Piety And Divine Command Research Paper

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

For me to adequately determine which alternative is the more defensible one we must examine each question and deconstruct them, looking at what the results of accepting the question would be.

1) Are right actions right because God commands them?

This question is stating that we are accepting the proposition that right acts are right because the Divinity of that culture commands them. This means that one is accepting whatever the Divine says is simply enough to make something right. God makes goodness and by extension, makes anything god commands right. In the Christian religion, One of the ten commandments is “Thou shalt not kill”, however in the bible God does demand killing when he feels so, for example, asking Abraham to kill his own son. In polytheistic religion, such as the Greek Gods, Socrates points out that “the gods are in a state of discord, that they