Piety, and our duties toward the gods. Socrates was not so much interested in giving answers as much as shaking up our notions of the gods.
Socrates discusses the nature of piety or holiness in the dialogue Euthyphro. He questions Euthyphro about his understanding of piety and investigates whether actions are pious because the gods approve of them, or whether the gods approve of actions because they are pious.
In the dialog "Euthyphro," Socrates is questioning Euthyphro about the nature of piety and impiety. He wants Euthyphro to define what piety is and to provide a clear explanation of the difference between pious and impious actions. Socrates is ultimately searching for a universal definition of piety that is not based on personal opinions or beliefs.
Socrates wants to become Euthyphro's student because he admires Euthyphro's knowledge and expertise in matters of religion and ethics. Socrates hopes to learn from Euthyphro and engage in philosophical discussions to deepen his own understanding of morality and piety.
Socrates wants to become Euthyphro's student to gain a deeper understanding of piety. He believes that by studying under Euthyphro, he can learn more about the nature of holiness and develop his own philosophical arguments on the topic.
The main questions that govern the discussion between Socrates and Euthyphro pertain to the nature of piety or holiness. They inquire whether something is pious because the gods love it, or do the gods love something because it is pious.
Euthyphro's dilemma is a philosophical question about the nature of morality and whether something is good because the gods command it, or whether the gods command it because it is good. This question was posed by Plato in his dialogue "Euthyphro" and continues to be a subject of debate in ethical theory.
Euthyphro was known to be one of Plato's dialogues (between Socrates and Euthyphro). Euthyphro was aparently a noted religious expert in the Classical Age of Greece. He and Socrates discussed the issue of piety - and what constituted piety - in this particular dialogue.
In the dialog "Euthyphro," Socrates is questioning Euthyphro about the nature of piety and impiety. He wants Euthyphro to define what piety is and to provide a clear explanation of the difference between pious and impious actions. Socrates is ultimately searching for a universal definition of piety that is not based on personal opinions or beliefs.
No. Euthypro discusses piety and holiness of 'GOD' and describes good with Socrates.
Five Dialogues The Last Days of Socrates The Trial and Death of Socrates: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Death Scene from Phaedo The Republic The Republic of Plato Protagoras etc.
Plato, the avid student of Socrates, described the condemnation of Socrates and the decline of Athens in these works:1. Euthyphro; 2. The Apology; 3.Crito; and 4. Phaedo.
Socrates finds Euthyphro's first attempt to define piety unsatisfactory because it only provides examples of pious actions rather than a general definition of what makes an action pious. Socrates seeks a universal and consistent definition that can apply to all situations involving piety, rather than just specific instances.
Socrates' aim is to sow confusion in the minds of the jurors about the validity of the charge of impiety which Euthyphro is prosecuting against him. In five definitions of impiety (offending the gods) which the discussions hang around, Socrates tries to get him tied up in knots and throw doubt on what the charge is about anyway. It is not a particularly clever approach - Socrates is using devious and dubious word plays to confuse Euthyphro. While this may have been well followed and received by the intelligent and well-educated young men to whom Socrates targeted to deliver his philosophical arguments, he was here trying to pass this off to 500 jurors who were selected randomly by lot from the common people - farmers, tradesmen and workers, who would have been bored stiff, and just waiting to get to the verdict. While this dialogue makes for an interesting display for anyone interested in how to twist and spin an argument, the unimpressed jurors condemned him to death.
1. They both use examples as their first "definition" In Euthyphro Socrates asks "What is Piety?" and Euthyphro responds with "It is doing as I am doing now; that is to say prosecuting anyone who is guilty of murder, sacrilege, or of any similar crime..." In On Free Choice of the Will by Augustine, the question What is Evil? is asked and the first "definitions" are examples of Adultery, and Killing for war. 2. They both follow the form of Euthyphro's Dilemma. In Euthyphro the dilemma is "Is something pious because god loves it, or does god love it because it is pious?" In On Free Choice of the Will the Dilemma is "Is something evil because it is against the law, or is it against the law because it is evil?"
Euthyphro was a character in one of Plato's Dialogues, by means of which Plato examines the meaning of what is good. Euthyphro demonstrates that he is not an atheist, by defining goodness in terms of what the gods would want. At this point, Plato has Socrates raise the Euthyphro Dilemma: 'Do the gods choose what is good because it is good, or is the good good because the gods choose it?' If the first option is true, this shows that good is good independent of the gods (or in modern terms, God) - good is good and that is why a good god will always choose it. If the second option is true, this makes the very idea of what is good arbitrary. If something is good simply because the gods choose it, then what is to stop the gods choosing torture, thus making it good?The problem with the second option in answer to the the Euthyphro Dilemma is that for God to choose torture, thus making it good, is absurd. But the reason it is absurd is that we believe torture is wrong and that is why God would never choose it. To recognise this is to recognise that we do not need God to determine right or wrong.Euthyphro had tried to attribute morality to the gods, but Socrates showed him that no such attribution is possible.
Socrates claimed to know that he knew nothing. He believed in the importance of questioning and seeking wisdom, leading to his famous statement, "I know that I know nothing." This philosophy is often represented in his method of teaching through dialogue and inquiry.
The Euthyphro dilemma. "Are morally good acts willed by God because they are morally good, or are they morally good because they are willed by God?"
Socrates lived in Athens, Greece, during the Classical period. He spent a significant amount of time engaging in discussions with fellow Athenians in public places like the marketplace and the gymnasium.