Similarities Between Euthyphro And Socrates
Socrates and Euthyphro unexpectedly run into each other outside of the Athens courthouse. Euthyphro went to the courthouse to prosecute his father for killing one of his servants, who was a murderer. Socrates was summoned to court to be charged with disturbing the youth. After Euthyphro stated his business at the courthouse, Socrates assumes that he must be a religious expert if he is willing to prosecute his own father on such a serious charge. Euthyphro then agrees with Socrates that he does indeed know all there is to know about what is holy. Socrates asks Euthyphro to teach him what holiness is, in hope that it will help with his trial. After several attempts to define holiness, Socrates asks Euthyphro “whether the pious or holy is beloved
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To better clarify his question, Socrates makes an analogy; “a thing is not seen because it is visible, but conversely visible because it is seen” (15). Socrates later makes a distinction between being approved and getting approved; something is being approved because it gets approved, not the other way around. According to Euthyphro, something gets approved by the gods because it is holy and not the other way around; it is not holy because it gets approved by the gods. Furthermore, because it gets approved it is being approved, therefore it is something that is approved by the gods. Nonetheless, from this you can distinguish, that what is holy is something different from what is approved of by the gods. Something holy gets approved because it is holy, and something that is being approved by the gods is being approved of because it gets approved. If what is being approved of by the gods were the same thing as what is holy, and if what is holy gets approved because it is holy, then what is being approved of by the gods would get approved because it is being approved of, when in fact the opposite is true. On the other hand, if we accept that what is being approved of is being approved of because it gets approved, then the holy, too, would have to
To better clarify his question, Socrates makes an analogy; “a thing is not seen because it is visible, but conversely visible because it is seen” (15). Socrates later makes a distinction between being approved and getting approved; something is being approved because it gets approved, not the other way around. According to Euthyphro, something gets approved by the gods because it is holy and not the other way around; it is not holy because it gets approved by the gods. Furthermore, because it gets approved it is being approved, therefore it is something that is approved by the gods. Nonetheless, from this you can distinguish, that what is holy is something different from what is approved of by the gods. Something holy gets approved because it is holy, and something that is being approved by the gods is being approved of because it gets approved. If what is being approved of by the gods were the same thing as what is holy, and if what is holy gets approved because it is holy, then what is being approved of by the gods would get approved because it is being approved of, when in fact the opposite is true. On the other hand, if we accept that what is being approved of is being approved of because it gets approved, then the holy, too, would have to