PHIL 111 Lecture : Euthryphro.docx

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHIL 111
• Professor: Paul Fairfield

Document Summary

Knowledge of piety is knowledge of justice. Euthryphro is meant to be an expert, ergo, socrates asks to be his mentee. Socrates wants a certain type of knowledge: interested in universal definition of piety. Euthryphro provides his own definitions: piety is what i"m doing now. More as though providing a master a service. Having given socrates what he wants, socrates may now go out and determine which acts are pious. There must be an aspect of these acts that the gods love/hate: these aspects must also make them pious/not pious. Loved ones are how they are independent of you": you love certain aspects of their character. If we"re concerned about piety, we should not care about what the gods believe but what is implicitly pious. Socrates tests euthryphro"s definition without blatantly calling out its issues. If piety is arbitrary, then it must be something that isn"t worth caring about.