To be able survive the pass of the times and even contribute to society thought the memories of other, Socrates –and any other that may accomplish this, I should say- have to be an outstanding human being. And according to Plato’s accounting of the happening, this innocent man was offer the chance to survive his unfair conviction escaping from prison, and keep giving his doctrine to the others, but refuse to do so. Which brings us to the logical questioning: why not? Why innocent men positively choose to honor an unfair trail and to die in consequence? Why to accept to leave his live in such of unnatural way?
Meanwhile messengers had been sent to Athens to inquire of the interpreters of religious concerning what should be done with the man. By the time the messengers returned the criminal had died from hunger and exposure. Euthyphro was willing to prosecute his father to cleanse himself and his family from the religious pollution caused by the murder. What is piety?” Socrates asked Euthyphro to answer. He asked Euthyphro this question to test his intellect and she if he is indeed as smart as he claims.
The first time the Socratic Method appears in the Apology is when Socrates tells the jury of his ‘divine mission’ when he systematically questions various levels of society such as Politicians, Poets and Craftsmen. During this explanation, he describes the Socratic method of questioning and refutation to show the jury that his critics were wrong in claiming that “Socrates is committing an injustice...he makes the weaker argument defeat the stronger and teaches others to follow his example”4. By doing this, he is hoping to show the jury that he
The beginning to the meaning holiness begins to show itself. Surprised by Euthyphro's willingness to prosecute his father on such questionable a charge; Socrates remarks that Euthyphro must have a very exact understanding of religious matters to proceed in such a way. Euthyphro proudly claims that he is an expert in all religious matters, and that this is what differentiates him from the common man. In response to this claim, Socrates suggests that perhaps Euthyphro could teach him about religious matters. That way, if Meletus were to prosecute him, Socrates could say that he is now under the tutelage of Euthyphro, whose authority on these matters is unquestionable.
He says that there are many other actions that are holy. How can only persecuting religious offenders be pious? (4e-6e) Euthyphro instead attempts to give Socrates a more general definition. He says that what is pleasing to the gods is pious, and what is not pleasing to the gods is impious. Socrates is again unsatisfied with this definition because the gods are always feuding with one another.
First, when Euthyphro defines piety as “doing as I am doing”, Euthyphro is meaning that holiness is prosecuting religious offenders. Euthyphro feels that in prosecuting his father that he is following the example of the gods, and particularly Zeus, the most just if all gods. Socrates seems to find the first definition unsatisfying, he points out that the gods often quarrel, so what is agreeable to one might not be agreeable to all. Socrates then asks Euthyphro to again define piety. The second argument, Socrates has is that piety and impiety are opposites, and that the gods are always in a state of discord.
Socrates was genuinely worried about why the young men were so disappointing. Socrates' young students had been a particular disappointment to him. If Socrates could figure out exactly how the fathers had failed to properly educate their sons, he could save the city and restore Athens to its former glory. Socrates’ interesting idea was that human excellence was really a kind of knowledge. Sophists were skilled in elaborate argumentation; were they would try and make the argument they were focusing on the stronger side, even if it was wrong or weaker.
This leading into the definitions of piety. The first definition that Euthyphro suggests to Socrates is that piety is persecuting religious offenders. However, Socrates is not satisfied with this response because there are many pious actions that do not involve persecution. (page 5 e) The second definition that Euthyphro suggests is that piety is what is dear to the gods, and that what some gods may agree on, others may not agree on. Thus saying that what is pious may be not pious concluding in a contradiction.
Aeschylus was a Greek playwright during the Classical Era of Greece, whose attitude about war was affected by the Persian wars he fought in and the histories of the Trojan War. Aeschylus wanted to transform the peoples’ ideas about cycles of revenge and bloodshed to those of democracy and transcendent law. Transcendent law is a high law that applies to everyone. When people kill each other for vengeance they are taking the law into their own hands. When the law is taken into the hands of each individual the people live in a state of lawlessness.
I. Introduction: During 399 B.C.E. one of the founding fathers of all of Philosophy, Athenian teacher the great Socrates, was brought to jail for several accusations of “wrong doing”. Most famously, for “corrupting the youth” by simply trying to teach them philosophy and how to think and reason for themselves and not solely based on society. Socrates was eventually convicted by the jury and soon sentenced to death.