Plato’s ”Euthyphro,” Part 3

The famous "Euthyphro dilemma" is taken from this dialogue: 'is something good, or "pious" because it is loved by god, or is it loved by god because it is "pious," or good?'

The dialogue, however, has many other fascinating aspects. It serves well as an introduction to the famous account of Socrates' trial (399 B. C.) in The Apology, which is arguably one of the most famous and important philosophical texts in the Western canon. It is one of the finest examples of Socratic (in opposition to Platonic) dialogue, the question-and-answer format that leads the reader and the participants to a more detailed understanding of the topic under consideration, even though it never answers the question.

There are two characters in this drama: 1) the famous Athenian philosopher, Socrates, who is on his way to his own trial on charges of A) impiety towards the gods, and B) corrupting the youth of Athens; and 2) Euthyphro, a priest of the Greek god Apollo, who is bringing a lawsuit against his father for murdering a worker on the family farm who'd killed a servant.

As a priest, Euthyphro claims to be an expert on "piety," and Socrates asks to be instructed on the topic, seeing that charge A against him - essentially the charge of atheism, or believing there are no divine beings - might require a knowledge of "piety" in his own defense. As usual in a Socratic dialogue, Socrates displays the inability of the "expert" to fully understand even his own discipline.

Along the way, we learn the Greek method of definition by genus and difference laid out later by Aristotle, as well as other fascinating things. We hope you enjoy this "blast from the past" here on Simple Gifts!

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