Euthyphro's Definition Of Holiness Analysis

Holiness, given by the dictionary definition, is “specially recognized as or declared sacred by religious use or authority.” This definition is not universal; it is susceptible to the subjectivity of individuals of various beliefs and backgrounds. In the story of Euthyphro, by Plato, Socrates bombards Euthyphro with a series of difficult questions that challenge Euthyphro's knowledge of the term “holiness.” Euthyphro claims to have “accurate knowledge of all such things” (Euthyphro, 5b); however, the nature of Socrates’s questions leaves Euthyphro’s arguments revolving in circles. The first general definition of holiness that Euthyphro provides is “what is dear to the gods is pious, and what is not is impious” (Euthyphro, 7a). This essentially …show more content…
Socrates disproves Euthyphro's statement, this time utilizing his ability to evaluate to point out flaws in Euthyphro’s deductive reasoning. Euthyphro’s second definition of holiness, “the pious is what all the gods love, and the opposite, what all the gods hate, is the impious” (Euthyphro, 9e), appears perfectly valid; however, once Socrates breaks this statement down into individual premises, the flaw becomes evident. Euthyphro creates this logical fallacy by combining two true premises, yet resulting in a false conclusion. For example, premise one could be the statement “tangerines are a citrus" and premise two could be the statement “oranges are a citrus." The false conclusion would be that “all tangerines are oranges." Premise one and two are true, yet the conclusion is false. The same logic applies to Euthyphro’s definition of holiness. The pious is loved because it is pious (premise 1) and the god-loved is god-loved because it is loved by the gods (premise 2). Both of these premises are true; however, you cannot combine them to state that the pious is what is god-loved, because the former is already loved, and the latter is in the act of being loved. Socrates strengthens his antithesis by stating that this is not a definition of piety, but simply a characteristic, which further exploits Euthyphro’s …show more content…
The most important part of these statements is not the argument of piety itself, but the characteristics that are displayed from both Socrates and Euthyphro. It is evident throughout Socrates work that he is an excellent critical thinker. Based on the definition of critical thinking, it is clearly observable that Socrates uses his “purposeful, reflective judgement” in order to gauge the validity of Euthyphro’s statements. He maintains heightened skepticism and desires for reasoning and evidence (Facione and Gittens, 2016, pg.2). Socrates utilizes good questioning and pokes holes into Euthyphro’s argument, creating a constant demand for support that Euthyphro lacks. Socrates does this because he wants to get others to think critically rather than superficially. Think back to the beginning of the story where Socrates is being prosecuted by Metelus for having different beliefs. The nation of Greece, at the time, failed to foster a critical thinking environment. In society, people either conformed to the beliefs everyone had or were labeled as heretics and outcasts. Socrates was a courageous man in his efforts to change the mindset of society, despite dying as a martyr. Euthyphro, on the other hand, is an individual that lacks critical thinking skills. He becomes so absorbed by his belief in the gods that when his ideologies are