Socrates and Euthyphro had a pretty educating dialogue during very ancient times. The main theme of the dialog was the investigation of the issue of goodness, and how to understand gods views on it. Euthyphro was concerned about the issue that he had to judge his own father for a murder that he committed. Socrates and Euthyphro try to figure out what is actually good and what is not. This theme goes along their whole conversation. Socrates asked his companion to identify the notion of piety and impiety. They are trying to figure out the answer to the core question of their conversation, which is: Whether the goodness is good because it is loved by gods or the goodness is loved by gods because it is good.
It seems to me that Euthyphro is trying to answer this question for quite a several times, but Socrates always gives him new notions, which are being admitted by Euthyphro, and the question becomes open again. I would say that the correct answer to this somewhat rhetorical question is that gods love the goodness, because it is good. This is purely my opinion and I think it was pretty well supported at the conclusion of Platos Euthyphro. For thousands of years many philosophers and theologians have tied moral principles to the existence of God. There is some rationale for this approach. Moral principles seem to be absolute and eternal, and to gain this status they must rest on the nature of God, which is also absolute and eternal. Also, moral behaviour is required of everyone, and one way of reinforcing the importance of moral behaviour is to note that God mandates moral principles.
The Essay on Moral Living Synoptic Question
In this essay it is my intention to examine the theme of moral living within the Old Testament and the Celtic Church. Morality refers to ethical issues. It is the quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct. It is a system of ideas of right and wrong conduct. There are two interlinked themes of religious morality and social morality under moral living. The foundation of ...
One of the famous passages from the dialog that we are discussing exposes a dilemma with linking morality with God. We know this issue as the Euthyphro dilemma. The two people, the Socrates, who is a wise old man, and Euthyphro, who is a representative of a younger generation, meet together along a desert road. They have a pretty long conversation in which they try to figure out one of the most important moral issues in the communication between man and God. After they engage in their dispute, Socrates raises the core question that they need to answer together using their informational research: We shall know better, my good friend, in a little while. The point which I should first wish to understand is whether the pious or holy is beloved by the gods because it is holy; or holy because it is beloved of the gods.
The two options in question are whether (1) God endorses a previously existing standard of morality that is external to him, or (2) God independently creates the standards of morality. The two options appear to be mutually exclusive, and, in the dialog, Socrates tries to explain this point to Euthyphro. Euthyphro did not understand the meaning of the question at the first glance. Euthyphro later on realized the meaning, which Socrates input in his words. He said that goodness or piety in the case is loved because it is holy, not that it is holy, because it is loved. Socrates states that every human being initially has a moral standard of what is good inside his mind, but as the time passes many people loose the idea of this notion and start behaving according to their new understanding of what is good, which is not always loved by gods, because they disagree with such acts of moral discharge.
This happens pretty often, and therefore our initial question has so many doubts upon the issue of what is the actual correct interpretation of the notion of goodness. Socrates asks his question the third time, and Euthyphro has a hard time to express what he wants to say. It is a very complicated situation. Then Socrates introduces his notion of some kind of form of the goodness. According to my opinion, in our case the real form of goodness is clearly expressed in justice itself. And it is pretty clear expressed in the notion of attention, raised by Socrates. In like manner holiness or piety is the art of attending to the gods, he asserts.
The Essay on Science Religion God Good
Using Science to Understand GodIn this day, there continues to be a great deal of hostility promoted from the pulpits, the media, and visible scientists around the world in the area of science and religion. Some preachers suggest to their congregations that science is evil and opposed to morality and belief in God. Some visible scientists suggest that religion is an out-of-date mythological belief ...
He also states that piety and goodness is an art of men and gods doing business together. The dilemma Euthyphro faced is this: Is a thing good simply because the gods say it is? Or do the gods say a thing is good because of some other quality it has? If so, what is that quality that is meant by the author? The problem stumped Euthyphro. Again I state that the true answer to this question is the fact that the goodness is loved by gods, because it is good. When people decide upon their actions to take they have a plenitude of different choices. Obviously it is up to their sole decision which action to take and whether or not it will be judged as a good one. God on his side has a definite vision of what a particular person does, and finally evaluates that action. It is undoubted that Gods moral standards are the aim for all the righteous people, and pretty much all of the humans initially know these standards.
It is just up to them whether or not to implement them on their activities. Platos challenge forces us to consider an important detail in any discussion on the nature of morality: grounding. The task of Euthyphro was to identify the logical grounding of piety or virtue. What base does morality stand on? The Law is only as legitimate as the authority upon which it rests. Certain truths are transcendent, they argued, grounded not in human institutions but in God Himself. The problem of grounding morality is a difficult one for atheists who claim one can have ethics without God. Certainly, an atheist can act in a manner some people consider moral, but its hard to know what the term ultimately refers to.
It generally means to comply with an objective standard of good, a Law given by legitimate authority. However, without a transcendent Lawmaker (God), there can be no transcendent Law, and no corresponding obligation to be good. Here we may investigate some solutions for the improving the understanding of the moral issue. The general strategy used to defeat a dilemma is to show that its a false one. We can state that there are not two options, but three. The Christian rejects the first option, that morality is an arbitrary function of Gods power. And he rejects the second option, that God is responsible to a higher law.
The Essay on Evil From Morals God Good Moral
Evil From Morals By textbook definition, evil is 'What is morally wrong, what hinders the realization of good' (Webster). If that is evil, then what is good? It's 'what is morally excellent, virtuous, well behaved, dutiful.' (Webster) Philosophers have argued over what evil is and why it exists for thousands of years. They have raised questions like 'How can there be a God if there is evil?' These ...
There is no Law over God. The third option is that an objective standard exists (this avoids the first horn of the dilemma).
However, the standard is not external to God, but internal. Morality is grounded in the immutable character of God, who is perfectly good. His commands are not whims, but rooted in His holiness. Could God simply decree that torturing babies was moral? No, the Christian answers, God would never do that. Its not a matter of command. Its a matter of character.
So the Christian answer avoids the dilemma entirely. In other words, whatever a good God command will always be good. Platos famous dilemma concerning the nature of goodness is still being raised today as a serious challenge to Christianity. Is an act right because God says its so, or does God say its so because it is right? Platos dialog Euthyphro was the first writing that raised such question. Later on other philosophers started to investigate the assertion. Our deed is to take the conclusions of all the moral disputes and to use them in a best of our abilities in order to have done good more often, than no good. And this conversation has great number of points that may be investigated and clearly looked upon..
