Plato and Piety Essay

It seems that in the reading both Socrates and Euthyphro are both dealing with legal issues and they are discussing the differences and the similarities of their cases with one another. Socrates is a defendant in a suit accusing him of impiety which was brought against him by no other than Meletus who was not really in a position to bring suit against another but that’s another story all together. And then we look at Euthyphro who is a plaintiff in a murder action in which he brought against his own father. It seems that Socrates being of sound mind thought he should lend his ear to this young man who was very knowledgeable to help him come to the conclusion of what his crime truly was. He felt that he should be perfectly informed about the differences between piety and impiety before being tried for what he was not sure was a binding action against him. The first definition that Euthyphro gives is that piety is what is dear to the gods and impiety is what is not dear them. Socrates states that even if this was the fact could this really be a form of piety when discussing the case brought against Euthypro’s father he said looking at the evidence at hand could his father really be deemed a murder because he didn’t show piety. And then he asked the question what do you deem to be justice because what is justice for one could be ones punishment in another’s eyes. The second definition Piety is what is loved by the gods a redefined distinction between state and the act corresponding respectively to the adjective and the participle. Which Socrates states that piety and holiness is preceded by the act of being pious, not by the act of love. The third and final definition is that Piety is a form of justice. Socrates has during this time placed religion on a moral foundation. He is trying to find the balance between that of religion and morality which should be universal with all men in his eyes. I feel that Socrates was on to something we as humans depending on what we are raised to believe can find ourselves on either side of the argument. In the case of Travian Martin it seems that some toke piety on the death of the child and other deemed that it was not that much of a loss. I believe that if there is loss of life for any reason other than natural cases it is sad and should not of taken place. Do I think the man who shot this child is a murder yes, the police had told this gentlemen not to follow this young man and he toke the law in his own hands and shot an unarmed child. In the case of Euthyphro’s father I would not deem it a murder yes, it was a piety that the man died but it was not a crime. I truly believe that impiety is knowing how it would feel to be another man shoes and taking piety on him because it could very well be you in the same state. My definition of piety is looking at one and feeling sorrow for the persons state of being and then taking action. Next would be my definition of holiness to me it would be a person who lives above reproach in all things. In the world we leave in today there are those who take piety on the less fortune and those who turn their backs on them; in my book those who turn a blind eye are no better and should be made to feel the hardship that is very real in peoples everyday lives. Socrates was a great man who used logic and understanding to bring Euthyphro to a place of understanding through the knowledge that this young man already had but because he was blind by the things he was taught he was not truly being fair to his father in the case of murder that he brought against him. I feel that we do the same thing in life today we judge people by what we deem to be moral with seeing the bigger picture and weighing out all the things that could be a n influence in what is truly going on in the world around us. In my conclusion I think that before we come to the conclusion of what might be a sin we might want to take a look at all the things that make up the situation and listen to every side of the story because we deem as right could be wrong to another. Reference Page: Mosser, K (2010) Philosophy: A concise introduction†¦ Bridgepoint Education INC Plato : Euthyphro http://www. gutenburg. org.