Euthyphro Pious Analysis

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In Euthyphro, Socrates and Euthyphro contemplate what it means to be pious. Socrates and Euthyphro discuss what makes an action pious or impious. This is the root of their discussion, but the most important concept that they strive to define is piety. This definition is important to analyze because, specifically within religious beliefs, it weighs heavily on the conscious of men and is the basis on which the gods may punish you for wrongdoing. Unfortunately, the end result is not a clear definition which the reader had hoped for. Socrates has an easier time understanding the end goal, to get Euthyphro to define piety in a more general way. He has an idea of what a definition means and he coaxes Euthyphro to reach the same conclusions. Euthyphro …show more content…
Euthyphro first claim is an incomplete form of definition. Socrates then replies, "You see my friend, you didn't teach me adequately earlier when I asked what pious was, but you told me that what you're doing is pious, prosecuting you father for murder" (Cohen, Curd, and Reve 103). A definition by definition has to applicable to many situations, making the definition universal. In the text it is clear that Euthyphro gives more examples than he does definitions. For instance, I wouldn’t say that a fish is a sunfish. This definition would be inaccurate because not all fish are sunfish. A true definition contains a characteristic that makes something a thing, a standard basis of comparison. Socrates inquires, "Then teach me what the characteristic itself is, in order that by concentrating on it and using it as a model" (Cohen, Curd, and Reve 103). Euthyphro replies to Socrates, "In that case: what's loved by the god is pious and what's not loved by the gods is impious" (Cohen, Curd, and Reve 103). This is contradicting to what Euthyphro said in the beginning of the text. He admitted that the gods often quarrel about various subjects. Socrates then points out that Euthyphro said this because he wants Euthyphro to understand that there may not be anything that all of the gods love without question. Socrates adds, "And haven't we also said that the gods quarrel, and differ with one another, and that's mutual hostility among them" (Cohen, Curd, and Reve 103). If the gods don’t always agree, why define piety as what they love? The debate on what is right and what is wrong is not a religious concept but a moral one. If most of the gods believed that murder was impious, there are still some who would argue that it is not. The decision of what is right and wrong can be easily swayed by one's own opinions or values. Unfortunately, this causes value conflicts. Euthyphro wants to accept his own definition without further
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