Socrates and Piety essays

Socrates and Piety essays In Platos 5 dialogues Socrates questions Euthyphro during their meeting upon the steps of a courthouse. Socrates learns that Euthyphro is charging his father with the murder of a servant who himself was a murderer, and that Euthyphro believes he is serving the gods through piety. This leads to a conversation in which Socrates questions Euthyphro on the true nature of piety, he asks is something pious because all god-loves things are pious or are they simply pious, and in recognition of piety the gods love them. Euthyphro would argue that what is dear to the gods is pious, what is not is impious(Pg. 8-E) and such things are a part of subjectivism. The value of anything would thus arise from an agents (or gods in this case) belief or opinion about it. In such a belief nothing would have intrinsic value, there would be a dictated value of things. This theory preserves the absolute power of the gods. The latter possibility is one which Socrates is trying to argue too Euthypryo, that piety is recognized by the gods because of objectivism. He makes an analogy using objects and the act of carrying them, saying tell me whether the thing carried is a carried thing because it is being carried, or for some other reason (Pg. 12-B) meaning certain things have objective or intrinsic value and the gods in their infinite wisdom choose them for that reason. The agent does not make the thing have worth. In this ideology it is possible for the powerful to be mistaken, seems to place power over the gods and thus piety becomes a part of moral justice. From this perspective we start focusing on moral truths and morality of our actions, and self-responsibility becomes more important. When examining the question from a social, political, and theological perspective we start to notice how piety and justice play a role in our world, all depending on what side of the argument you agree with. For example, Euthyphros example...