Euthyphro is prosecuting his father for murder. The case involves Euthyphro’s father leaving a field laborer who had killed a domestic servant in a ditch while awaiting guidance from religious authorities on what should be done with the laborer. During the wait, the laborer died of exposure, prompting Euthyphro’s charge.
Meanwhile, Socrates faces accusations of impiety. Curious about Euthyphro’s confidence in his own piety for prosecuting his father, Socrates seeks to learn the essence of piety and impiety from him.
Euthyphro initially claims that piety is exemplified by his own action: prosecuting his father for murder. Socrates finds this unsatisfactory, as citing examples does not reveal the underlying nature of piety. When pressed, Euthyphro defines piety as doing what pleases the gods and impiety as doing what displeases them. Socrates points out that the gods often disagree, so the same act could be considered pious by some gods and impious by others. For instance, Zeus might approve of Euthyphro’s prosecution because Zeus prosecuted his father, while Cronos, having been persecuted by his own sons, would not.
To resolve this, Socrates suggests that piety is what all the gods agree upon. With this new definition, the authority of piety shifts from the gods to their consensus, implying that piety exists independently of the gods. Once cornered into implicitly admitting that the gods don’t have authority over piety, Euthyphro is no longer interested in the exercise. He decides to leave, and Socrates fails to get to the essence of piety through Euthyphro.
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