How Plato’s “Euthyphro” illustrates the toxic relationship between pride and ignorance.
I would first like to start this essay off with a parable that was told to me during a fundamentals of communication class a few years ago during my sophomore year here at university. I believe the main philosophical message found in this parable really highlights that of what Socrates was anticipating Euthyphro would eventually realize in their dialogue about the true definition of piety.
The story goes as followed one day a very knowledgeable college professor who specialized in buddhism had a guest speaker over to visit and to lecture to the class. The guest speaker happens to be a buddhist monk.
As the monk was trying to give his lecture on buddhism to the class the professor was repeatedly interjecting and boasting about his seeming infinite and certain
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As you would expect the professor angergly questioned the monk on his reasoning for doing something like this. The monk calmly responds to the professor’s question by stating that just like the cup of tea the professors mind and ideas on buddhism were already “full” and made up. The monk then stated that if the professor did not change his current state of mind it would be impossible for any type of new knowledge to reach him and thus he would never really be able to reach the truth.
The full and over pouring cup of tea is such a great and vivid illustration of the strongly held beliefs or as Socrates would call them “opinions” Euthyphro held deep inside his convictions and definitions of piety. Just like the professor in the parable Euthyphro was an expert when it came to his subject so how dare anyone question his reasoning? How dare any one question him for prosecuting his own father? After in his mind they were all the layman the misguided ones and he was the