Socrates Piety Analysis

Euthyphro is in the process of prosecuting his father for the murder of a man that killed another in a drunken state. While he waits he come across Socrates. Socrates goes on to ask what he was doing prosecuting his own father. The response that Euthyphro give is because it is the pious thing to do, although it against his own father. Socrates then asks Euthyphro to teach him “What is piety”? The discussion goes on, Socrates then asks “What is piety?” once again and he contradicts himself many times with many different answers including “what is dear to the gods”, “what all the gods love”, “the part of the just that is concerned with the care of the gods”, “a kinds of service to the gods” and finally “to beg from them and to give to them… a sort of trading skill between gods and men”. In the regards to Euthyphro last answer to the question of Socrates, “What is piety?” he responds “to beg from them and to give to them… a sort of trading skill between gods and men”. When explaining this Euthyphro is pointing out that it’s the knowledge of how to give to and beg from the gods. In order to give them what they need the people would have to know what they want. In this case the gods don’t really need anything

This proves that pious and impious cannot really be distinguished between each other. The example that is given in the reading is that Zeus eating his children is just or not. It would seem just to Zeus but maybe not to Aphrodite the fertility goddess. As Euthyphro explain that the gods determine what is pious and impious. The result of all gods being different and having different views there is no direct answer to “What is piety?”. The closest answer that cold have been formed from their discussion is that it could be a type of