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Which question about piety is explored in Plato’s Euthyphro?
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Plato
Plato, marble portrait bust copied from an original of the 4th century bce; in the Capitoline Museums, Rome.
In Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro, the central question explored is "What is piety?"12
Socrates engages the character Euthyphro in a search for a single, universal definition of piety that applies to all pious actions. Throughout the conversation, Euthyphro proposes several definitions, which Socrates tests using the Socratic method:1
- "What is dear to the gods": Socrates points out that the gods often disagree among themselves, meaning the same action could be loved by some and hated by others, rendering it both pious and impious.23
- "What all the gods love": This leads to the famous dilemma of whether an action is pious because it is loved by the gods, or if it is loved by the gods because it is pious.23
- "A form of service to the gods": Euthyphro struggles to specify what this service entails or how it benefits the divine.12
Ultimately, the dialogue concludes in aporia (a state of puzzlement), as Euthyphro fails to provide a satisfactory definition, illustrating the Socratic theme that true wisdom begins with the recognition of one's own ignorance.123