Different Definitions of the Word Pious Depicted in...

Platos Socratic dialog Euthyphro is in many ways archetypal of the sort of philosophy that Socrates is thought to have been interested in. In it (as in most classic Socratic dialogs), Socrates seeks out a person who claims to have a certain sort of knowledge. He then proceeds to show that these experts do not possess this knowledge by getting them to contradict themselves. With this in mind, I will discuss the three definitions of the word pious that the character Euthyphro gives to Socrates, and Socrates problems with each of these definitions. The dialog begins with Socrates and Euthyphro meeting at the king-archons court; Socrates has been summoned with charges of corrupting the youth and impiety, and Euthyphro wishes to†¦show more content†¦(6D) If there are actions other than punishing wrongdoers that count as pious, then Euthyphros initial definition is consequently rendered invalid. A definition of a word ought describe all instances of that word, and Euthyphro has ju st admitted that there are actions outside of his definition which also count as pious. It might be that it is pious to prosecute wrongdoers, but this in not an exhaustive description of all pious actions. Socrates presses Euthyphro for another definition of piety, begging that he answer the question properly. Euthyphro replies, â€Å"...what is dear to the gods is pious, what is not is impious.† (7A) This is a much different definition than the first—it has a much greater scope. Euthyphro argues that the gods have some ability such that their love of something makes it pious. Similarly, the gods have some power such that what they disapprove of or simply do not like is consequently impious. This is precisely the sort of definition that Socrates is looking for; if it is true, then all Socrates must do is determine whether or not some action is loved by the gods to know whether or not it is pious. Yet Socrates is not satisfied with this definition. He notes that, at le ast in the historic Greek religious tradition, varying gods are at war with one another. If the gods are at war with one another, then they certainly must disagree with one