Socrates Question Versus Euthyphro
The famous Socratic question: Is something holy because it is loved by the gods or is something loved by the gods because that something is holy?
This Socratic question not only had Euthyphro puzzled around 470 B.C.E., but many on end are puzzled ‘til this very day. How? Well, a dilemma arises. Which end will you take: the first or the latter? With flaws in both answers, Socrates forced Euthyphro to choose one of the two options.
Let us start with the answer Euthyphro chose: Something is loved by the gods because it is holy. It sounds alright at first until you look a little closer to the word “holy.” This choice not only makes holy independent from the gods, it also reveals that there is a standard of holiness God/the gods must react. So why is god and holiness being separate problematic? From a monotheistic point of view, God and holiness are supposed to be one. Holiness is defined as an
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Well, instead of Socrates allowing Euthyphro to be complacent with this alternate answer, he picked it apart as well. In doing so, he used a biblical example. In this parable, Abraham was instructed by God to kill his only son Isaac. Interpreting this literally and assuming that this really happened, many would ask why would God instruct a faithful servant to do such an unloving task, especially since God specifically says the most important commandment is to love one another? Somethings will always be wrong and unjustifiable: killing just so happens to be one of them. Therefore, this second option suggests anything commanded by God is holy, whether it be right or wrong in anyone else’s eyes. In response, many would suggest God would never command anything evil, but in the same breath we see God telling his people to start wars, kill, and many other things that seem unholy at the very