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Taking Action In Plato's Euthyphro Dilemma

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Imagine that you and a friend are exploring the moonlit streets of downtown Seattle on foot. As both of you approach the crosswalk, you happen to notice a car speeding down the hill that precedes the crosswalk, but your friend, being from elsewhere and engrossed in awe, fails to notice the speeding car and continues to the crosswalk with no sign of planning to stop from both your friend and the speeding car. For the sake of ease let’s assume that only two actions can be taken. The first one being that you shove your friend out of the way and you get hit by the speeding car and suffer injuries that diminish the quality of your life. The second option is that you, instead of sacrificing your well-being, allow the car to hit your friend which will result in their death. This scenario, with both decisions resulting in unwanted consequences, illustrates what a dilemma is and will help in understanding the specific dilemma I plan to discuss for the remainder of this essay. The Euthyphro dilemma has plagued the minds of great thinkers since the time of antiquity. This dilemma finds its origins in Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro which features Socrates and Euthyphro, his son as well as an ancient religious prophet of Athens, engaging in discourse that touches on the relationship between the gods and piety. Socrates, while engaging in civil discourse with the prophet, presses him four different times in order to bring forth a …show more content…

In his article Religion and The Queerness of Morality, he explores the idea that morality, in a Russellian world, is considered to be an absurdity. However, in tying morality back to Christianity, concludes that morality that is tied to God is not the deepest thing and is merely “provisional and transitory” (Mavrodes, 226). Transitory to what? I do not believe to be capable of possessing such an answer to

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Socrates’ position towards the authorities was inconsistent in The Euthyphro and The Crito. He questioned the authority in The Euthyphro but defended and obeyed it in The Crito. In The Euthyphro, Socrates had a dialog with Euthyphro who claimed to be an expert on the subjects such as holiness, Gods, piety, justice, etc. Socrates began his philosophical debate by asking Euthyphro to define piety and impiety.

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How can my fellow community members in Hadamar do nothing, while you murder my son and others with mental illnesses? As this question continues to plague my mind, I cannot fathom how you justify these actions. My son, Jonathan, is not “genetically defective” as you say, my son is not a “financial burden,” and my son is certainly not “inferior” to any of the other Germans. My son is a true gift from God, not some barbarian whose only use is to be gassed.

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Throughout the last five weeks, I have read three of Plato’s dialogues: the cave allegory, Euthyphro, and the Apology. While reading them, I was able to see Plato’s view of a philosophical life. To live philosophically is to question appearances and look at an issue/object from a new perspective. In this essay, I will explain Plato’s cave allegory, Socrates’ discussion with Euthyphro, and the oracle story in the Apology.

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In this paper I will argue that Socrates’s argument at 50a-b of the Crito would be not harming his fellow citizens by breaking the laws. Based on the readings from Plato’s The Five Dialogues, I will go over the reasoning of Socrates’ view on the good life. I will then discuss the three arguments Crito has for Socrates regarding his evasion of the death sentence including the selfish, the practicality, and the moral arguments. I will deliberate an objection to the argument and reply to the objections made in the paper and conclude with final thoughts. Socrates argues in the Crito that he should not escape or disobey the law because it is unethical.

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Euthyphro’s Dilemma is when Socrates asks Euthyphro, “Does God love goodness because it is good, or is it good because God loves it?” Euthyphro’s Dilemma is that God determines what is good and evil, right and wrong. This dilemma challenges the Divine Command theory because according to Euthyphro’s Dilemma we would be obligated to do something wrong because God commanded it. This conflicts with the Divine Command theory because it would imply that cruelty could be morally right if God told us to do so. The idea that cruelty can be morally right goes up against the belief in the Divine Command Theory because it proposes that an action's status that is morally good is equivalent to whether it is commanded by God

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Marcus Schimmelfennig – Euthyphro Essay – Philosophy 150 The argument Euthyphro and Socrates go about talking about is a murder case Euthyphro is about to be a part of. Euthyphro is prosecuting a man who is being prosecuted for murdering a murderer. It begins as such, the man murdered was caught in a murder and the second murderer tied him up and threw him in a ditch, but forgot about him so the first murderer died of hunger and the cold weather. The second murderer was Euthyphro’s very own father so, with this in mind, he is having trouble determining if he should prosecute his father to be guilty or not guilty for the action he committed was indefinitely an illegal act, but, I this time period of the case, the murderer would have been facing a death sentence in the end anyways if he would have been caught by an authority.

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The discourse between Socrates and Euthyphro clearly depicts a dilemma when it comes to the question on holiness, moral goodness and the will of God. While Euthyphro is of the opinion that what is dear to the gods is holy, and what is not dear to them is unholy, (Indiana University 6) Socrates seems to be of a different opinion. This discourse occurs at a time when there is a belief in many gods in Greece, each god having different duties. The gods are also known to disagree on a number of issues. Socrates, in trying to counter Euthyphro’s idea he opines that since the gods disagree, they must have different concepts of what is ethical and what is not.

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Socrates believes that justice benefits the just, but also benefits the city (other people) too. He is faced with a seemingly simple choice, escape Athens or remain in prison and be sentenced to death. Socrates’ central argument against escaping his circumstances is twofold. First, Socrates argues that “one must never do wrong.” (49b)

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This YouTube video presents with a terrifying moral dilemma. Scenario one introduced the trolley problem as if I was a rail yard worker in control of a lever that can switch the track. When suddenly comes, a runaway trolley barreling down the track heading towards five people who are completely unaware of the runaway trolley. If this trolley continues this track all five people would be killed. I have the option of pulling the lever allowing the trolley to switch tracks and save of five people from their impending doom.

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After the extreme conflict, the folks gather at the Finches '. Scout describes the proceedings of the night to everyone. She is confused to explain how Jem is saved. She assesses the unidentified man in the corner. She reveals the striking fact that the man is Boo Radley.

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In literature, the theme of duty and sacrifice is a common element explored in various ways and genres. It is a theme that raises ethical questions about the morality of one's actions and often emphasizes the idea that sacrifices should not be made lightly. Duty must be balanced with morality; blindly following tradition or authority can lead to tragedy. Through a close examination of various literary works, such as "Antigone," "The Lottery," "Dulce et Decorum Est," and "The Things They Carried," this essay will explore the different ways in which the theme of duty and sacrifice is portrayed and how it highlights the importance of considering the morality of our actions. In "Antigone" by Sophocles, the conflict between Antigone and Creon raises questions about the morality of following duty versus following personal beliefs.

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“May it be for the best. If it so please the gods, so be it.” (Cooper 44). Socrates states that if it pleases the gods then thats whats supposed to happen. Socrates has his morals that he grew up with and so does everyone else.

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What comes first A question ponders in my mind, do religious duties come before civic duties, or is it the other way around? The story called Antigone greatly helps us with proof on the matter. How the characters in Antigone feel, how Sophocles feels, and how the public should feel about this matter are what we are going to talk about in this essay. Let's begin discussing the different points of views on now this topic should be perceived.

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Socrates’s official new charge “asserts that Socrates does injustice by corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel” (24b, p. 73). By looking deeper into the dialogue of The Apology and Euthyphro, one can see how passionately Socrates strives to express to the Athenian people his innocence in teaching the youth and worshiping of the gods. Socrates maintains his innocence in teaching the youth for three reasons. Primarily, there is no proof or evidence from past examples in which Socrates has taught the youth because no one has come out and said so. Socrates brings up a valid point that his so-called ‘teachings’ haven’t changed over time and therefore if he is accused

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