Defining Piety: A Philosophical Exploration

The word "pious", despite its relatively common usage, has an ambiguous and debated definition. In the Euthyphro Socrates and Euthyphro argue the meaning of piety until Socrates eventually asks "Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods (10a)?" These two possibilities describe very different concepts. The former implies that everything holy has some innately right quality which causes the god 's to love it. Furthermore, this quality exists separately from the gods, meaning that if there were no gods the pious would still be pious. On the contrary, the latter implies everything that is righteous is only so because the god 's love it. In other words, the gods decide what is pious and unpious. After much reasoning Euthyphro concludes the pious is loved by the gods because it is pious (10d).

Some people believe what is morally right is liked by people because it is morally right, and others believe morality is determined by what society likes. In order to say which option is correct, it is necessary to distinguish them from each other. The first possibility suggests that moral values are universal and, that actions are unarguably either righteous or unrighteous. Additionally, it implies that humans don 't choose what is moral or immoral. Accordingly, morality is a predetermined law that humans follow simply because it is innately right. On the other hand, the second possibility suggests that people decide what is morally right or wrong. This means morality only exists within the constrains of society and the mind. In other words, the only reason something is right or wrong is because a person or group thinks it is