Euthyphro's dialogue
...ference are the just and unjust, good and evil, honorable and dishonorable, and the quarrels of gods are of a like nature. Euthyphro explains that in his case all gods agree as to the propriety of punishing a murder. Such an answer didn’t convince Socrates, who argues that any human being as well will not argue that a murderer or any sort of evil doer ought to be left off, because gods and men alike, if they dispute at all, they dispute about some act which is called in question, and which by some is affirmed to be just, and by others to be unjust. Further he explains that even if Euthyphro does prove that all the gods absolutely agree in approving Euthyphro’s act which is accusing his father of murder, still piety and impiety are not adequately defined, because what he is looking for is a standard by which he may measure actions. Here Euthyphro gives a sharp definitions, saying that: “what all the gods love is pious and holy and the opposite which they all hate , impious.” This made Socrates ask his most significant question, which has become ever since the main ethical dilemma in all religions, and the subject of most controversial arguments regarding the relation between revelation and reason, God and morality. Socrates asks: “Is the pious and holy beloved by the gods because it is holy, or holy because it is beloved by the gods?” So Socrates is inquiring about the nature of piety or goodness, whether it follows gods’ arbitrary will, or is there an intrinsic value in things and actions which is good in itself and is the reason for gods’ love. Socrates argument is that any state of action or passion implies previous action or passion, leading Euthyphro to admit that anything is loved because it is holy, not holy because it is loved. So even if we admit that God loves holy, pious or good things, that wouldn’t provide us with an intrinsic knowledge of the essence which makes that thing holy or good. Socrates is then being made by Plato to approach the problem from a different angle by introducing the concept of justice, and considering it a more extended notion of which piety is only a part. Piety is that part of justice which attends to the gods, as there is the other part of justice which attends to men. This attention to the gods which is called piety is such as the servants show to their masters considering piety as justice done to gods in contrast to the other part of justice done to people. Euthyphro was being made to define piety as “learning how to please the gods in word and deed, by prayers and sacrifices. This definition didn’t satisfy Socrates, for he says: “There is no good thing that they do not give; but how we can give any good thing to them is far from being equally clear” Here Plato seems to denote to the mystic feeling of gratitude which finds no satisfying way of expression, The idea which resembles various strong mystic tendencies to humiliate oneself or to annihilate in the divinity, out of desperation and awareness of uselessness of anything they might do for God whom they beloved as the highest ideal of goodness . God has no benefit from human piety, so a definition of piety as “ an art which gods and men have of doing business wi...