Euthyphro Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Euthyphro - Essay ExampleBecause their opinions close to holiness are at odds, Socrates who is portrayed by Plato as a person who is eager to remove in discourse with the people on Athens asks Euthyphro what his concept of holiness is so he efficacy learn from how Euthyphro defines it. Says Socrates, Tell me then, what is the pious, and what the impious, do you say? (5e) Initially, this is how the concept of holiness emerges in the dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro and it briefly takes a prominent position in the dialogue as it becomes the main topic of their conversation as they wait to be shown into court for their respective cases. In response to Socrates question, Euthyphro provides him with three basic commentarys by which he thinks holiness is defined. Every time Euthyphro gives Socrates a definition for the concept of holiness, Socrates gives him an argument to refute it and thus Euthyphro is forced to provide another definition. Finally, when Euthyphro gives the third definition and Socrates refutes it, Euthyphro storms off annoyed with Socrates for disagreeing with all his attempts to define what is holy. First, he says I say that the pious is to do what I am doing now, to go after the wrongdoer, be it about murder or temple robbery or anything else, whether the wrongdoer is your father or your mother or anyone else not to prosecute is impious. (5e) Thus holiness is defined by prosecuting those people who are blasphemous and go against religion. Second, he says tumesce then, what is dear to the gods is pious, what is not is impious (7) Thus, holiness is defined by what the gods like and mutually consent. Lastly, Euthyphro tells Socrates that I would surely say that the pious is what all the gods whap, and the opposite, what all the gods hate, is the impious. (9e). Therefore, piety is what lies within the bounds of actions the gods love and those that the gods hate, become automatically unholy. Socrates refutes Euthyphros definitions at each stage by providing refine counter arguments of his own. To Euthyphros first definition that holiness is punishing people who go against religion, Socrates says that this is a definition that excludes a variety of holy things that have nothing to do with persecuting blasphemous people and thus an incomplete definition that doesnt hold on various counts. To Euthyphros second definition that holy things are those that are approved by the gods, Socrates says that this definition is also flawed because the gods are often fighting and on that point is seldom a time they all agree on one thing, thus no consummation is holy according to this definition. He says Then according to your argument, my good Euthyphro, different gods consider different things to be just, beautiful, ugly, good, and bad (7e) and that The same things then are loved by the gods and hated by the gods, and would be some(prenominal) god-loved and god-hated And the same things would be both pious and impious, ac cording to this argument? (8) Euthyphro is disgruntled but has no prime(a) but to agree with Socrates. Lastly, Socrates refutes Euthyphros statement by asking him to consider an important statement rate this Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods? (10) and he asks Euthyphro to run a parallel comparison between the preceding statement and the fact that that which is being carried is being carried because someone