Euthyphro, Socrates Euthyphro Discuss Concept Piety/Holiness. This

¶ … Euthyphro, Socrates Euthyphro discuss concept piety/Holiness. This essay test ability recognize engag The principle tenet discussed in the Socratic Dialogue Euthyphro, which centers on a discussion between Euthyphro and the great Greek philosopher, is piety or holiness. This topic emerges in the dialogue because it is of immense importance to the future of both men. They meet on the porch of King Archon, and quickly ascertain that each is there for a legal trial.

Socrates discloses the fact that he has been charged with corrupting the youth principally because his accuser believes he is slandering the gods by disavowing their piety or by creating new ones (which is disrespectful to the established ones). Euthyphro is there to bring his father up on charges of murder. Since he professes to be extremely well versed in the conception of piety and holiness, Socrates asks him to discuss this topic (Plato, 380 B.C.E.).

Socrates does so in order to become more familiar with the allegations that he is being charged with so that he will either learn how to successfully refute those allegations or blame them upon his teacher (of piety) -- Euthyphro. Therefore, the Greek philosopher asks the young man to define the term as a basic starting point in order to familiarize him with public perception of the concept. To his credit, Euthyphro is able to disseminate three definitions before he is pressed for time and has to leave.

By utilizing the Socratic method of questioning, Socrates is able to disprove all definitions. The first that Euthyphro offers is that piety is simply punishing the wicked, and that failing to punish the wicked is impious. Socrates is able to show him the faulty nature of this particular definition by telling Euthyphro that the definition is too narrow.

The philosopher points out that what Euthyphro initially offers as a definition is merely an example of an act of piety, and alludes to the fact that there can be several more such acts that are different from that one. Therefore, Socrates asks for an immutable, comprehensive definition, and not a mere example. Euthyphro's second definition is that which is dear to the Gods is pious and holy, and that which maligned by them is impious.

Socrates takes great pains to demonstrate to Euthyphro that the gods themselves were notorious for bickering and arguing with one another. His point is that it is rare for these deities to have a uniformed opinion about some matter -- particularly one in which they feel strongly about something -- and that therefore what one God holds as dear is actually disliked by another. In essence, he argues that this particular definition is too subjective to form a unified definition.

Finally, Euthyphro posits the viewpoint that piety is that which the gods are able to form a consensus opinion about which they loved, and that impiety is simply that which they can uniformly dislike. Socrates wastes little time in thoroughly confusing the young man with philosophical notions of whether something is loved because it is worth loving or if it is simply loved because a person has committed himself to loving it.

Again, the subjectivity involved in Socrates disproof undoes Euthyphro's definition, and also royally confounds him while adhering to a commonality in Platonic dialgoues regarding Socrates -- that man is generally ignorant (Sharpe, 2010, p. 23) As one continues reading this particular dialogue, it becomes clear that Socrates' true intentions in querying Euthyphro is to develop a defense for the former's trial.

The common motif between all of Socrates' instances of disproving Euthyphro is that the issues relating to piety and holiness, especially as they pertain to the Gods, are highly subjective and largely left up to individual interpretation -- which is true in the case of the charge leveled against him.

The reader becomes cognizant of this goal of Socrates by one of the first statements he made to Euthyphro when the latter proclaimed to be so knowledgeable about piety and the gods that he was willing to charge his own father with murder. Socrates announced at that point that he wanted to become Euthyphro's student, so that he could say that his professing were merely those of his teacher (Euthyphro), and that if anyone should be charged it should be the teacher, not the student.

My own personal definition of piety is behavior and attributes that are respectful of the original intentions of God. Therefore, there are certain forms of behavior that are congruent with piety; those that are not are impious. Actions, rituals, mannerisms, means of and forms of speech can all be consider pious or impious, according to this definition. Socrates would likely respond to this definition in a dialogue such as: Socrates: Therefore, good fellow, you claim.