Plato's Euthyphro, or "Socrates Ali"
                             By: Andy Montgomery
                        E-Mail: Exec-PC (414)-789-4210


Who:
       The great Greek philosopher Socrates.  The ungreat Greek philosopher 
       Euthyphro.

Where:
       The Hall of the King, Athens.

When:  
       A long time ago.

What:
       Socrates questions Euthyphro on the essence of Piety.

How:

        This is where things get fun.  Socrates asks Euthyphro a simple 
     question: What is piety?  The question springs from the fact that both of 
     them are headed to court.  Euthyphro is suing his father for impiety in 
     regards to the death of one of his father's servants; Socrates is being 
     sued on the grounds that he is corrupting the youth of Athens, and 
     thereby guilty of impiety as well.
        The two take the time to have a brief discussion as to why each of 
     them is going to court and Socrates finds that Euthy is suing dad.  
     Socrates says that he must have killed a relative, because no knob worth 
     a Drachma would sue his own father for killing a stranger.  But that's 
     just what ol' Euthy has in mind.  Euthyphro states that it doesn't matter 
     who he killed, just that he took a life unjustly and should be punished.  
     And then good-old Euthyphro slits his own neck with his own tongue:


          ...it is impious for a son to prosecute his father for murder.  
          So little, Socrates, do they know the divine law of piety and
          impiety.

        Socrates (for as well as I know him from what I've read) never had any 
     tolerance for arrogance, and since he was probably going to be banished 
     from Athens soon anyways, decided to ever-so-politely rip Euthyphro to 
     shreds starting at that very moment.  He asked if that meant that 
     Euthyphro thought he knew what piety was and Euthy said rather 
     emphatically that he did.  Socrates then put on his philosophical boxing 
     gloves and set to work.
     
     DINGDING!!  LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!  THIS NEXT BOUT IS
A BEST OF FIVE FALLS.  IN THIS CORNER, IN THE WHITE TOGA 
AND BLUE ROPE-BELT, EUTHYPHRO THE EGOTISTICAL!
(SMATTERINGOFAPPLAUSE)
AND IN THIS CORNER, IN THE WHITE TOGA AND GREEN ROPE-BELT, 
THE AVATAR OF ATHENS, THE DOCTOR OF DIALECTIC--

SAA-CRU-TEEEESE!!!

(YIPPEE!)

DING! (ROUND ONE)

     SOCR:  Euthyphro, what is piety?
     EUTH:  It's what I'm doing by taking my father to court. (weave)
     SOCR: That's an example, not a definition (jabb... DOINK!)

     (ROUND TWO)

     SOCR:  Euthyphro, what is piety?
     EUTH:  That which pleases the gods?
     SOCR:  Nope.  Gods don't agree on everything--can't be. (jabb... BOP!)

     (ROUND THREE)

     SOCR:  Euthyphro, what is piety?   
     EUTH:  It's what all the gods love. (danceshuffledancedance)
     SOCR:  No.  What "is" is in a state of being because it "is".  Something
        doesn't exist because it's in a state of being!  (BIFF!  WHAM!!)
     EUTH:  Oww!!

     TKO!!!

        SAACRU... (a-hem) ...Socrates kept asking the same question to 
        Euthyphro, and each time he fought for a more succinct answer.  This 
        Q & A we now call dialectic, and Socrates was so good at it that he 
        even got a flavor of it named after him!  


WHY:

     What was Plato showing the world with this dialogue?  I got two things 
     out of this.

1)  Even if the use of a dialectic, with all of its focusing and retooling of 
the question, can't give you what the answer to the problem is, it almost 
always tells you what the answer ISN'T.

2)  The old adage is true.  Those who say that they have the answer usually 
don't, and those who say emphatically that they have the answer really don't!