Euthyphro Definitions

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It’s important to understand the role the gods play in Euthyphro’s definitions of piety. According to the Athenian culture, wrongdoers did wrong deeds to both society and the gods. When they were prosecuted by society, it was also for the sake of the gods. It was ungodly to commit crimes. When Socrates proposed that Euthyphro explain what was pious in prosecuting his father, Euthyphro ultimately ended up feeding Socrates definitions that were only examples of what piety is.

In Euthyphro’s first definition he explains that piety is prosecuting the offender, and impiety is the omission of the offender’s crime. His definition suggests that piety is bringing the wrongdoer before a jury. Socrates rejects this as a definition because it merely illustrates what Euthyphro considers a pious act. It’s an example. “You only tell me that what you are doing now, namely, prosecuting your father for murder, is a pious act.” (6D). Socrates explains that he is looking for the natural universal definition that everyone can agree upon and not several instances/examples of pious acts.

Euthyphro’s second attempt to explain piety: “What is dear to the gods is pious, and what is not is impious.” (7A). According to Euthyphro, what is favorable to the gods is pious, and what is not favorable to the gods is impious. Socrates counters this by exposing the god’s well-known disagreements. Euthyphro has admitted that the gods love the pious and hate the impious in chorus with disagreeing between themselves. This permits them to love and hate what is pious, and simultaneously agree and disagree on the same things. The god’s lack of harmony doesn’t validate Euthyphro’s definition and only shows how he’s furnished another condition/quality of piety.

Euthyphro’s third definition is “piety is what all the gods love, and that impiety is what they all hate.” (9E). Euthyphro eliminated Socrates’ point of...