety is one in which all followers of faith and beyond strive to understand and adhere to the manifestation of. For hundreds of years after this dialogue the question of piety and divine command still alludes the wisest thinkers and holiest of men. Is the pious being loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is being loved by the gods? With only two paths to venture down, both having unpleasant results, this question is still unanswered to most. But the importance of the question remains. To question everything we encounter, to question everything we think we already know, and to “prefer nothing, unless it is true (14e)”. In this essay I will argue that the Gods commanding good actions because they are already good is the
He changes his strategy, Socrates does not ask Euthyphro to define piety, instead asks how is an unholy action deemed bad, how is a holy action deemed “good”? Euthyphro’s answer is that an action is good if the Gods approve of it. His answer is now a gold mine for Socrates, who proceeds to present his case by stating that the Gods approve of things that are good and disapprove of things that are not good. His cogent reasoning is compelling enough to cause Euthyphro to quickly agree, he might not have agreed so readily had he understood the extent of what that meant. Very pleased with himself, Socrates then asks whether the Gods love what is pious, or if something pious because it is loved by the Gods. This section of the dialog ends with Euthyphro admitting truth to both, which is not possible. Euthyphro does not understand that the state of a thing does not change what that thing
Socrates continuously refers to examples concerning stories related to gods, which he believes to be inconsistent and incredible. Euthyphro draws more and more examples of stories concerning gods, which he believes prove his position as being inspired by gods. Soon Enough Socrates asks Euthyphro to define piety, which he fails to do because he cannot give the definition, which is universally true (Fagan & Russon, 2009). Socrates uncovers that the concept of piety offered by his opponent is incorrect.