Euthyphro, Apology, Crito (C)

(Originally written December 21, 2006 in Book 7)

Those who lack a virtue cannot have knowledge of what that virtue is; i.e. a coward could never fully comprehend the virtue of courage.

Euthyphro, Apology, Crito
Plato
Translation F. J. Church
Bobby-Merrill Co., Inc. Indianapolis, 1956

Introduction
The Trial and Death of Socrates

Euthyphro

Characters:
Socrates
Euthyphro

Setting:
The Hall of the King

Socrates is being prosecuted for corrupting the youth by "inventing new gods and for not believing in the old ones" (Plato, 2).

Euthyphro is prosecuting his father for murer.

Euthyphro defines piety as prosecuting the wrong and impiety as not prosecuting the wrong.

Socrates doubts the truthfulness of the Zeus/Cronos religious stories. Euthyphro accepts them as true.

Socrates is not satisfied by Euthyphro's definitions and asked him to state a characteristic of piety and impiety.

Euthphro states that what is pleasing to the gods is pious, and what is not pleasing is impious. Piety is pleasing to the gods; pleasing actions and pleasing persons are pious. Impiety is displeasing to the gods; displeasing actions and displeasing persons are impious.

Socrates points out that since the gods war with each other then the same thing, action or person will be both pleasing and displeasing, both pious and impious. But this is a contradiction since piety and impiety are opposite.

Euthyphro further defines piety as what all gods love and impiety as what all gods hate.

Euthphro claims that the gods love things because they are pious, not that things are pious because the gods love them.

Socrates states that piety must be just and that piety is a part of justice, not the sum of it.

Socrates claims that there is always fear where there is reverence, but there is not always reverence when there is fear.

Euthyphro claims that righteousness and piety are that part of justice which deals with the careful attention that ought to be paid to the gods. He claims it is a service to the gods. Piety is being like a slave to the gods.

Socrates boils down Euthyphro's answer to 'what is piety' to the "science of prayer and sacrifice" (Plato, 18).

Socrates spins Euthyphro's answers into a circular argument. It is an eloquent argument, but does he really disprove Euthyphro's arguments or does he merely muddle and confuse?

The Apology

Characters:
Socrates
Meletus

Setting: The court of Justice

Socrates accuses his accusers of speaking falsehoods about him. He claims he is not a clever orator, but only speaks the truth.

The Oracle at Delphi proclaimed to Chaerephon that no one was wiser than Socrates.

Socrates was surprised at their declaration because he knew himself to be unwise. He set out to disprove the Oracle.

He went to a reported wise man and found that he was not wise. Socrates decided that while either had knowledge of anything of worth, Socrates' ability to accept that he had no knowledge made him a little wiser than the reported wise man.

Socrates repeated this task with another 'wise' man and found the same thing. Both were indignant when Socrates declared that they were not wise. Both of their followers became furious with Socrates.