Plato’S Euthyphro. Questions About Morality Are At The

Plato’s Euthyphro Questions about morality are at the very center of heated debates and discussions surrounding the topic of religion. This theme, the potential interlinking between religion and morality, is explored by Plato in his work Euthyphro. The foundational question that Plato asks is how is something determined to be good or moral: through independent reasoning or by divine prescription. I believe that the only rational position to take on the issue is to conclude that morality must be separate from religion. This position, however, spawns many questions about what role religion does have in life. Ultimately, I believe that having an independent morality standard does change the way religion is used, but religion is still an†¦show more content†¦But Socrates is not interested in this specific case but more generally what is categorized as holy or unholy. Euthyphro finally gives Socrates an answer by saying â€Å"what is agreeable to the god is holy, and what is not agreeable to them is unholy.† This answer leads to an important point that Aristotle makes in his attempt to undermine Euthyphro’s argument. Socrates takes Euthyphro’s answer as to what is generally holy and unholy and tests the theory to a world of quarrelling gods to expose the inadequacy of morality based on religion. Socrates simply summarizes Euthyphro’s response as â€Å"A thing or person loved-by-the-gods is holy, whereas something or someone hated-by-the-gods is unholy.† But Socrates is curious about circumstances where the gods might disagree and by what means can a thing or person be both loved and hated by the gods leading to the establishment of a thing as both holy and unholy. This would by definition render the entire generalized argument of Euthyphro wrong. Socrates walks Euthyphro through the various reason why the gods have a good reason to disagree given their own nature and the nature of beings in general. This is an impor tant point for the times that Plato is living given a predominant focus on a polytheistic world, but I would argue it still has implications for monotheistic believers in the modern world. Modern day Christians have to contend with two other veryShow MoreRelatedThe Divine Command Theory : Capital Punishment And Abortion Essay1128 Words   |  5 Pagesconforms to God’s will. This premise ties together morality and religion in a manner that seems expected, since it provides a solution to arguments about moral relativism and the objectivity of ethics. On the other hand, in Plato’s Euthyphro, Socrates questions whether something is right because God commands it, or whether God commands it because it is right. The ethical implications of the Euthyphro problem suggest that the relationship between morality and religion might not be as straightforward asRead MoreThe Dilemma Of The Euthyphro Dilemma952 Words   |  4 PagesThe Euthyphro Dilemma gives the readers many good points to understand relativism about morality and connect with religion. Also, this is these dialogues between Euthyphro and Socrates, and it find out in the Plato’s dialogue. In the Euthyphro, Socrates asks whether a thing is pious (or good or right) because it is loved by the Gods (or, in its secular form, ‘loved by someone’), or is a thing loved by the Gods (or someone) because it is pious (or good) (Plato, 1981, 10a); it can be considered oneRead MorePlato s Laws And Xenophon s Hiero1365 Words   |  6 PagesPractically in all his discourses, Plato wrote about the works of Socrates that acted as the main persona in his confabs. In Plato’s laws and Xenophon’s Hiero, a further wise man other than Socrates acted as the leader of the discourse. While having protagonist confabs in Plato’s and Xenophon’s works, Socrates tries to interrogate understanding of the further man on the aspect of morality. Socrates presented himself as a les s knowledgeable person in the domain of moral issues to confuse the otherRead MoreEssay on Platos Euthyphro578 Words   |  3 PagesPlatos Euthyphro One of the most interesting and influential thinkers of all time was Socrates, whose dedication to careful reasoning helped form the basis for philosophy. Socrates applied logical tricks in the search for the truth. Consequently, his willingness to call everything into question and his determination to accept nothing less than an accurate account of the nature of things made him one of the first people to apply critical philosophy. AlthoughRead MoreThe Dilemma Of The Euthyphro Dilemma1739 Words   |  7 PagesThe Euthyphro Dilemma proposes the question of whether something is good because God desires it, or God desires those things because they are good. This in turn challenges the Theism which believes that God is both morally virtuous and antecedent to good. In this essay, I will first examine the dilemma and argue that it is ultimately weak; that the two options presented are not exhaustive like the dilemma assumes. Thus, Theists do not have to make a decision between these choices. This leads to theRead MorePlato s Euthyphro And Apology893 Words   |  4 PagesPhilosophers are known to question, analyze and evaluate everything but do not always end with concrete conclusions. Plato’s Euthyphro and Apology, to no surprise, highlight one of such debate: the human characteristics of wisdom. Though Plato was one of the earliest philosophers, the topic of wisdom is still debated by modern philosophers today, contemplating questions such as â€Å"What are the classifications of ‘wisdom’?† According to Plato’s two dialogues, the characteristics of wisdom have a strongRead MoreThe Euthyphro, By Socrates And Euthyphro1733 Words   |  7 PagesBackground: Plato’s paradigmatic dialogue, Euthyphro, may be considered the epitome of Socrates’ mastery of philosophy. In this dialogue, Socrates and Euthyphro converse on the porch of King Archon, who oversees religious laws. They both state why they are there and try to justify themselves to each other. While doing this, they circumvent about the matter of what piety exactly means. Euthyphro, having the reputation of being divine and pious, told Socrates that he is indeed an expert in theseRead MoreEssay on The Euthyphro Dilemma1554 Words   |  7 PagesThe Euthyphro Dilemma In Platos dialogue, Euthyphro, Socrates presents Euthyphro with a choice: `Is what is pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved [by the gods]? Euthyphro responds by asserting that piety is that which is approved [loved] or sanctioned by the gods; whence impiety is whatever is disapproved of by the gods. However, as Socrates points out, the question poses a dilemma for those who believe as Euthyphro does that Truth is revealedRead MorePlato And Plato s The Apology1623 Words   |  7 Pagesphilosophy, pre-Socratic philosophers were more interested in determining how the world worked and its origins/cosmology, as oppose to philosophers such as Plato And Socrates who focused more on ethics or morality. Plato’s conception of God and religion can be depicted in his literatures â€Å"Euthyphro† and â€Å"The Apology† which he expresses through his writings of Socrates in dialogue formation. While one may assume that both Plato and Socrates shared analogous notions of God and religion it is impossibleRead MoreThe Divine Command Theory And The Doctrine Dilemma Essay1448 Words   |  6 Pages– The Divine Command Theory is the idea that morality is ingrained in the nature and command of God, and the Euthyphro Dilemma is one of the most common arguments refuting the Divine Command Theory. The argument was inspired by Plato’s Euthyphro dialogue, which contains the question â€Å"Are morally good acts willed by god because they are morally good? Or are morally good acts, morally good because they are willed by god?† (Euthyphro, 10a). This question raises large problems for the Divine Command