Because It Is Holy? Part 2

The Euthyphro records a dialogue between Plato's teacher, Socrates and another young philosopher named Euthyphro.  The conversation is about holiness..piety. Euthyphro is in the process of prosecuting his own father for murder. One of the family's slaves killed another slave. Euthyphro's father had the (still living) slave bound and thrown in a ditch while he awaited advice from a seer about what to do with him. In the meantime, the slave in the ditch died from neglect.  In Greek society, slaves were truly a dime a dozen.  Fathers were revered.  Still, Euthyphro was convinced the gods were displeased and felt it was his duty to prosecute his father.  He seems quite confident in his ability to make judgements and act accordingly...not to mention he knows the will and opinions of the gods.  Euthyphro is certain he knows what piety is and what it demands.

I've known people like him. They see only blacks and whites, never any shades of gray.  Everything is either right or wrong and there are clear cut, no-brainer boundaries separating the two.  They see no extenuating circumstances, no reasons, no excuses. They are judge and jury and they know instantly if anyone has stepped across the line. There is no mercy of the court. There is little compassion, only judgement. In my life, I have seen them show up as believers and non-believers.

So Euthyphro is sure he is doing the right thing. He tells Socrates that this kind of decision is

"only for a man already far advanced in point of wisdom"

Sounds like a know it all to me....

And perhaps to Socrates as well because he continues to question how Euthyphro knows with such surety what is holy...what is pious.  Euthyphro replies:

"If I did not have an accurate knowledge of all that, I should be good for nothing, and Euthyphro would be no different from the general run of men"

Hmmmm, pretty full of himself!  

And so the conversation about holiness goes round and round...how to define it, what it is exactly...a discussion that never really reaches a conclusion or an agreement.  Euthyphro seems sure he has all the answers but Socrates, in his search for an answer, keep tripping Euthyphro up with questions.  At one point Euthyphro declares,

"I simply don't know how to tell you what I think.  Somehow everything that we put forward keeps moving about us in a circle, and nothing will stay where we put it." 

Must be very disconcerting for a guy who knows everything to not be able to keep track of the conversation.  He is ready to quit talking  and tells Socrates that he has a million things to do (getting ready for the prosecution and all) and he must end the conversation then and there...and they can continue "another time"....but Socrates declares:

"As for me, I will never give up until I know."

According the book I mentioned in yesterday's post, there are some questions that come up in the course of this dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro; questions we need to ask ourselves. 

• What is the connection between God and goodness or holiness?
• Is God bound to some kind of moral code?
• If God commands torture (war/jihad/sacrifice) is it good? Is it wrong?
• If torture etc. is wrong regardless of whether God commands it, does goodness have an existence independent of God?
• Does the belief that God cannot violate a standard of goodness lessen his omnipotence?
• Does God limit himself because it is not his nature to command actions that are not "good"?

As the comedian Bill Chappelle declares:

Wow. ... That's a good question. ... Is `I don't know' an acceptable answer?”