Essays on Impiety

The topic of Piety has been best discussed and covered by Plato in the dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro. The two speakers engage in a verbal discussion on the applicability as well as the meaning of the word Piety. This essay will start out with a brief overview of the dialogue and will proceed to critically examine the concepts discussed between Euthyphro and Socrates. Lastly, the essay would also briefly discuss Plato’s view from my own viewpoint, while also examining my own notions of Piety.

Overview

The story starts out as a dialogue between Plato and Euthyphro. While Plato ...

The Divine Command theory also known as Theological Voluntarism is a theory that holds the view that morality is dependent on the commands of God and that moral obligations mean obedience to God’s Word (Divine Command). In other words, for an action to be considered morally right, it must be in line with the commands of God or the character of God. The viewpoint of these commands is not static and as such is different from one religion to another. Philosophers hold different opinions on this theory; as a result, it has been defended by some and opposed ...

The Apology chronicles a speech given by Socrates in response to charges brought against him in Athens Greece. Socrates was brought to trial around 399 BC for a myriad of charges. This hearing was recorded by his student Plato and is believed to be the most accurate, even though Xenophon's Memorabilia gives an account of the proceedings. The modern day connotation of the word apology, derived from the Greek word apologia is defined as “a regretful acknowledgement of an offence or failure” (Oxford Dictionaries). Where this definition is concerned, and with careful analysis, one cannot refer to this hearing ...

Determining What is Good

A day before his execution, Socrates is visited in prison by his friend Crito to try and convince him to escape. Crito tells Socrates that if he is executed people will think that Crito could have helped Socrates if he was willing to give money but he did not care. Crito says that people will think he values money more than a friend’s life since no one will believe he tried to convince Socrates to escape, and he refused. Socrates tells Critos that the opinions of many people do not matter. Socrates says that the only the only ...

Philosophy – it is an extremely generalized theoretical vision of the world that has been studying by great philosophers during a number of centuries. These philosophers have set different goals while they research the world and its public order, and while they try to establish their own philosophical worldviews and system of values. The way in which great philosophers understand reality differs from the religious and scientific way of accepting the world. In contrast to religion, philosophy differs due to its rationality, and presence of scientific ideas. At the same time, it also differs from the scientific way of understanding ...

The concept of holiness in the dialogue between Euthyphro and Socrates emerges when Socrates insists that Euthyphro ought to have been perfectly informed of what is pious and what is impious prior to filing a murder charge against his own father. Socrates presence at the porch of the King Archon had been occasioned by a case of impiety brought against him by Meletus. The concept of holiness takes a prominent position in the discussion between Socrates and Euthyphro because Socrates wanted to learn of what is pious and what is impious so that he could defend himself in case. Euthyphro was considered ...

The concept of piety in the conversation

The concept of holiness emerges in the conversation between Socrates and Euthyphro at the point where Euthyphro argues that he is prosecuting his father because failure to do so could upshot in impiety (Le Poidevin, 2011). Impiety here refers to a state of being holy and devoid of wrong. The philosopher Euthyphro finds a basis of his decision to prosecute his own father in the thinking of the gods. According to Euthyphro, it would be wrong to prosecute a stranger who committed the same crime as his father if he would not prosecute his relations. It is in this position that he ...

Introduction

In ancient times, intellectuals and philosophers such as Plato, Socrates, Euthyphro and Aristotle among many others engaged in intense Philosophical debates about morality, science, sociology among many other issues. The debate between Euthyphro and Socrates on piety or holiness stands out as a classic philosophical argument. While Euthyphro offers different definitions on what he thought piety and impiety were, Socrates refutes them on his own grounds because he wanted to learn how to defend himself and justify acts of impiety filed against him by Meletus (Navia, 2007). The Concept of piety or holiness takes a prominent position in the dialogue ...

It was personal resentment towards Socrates that brought him apologizing to the Athenian judicial system, than anything else. Socrates was charged for being a sophist for his way to present the weaker arguments as the strongest, and physicalist because he investigated things that lie in the skies and beneath the earth. However, Socrates responds with masterly eloquence. He says that that the most dangerous Athenian citizens are those who manipulate young minds and fill them with falsehoods about “one Socrates, a wise man, who speculated about the heaven above, and searched into the earth beneath, and made the worse appear the ...

Socrates was one of the greatest Greek philosophers, who became embodiment of the ideal sage for the next generation, was sentenced to death by the Athenian authorities after a public trial. It all started with the fact that Melita, the Athenian poet, claimed that Socrates allegedly violated the law, trying to explore what's under the ground, and what is in the heavens, giving a lie for the truth, and teaching others the same. Socrates was accused of violating the piety, denying the gods recognized by the Athenians, and the introduction of new. These accusations were stated publicly. The hidden motives of ...

ABSTRACT

Euthyphro is not really able to answer any of the questions Socrates asks about piety and holiness, since he is looking for a universal answer about the meaning of these terms. Socrates probably does not believe in the traditional gods of Athens but rather in a monotheistic God with a universal concept of truth, justice and morality. Indeed, he is about to go on trial for impiety and instructing the youth of Athens to question the existence of the gods, and will be sentenced to death. In comparison, Euthyphro has very rigid and limited ideas about holiness, which generally involve obeying laws, ...

Q1. The main goal of Socrates Apology was to defend Socrates from attacks leveled against him on the basis of the principles he professes. Getting acquitted is not of concern to him but the need to let the truth out is. He explains his reason for following his philosophical path. In the speech Socrates hints that knowledge might have been the possible explanation of why he was being convicted by earlier accusers such as Meletus before the trial”I will try to show you what has caused this reputation and slanderis none other than a certain kind of wisdom. What ...

Euthyphro is a Plato’s dialogue dating back to 399BC leading to the court-martial of Socrates. The dialogue features Socrates, a religious leader and Plato. The dialogue takes place near King-archon’s court whereby the two gentlemen meet each other for a court hearing. Euthyphro had come to lay murder charges to his father who had let one of their workers die due to lack of proper care and attention. Socrates is astonished by this act and concludes that Euthyphro did not understand the meaning of pious and impious. The dialogue is then extended when Socrates asks Euthyphro to define piety. ...

ABSTRACT

Despite repeated requests in the dialogue, Euthyphro is not able to instruct Socrates on any subject, of course, but he does have certain ideas about the gods, piety and impiety that are rather limited and narrow compared to those of the philosopher. First and foremost, he understands piety, justice and morality to be legalistic, and a question of obeying certain rules while punishing criminals and evildoers. Indeed, he is so certain of his understanding of these questions that he is even willing to prosecute his father for murder. He then goes on to define piety as actions that are dear ...

In the Euthyphro, Socrates and Euthyphro have a discussion in which they seek to define the concept of holiness. Socrates ran into Euthyphro at the king’s court and leans that Euthyphro is accusing his father of murder. His father was indirectly responsible for the death of a servant who had killed another person. He took the servant, bound him and threw him in a ditch while they waited for advice on what they should do to him. By the time the messenger returned, the man was already dead. For this, Euthyphro was going to prosecute his own father of the murder ...

All week on CSPAN Socrates was giving his excuses for why he is innocent. And he has a lot of them. He thinks he can talk us into forgetting why he is on trial because he just goes on and on and on. First of all he blames everybody else, but we don’t know who his enemies are because . . . they are all shadows. Don’t forget ladies and gentlemen, he is on trial for impiety. Impiety means he is a non-believer in God. Well, first he says he doesn’t believe in God, and then he says he does believe ...