Euthyphro-Plato (Research Paper Sample)

Euthyphro-Plato
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Euthyphro-Plato
Introduction
A dialogue emerges between Euthyphro and Socrates, who have legal pursuits in court. Socrates a defendant of a case by Meletus against him, and Euthyphro is an educated Athenian, who charges his own father. Socrates is waiting to attend to his trial for impiety, while Euthyphro is a plaintiff against his father for killing a servant in Naxos. This excites Socrates because he believes that a man with the nature as that of Euthyphro in the society has informed knowledge of what is piety and impiety. As a result, Socrates asks Euthyphro to define piety. He listens to the explanations he is given, but he does not agree with any of them. This paper analyzes these arguments. The dialogue contains three major intentions: to gradually develop the idea of piety, to give insight into the contrast between false and true religion, and to help Socrates gather more reasons and ideas towards his defense in the case brought against him
Euthyphro-Plato
The concept of holiness emerges from the dialogue when Socrates learns the reasons why his friend is in court and the reason why he pursues the case against his father. It surprises him how Euthyphro can manage to get to court for such charges. Socrates is even further astonished to learn that Euthyphro’s father did not kill the servant who was not a close relative directly yet, Euthyphro is still keen to sue his own father. This makes Socrates think that Euthyphro clearly understands the distinction between impiety and piety. Socrates understands that for Euthyphro to make such a hard decision, he must have good insight on the nature of holiness and impiety. The issue of holiness takes prominence in the conversation because Socrates is eager to learn more from Euthyphro. The urge to understand piety and impiety makes Socrates question Euthyphro on the definition of piety. Euthyphro successfully defines piety in several ways, which Socrates contests.
In his bid to define to Socrates what piety is, Euthyphro begins by defining it as “doing as I do, prosecuting your father on charge of murder; doing as the gods do- as Zeus did to Cronos, and Cronos to Uranius” (Plato, 1999, 78-79). Socrates does not like such mythology as used by Euthyphro in his definition of holiness. He believes that his dislike of myths may be the reason of charging him with impiety. Euthyphro is stopped from giving more mythologies, instead, Socrates asks him to give a more satisfactory definition of piety.
The impiety defendant argues to the definition as not conclusive because accusing a father of murder is only one case of piety. It is from this argument that Euthyphro gives another explanation and says that “Piety is what is dear to the gods, and impiety is what is not dear to them” (Plato, 1999, 90-91). Again, Socrates doubts this description of holiness. According to him, the same way there exist differences among men, they could also exist among the gods, particularly regarding evil and good. Therefore, what one god considers dear may not be the case with another god; what is pious to one god may turn out to be impious to another. He asks Euthyphro to find out if he has proof that his father murdered. Later, he amends the definition into, “what all gods love is pious and what they all hate is impious” (Plato, 1999, 109-110).
Socrates challenges the intelligence of Euthyphro by asking him if all pious people are just and if all impious are unjust. This prompts the soothsayer to give the third definition terming holiness as the part of justice that “attends” to the gods because justice has another part, which “attends” to men. The impiety defendant begins an argument from his understanding of the word “attends” as used in the explanation. He questions on how acts of holiness make the gods better. Euthyphro further explains, but Socrates refutes and asks if there is an end to serving the gods.
As observed, Socrates is interested in changing the minds of Euthyphro on the concept of holiness. He aims at using a man accepted and respected in the society, to defend himself against impiety in the...