22.3.09

Plato Part 30 - The Third Account of Piety


Disagreement among the gods is harmless to the basic account of piety as long as it is amended in a simple way. What is pious is what all the gods love. Of course, if the gods do not all love any particular act, then no act is pious, but this did not seem to concern Euthyphro. Another concern, which was quickly dropped by Socrates, was that Euthyprho's own act of prosecuting his father is not one that is loved by all the gods. This does not really undermine the account, though, since the case is a questionable one. A clear counter-example would be one in which it is indisputable that a particular act is pious, yet it is not loved by all the gods. Perhaps for this reason, Socrates attacked the account in a different way.