Holy Moly
HOLY MOLY 1
PHI 200
August 27, 2012
HOLY MOLY 2
In this paper I will attempt to explain how the concept of holiness emerges and define Euthryphro’s definitions of piety as he explains them to Socrates, along with Socrates’ responses, what I believe Socrates’ goal is in the dialogue and give you my own definition of piety with a Socratic response The story of “Euthyphro” was not one that was easy for me to understand. It took me a lot of reading and re-reading to grasp the concept of what I was to actually reading. It may be Greek, but it was all Chinese to me. It is a dialogue between Socrates, who is on trial for impiety. He is being accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and not believing in the Gods. He runs into his friend Euthyphro, who is prosecuting his father for impiety as well, only his father is on trial for murdering a slave that he didn’t actually murder. After reading into the first couple sentences I realized I don’t even know what “piety” “pious” and “impiety ” even mean, so I had to look them up.
Pious: A virtue that can mean religious devotion, spirituality or a combination of both.( what all the Gods love) Piety: reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations. Impious: lacking due respect or dutifulness.(what all the Gods hate) And still, I am not sure I get it. The concept of holiness emerges in the conversation because Euthypro thinks that prosecuting his father is the pious thing to do. Socrates is appauled that Euthyphro is prosecuting his own father and insists that he teach him about piety and impiety, since that IS what he is on trial for and who better to learn from than Euthyphro, who knows more than Socrates, who claims to
PHI 200
August 27, 2012
HOLY MOLY 2
In this paper I will attempt to explain how the concept of holiness emerges and define Euthryphro’s definitions of piety as he explains them to Socrates, along with Socrates’ responses, what I believe Socrates’ goal is in the dialogue and give you my own definition of piety with a Socratic response The story of “Euthyphro” was not one that was easy for me to understand. It took me a lot of reading and re-reading to grasp the concept of what I was to actually reading. It may be Greek, but it was all Chinese to me. It is a dialogue between Socrates, who is on trial for impiety. He is being accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and not believing in the Gods. He runs into his friend Euthyphro, who is prosecuting his father for impiety as well, only his father is on trial for murdering a slave that he didn’t actually murder. After reading into the first couple sentences I realized I don’t even know what “piety” “pious” and “impiety ” even mean, so I had to look them up.
Pious: A virtue that can mean religious devotion, spirituality or a combination of both.( what all the Gods love) Piety: reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations. Impious: lacking due respect or dutifulness.(what all the Gods hate) And still, I am not sure I get it. The concept of holiness emerges in the conversation because Euthypro thinks that prosecuting his father is the pious thing to do. Socrates is appauled that Euthyphro is prosecuting his own father and insists that he teach him about piety and impiety, since that IS what he is on trial for and who better to learn from than Euthyphro, who knows more than Socrates, who claims to
References: Plato, & Jowett, B. (n.d.). Euthyphro. Project Gutenberg. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1642http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=1446427&pageno=6 http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/euthyfro.html