Similarities Between Euthyphro And Socrates

611 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: religions influence on society

In “The Apology” and “Euthyphro”, Plato creates a picture of the principles Socrates has on philosophy and wisdom. Since there are know direct pieces of literature written by Socrates, all of the information about him are composed by other Philosophers who encountered him. So when I refer to Socrates, it means the character depicted by Plato. I will argue that some important characteristics of philosophy and being a philosopher is evident by comparing Socrates with Euthyphro because of how he sees knowledge is obtained combined with the impact with which religion has on society.

Before getting into the principles of Socrates, it is important to have some context on these two stories to understand how each of these exemplify philosophical understanding. “Euthyphro” is a dialogue between Socrates and …show more content…

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

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Socratic Depiction In Socrates's 'Apology To The Jury'

    1368 Words  | 3 Pages

    On the one hand, if there are others who interpret and mediate divine messages -then rationally- the question of Socrates’ impiety becomes absurd because he does nothing different by account of this logic. On the other hand, however, Socrates simultaneously calls into question the premise that informs rust in the divine; specifically, the “...dubious premise that no one could trust to anything expect a god to be able to trust that his predictions [are accurate]” (Pangle 118). Indeed, consider how Socrates affirmation that he is “more truthful and more pious” (13.3); he posits as evidence of this the fact that he has benefited those who seek his counsel by never having spoken falsely (13.9). If everyone can trust that Socrates’ are predictions are accurate and thereby repetitiously seek and trust in his counsel, then the aforementioned premise can easily/equally be attributed to Socrates, and his daimonion. Hence, whilst Socrates affirmation is informed by the very same premise that informs the Athenians’ trust in the conventional divine, an acceptance of that affirmation as proof of Socrates’ piety requires a critical questioning of both that very premise, and of Socrates’ actual belief in it.

    Read More

  • Euthyphro, by Plato

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    Consequently, In Plato's Euthyphro, our acquaintance with Socrates is immensely beneficial to society, as we obtain awareness on such an innovative method of achieving intuition. The Socratic approach is now a fundamental approach implemented in daily conversation in society Furthermore, not only is Socrates is able to verify that the true seekers are the wise; he also validates the notion that the answers to many questions are merely questions. Simply because, life is so debate that certain subjects begin to intertwine. To sum up, Plato's Euthyphro is extremely indicative of this Socratic irony, for the reason being that: Socrates's portrays a sense of intellectual humility.

    Read More

  • Piety And Virtue In Plato, Euthyphro And Meno

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Plato’s Five Dialogues and Applications of Today’s Society

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    Socrates insistence on finding the truly wise people pitches him against Euthyphro and Meletus. Euthyphro is religious by all means necessary. He even makes prophecies and has a firm claim on the fact that he is wise. He brings a murder charge against his father. On the other hand, Meletus is the man responsible fro bringing charges against Socrates with an aim of having him executed. Meletus, having been cross-examined by Socrates, is put to utmost shame for his lack of a firm grip on facts that are required of him (Desjardins 33). When questioning Euthyphro, Socrates makes an effort to truly find out from this religious man what holiness is. After engaging him for a while, Euthyphro is frustrated and leaves the conversation an angry man. This way of throwing doubt on someone’s beliefs is what Socrates’ signature way of argument became.

    Read More

  • Socrates Quote Analysis

    439 Words  | 1 Pages

    Socrates was philosophizing in order to make people recognize this. Maybe they did not want to be challenged, but Socrates persisted and this persistence caused him to become beloved to some, yet hated by others. His contribution to Athens was to evoke thought, and although he did this well, it would become his poison, quite literally. Regardless, the story of the Euthyphro is one of the classic examples of how Socrates was making his name and awakening people’s minds to the thoughts that they did not think to have. Euthyphro’s conversation with Socrates was only one of many and I believe it is safe to say that the frustration on the subject’s behalf was not an isolated

    Read More

  • The Death Penalty In Plato's Euthyphro And Socrates

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    Euthyphro’s first attempt to define ‘what is piety ‘is when he said “pious is to do what I am doing now, to prosecute the wrongdoer”(Plato 5d-5e). Because Socrates knew “by suing his own father, Euthyphro appears to be crazy, since it would not be most usual to persecute a relative on behalf of an outsider” (McPherran 108) he urged Euthyphro to explain his self further for better understanding. Euthyphro could not justify his reason why this definition was the sure definition for piety, hence he went to the four other definition such as “piety is what is loved by the gods (6e-9d), piety is what is loved by all the gods (93-11b), piety is that part of justice which assists the gods to produce their most beautiful product (11e-14b) and piety is an art of prayer and sacrifice (14b-15c)” (McPherran 107). Even with these definitions Socrates destroyed Euthyphro way of thinking and made him return to his very first definition. “Without the least hesitation, Euthyphro swallows the bait by agreeing with suggestion” (McPherran 108). The suggestion in which Socrates made to inform Euthyphro, his idea of ‘what is piety’ was not the idea not

