Analysis of Euthyphro
Nikon121
PHI 200
Bob Harris
October 15, 2012

Analysis of Euthyphro Socrates was put to death in Athens for subverting the youth of the city. He was indicted by Meletus and awaiting his trail on the porch of the King of Archon when he met Euthyphro. It was at this point he engaged in a debate about piety. In this paper, I will examine that debate and present my own conclusion about its purpose as well as my own definition of piety.
Holiness, or piousness, is the center of the conversation between Socrates and Euthyphro. Both of the men met on the porch of the King to deal with a legal matter; Socrates the defendant and Euthyphro the plaintiff. Socrates was being charged with
This definition falls short in that it does not clearly show the benefit gained by the gods in this perceived business deal. It only seems to suggest that they find the act pleasing, which seems to lead back to the third definition. This definition commits a common fallacy termed Begging the Question. It defines pious as being pious because it is pious, which is not much of an answer. Socrates goal in this conversation is to understand piety, so that he can defend himself in his hearing. However, I believe that this piece has a deeper goal that belonged to Plato. It seemed that he wished to expose piety for the sham that it is to shame those that executed Socrates. I believe this because before Socrates was executed he asked that a goat be sacrificed to the god of medicine. I believe this showed that he believed in an afterlife, which indicates belief in the gods. I believe that this dialogue did not actually happen and was simply written by Plato after the death of his teacher. I think this is shown through the nature of the character of Euthyphro. He was a self-proclaimed expert on piety, as most piety experts are, and he failed to have an intelligent response to any question posed by Socrates. After failing miserably to give a satisfactory answer, he ran off. I believe this demonstrates that Plato was using this piece to put piety itself on trial. I am not a very stout