Running head: SOCRATES

Euthyphro Plato Deborah Gschwend PHI208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning Instructor: Lyra Bookbinder September 16, 2013

SOCRATES This story starts off with Socrates and Euthyphro meet each other on the porch of the King Archon. Euthyphro is curious as to why Socrates is there and asks if he is prosecuting someone, Socrates answers of course not. He informs him that it is he who is being impeached, the word in which the Athenians used. Socrates goes on to tell him that Meletus, the deme of Pitthis has brought him up on very serious charges. That Socrates is responsible for corrupting

the youth. He goes onto say that he, Meletus brings a wonderful accusation against me, which at first hearing excites surprise: he say that I am a poet or maker of gods, and that I invent new gods and deny the existence of old ones; this is the ground of his indictment(Plato). Socrates was known to engage in discussions about courage, love, piety, friendship, education and other topics (Mosser, 2010). Socrates then inquires as to why Euthyphro was at the kings, he replied that he was the pursuer. Euthyphro proceeds to tell Socrates that he has brought murder charges against his father. Socrates is very shocked, good heavens, Euthyphro! And is your knowledge of religion and of things pious and impious so very exact, that, supposing the circumstances to be as you state them, you are not afraid lest you too may be doing an impious thing in bringing an action against your father(Plato)? At this point Socrates excitedly exclaims that he will become a disciple of Euthyphro. Since he has had a great interest in religious questions, and since he is being charged with rash imaginations and innovations in religion, he will tell them he is the disciple of Euthyphro. Euthyphro, who is acknowledged to be a great theologian, and sound in his opinions and if Meletus approves of Euthyphro he would have to approve of Socrates as well. Both men have come to the kings for different reason but have the common thread being religion. Socrates goes onto ask Euthyphro to tell him the nature of piety and impiety, which you said you knew so well, and of murder, and of other offenses against the gods. Euthyphro tells

SOCRATES

Socrates that piety, then is that which is dear to the gods, and impiety is that which is not dear to them. Euthyphro goes onto tell Socrates that piety is doing as I am doing; that is to say, prosecuting anyone who is guilty of murder, sacrilege, or of any similar crime (Plato). It also does not matter if they are your mother, father, or whoever, and not to prosecute them is impiety. Euthyphro goes onto state that even the great god Zeus bound his father, as his father had done before him for similar reasons. Yet when he proceeded to take action against his father, people were angry with him. Socrates asks Euthyphro if the gods have differences of opinion, about such things as good and evil, just and unjust, honorable and dishonorable; there would have been no quarrels among them, if there had been no such differences. Another area that Socrates wanted clarifications was how to show all the gods would agree to the act in which Euthyphro had brought charges against his father. Socrates would argue all of these acts did not offer an explanation of what piety was or what impiety would be.