    Read More

  • Plato Euthyphro Rational Thinking

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    He establishes that “the pious is what all the gods love”. Socrates immediately asks a clarifying question, asking whether the gods love pious acts because they are pious or if it because since the gods love these actions it makes them pious. Euthyphro choses to say that the gods love pious acts because they are pious, which was a mistake in his thought process. Euthyphro committed the begging the question fallacy. Socrates shows that although Euthyphro is deemed an expert in this field, he does know understand piety at all. He has brought the conversation to the beginning by saying that pious acts are pious because they are pious, which is not an explanation. It is redundant in thinking, which is what Socrates wanted to avoid. At the end when Socrates tries to further push Euthyphro’s thinking, Euthyphro merely gives up and avoids Socrates altogether. Plato again illustrates the importance of applying rational thought when one ventures to find the truth. Euthyphro did not ask himself insightful and challenging questions to further push his idea towards the truth. Had he use rational standards, he would developed his idea in a much clearer

    Read More

  • Essay On Euthyphro And Socrates

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    My understanding of justice is using right vs wrong to determine a course of action along with taking into account any consequences that might follow a decision. In dialogue between two philosophers, it is argued what makes an act holy and what makes an act unholy. Euthyphro has decided to prosecute his own father for murder in a time when religion forbade persecution of one’s own father. Euthyphro justifies his actions based on the claim that “It is ridiculous, Socrates, that you think it matters whether the man who was killed was a stranger or a relative, and do not see that the only thing to consider is whether the action of the slayer was justified or not, and that if it was justified one ought to let him alone, and if not, one ought to proceed against him, even if he share one's hearth [4c] and eat at one's table” (4c). Euthyphro is explaining to Socrates why it is holy to persecute injustices and unholy to ignore an injustice. Socrates has more to say, but he first helps Euthyphro build his argument. In doing so, Socrates attempts to show him though his own reasoning why he should humbly acknowledge his own ignorance in his

    Read More

  • Divine Command Theory Research

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The Apology and Crito

    345 Words  | 1 Pages

    Socrates was wise men, who question everything, he was found to be the wise man in Athens by the oracle. Although he was consider of being the wises man alive in those days, Socrates never consider himself wise, therefore he question everything in order to learned more. Socrates lived a poor life, he used to go to the markets and preach in Athens he never harm anyone, or disobey any of the laws in Athens, yet he was found guilty of all charges and sentence to die.

    Read More

  • Socrates Was NOT Guilty

    1660 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Peter Geach's Analysis Of The Socratic Fallacy

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    question. The Euthyphro has Socrates and Euthyphro discussing what piety is. In an attempt to give an answer to this question, Euthyphro states that what he is doing now namely, prosecuting his own father for murder is pious (5E). Socrates rejects this as an answer saying that he wishes to know “what this form [piety] is” (6E). In essence, what Socrates is looking for here, is a formal definition. In his paper, Geach claims that this is a grave mistake on Socrates part. In his search for knowledge of piety, Socrates has made the errors that Geach enumerates

    Read More

  • Different Definitions of the Word "Pious" Depicted in Plato's Socratic Dialog Euthyphro

    1244 Words  | 3 Pages

    The dialog begins with Socrates and Euthyphro meeting at the king-archon's court; Socrates has been summoned with charges of corrupting the youth and impiety, and Euthyphro wishes to prosecute his father for leaving one of his servants, a murderer, to die. It is at this moment that Socrates first asks Euthyphro, a young priest who considers himself an expert on piety, what is pious. Socrates claims that if he can convince the court that he has learned the meaning of piety from Euthyphro, they might dismiss the charges against him. It is clear from the start that a lexical definition of piety is not what Socrates is interested in. Rather, he is looking for a practical definition of the pious. A definition of Socrates approval would allow him to look at any action and determine as to whether or not it is pious.

    Read More

  • Holiness according to Socrates and Plato

    373 Words  | 1 Pages

    This is a reasonable answer on all fronts. Not to say that Euthyphro was not a holy man, but he certainly could not define his own existence- which is the exact sentiment which Socrates was trying to provoke. There is a clear difference between the definition of Socrates and the definitions of Euthyphro.

    Read More

  • Literary Works of Plato: Critical Essay

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    The literary works of Plato were highly inspired from Socrates' teachings. He presented the ideas through poems, drama, rhetoric and upbringing the various social issues to be addressed in the society. The dialogues of Plato are the most famous for their bold remarks, conversational interactions and as a great source of understanding the intricate delicacies of complex situations. Plato's early works of dialogues addressed investigations of a single issue and one criticism in this respect is that these early works lacked concluding remarks. Euthyphro has also raised significant doubts regarding defining the morally right action in light of the d...

    Read More

More about Similarities Between Euthyphro And Socrates

Open Document