‘The unexamined life is not worth living.’ Socrates 1

Lesson Aim To learn about the Euthyphro Dilemma

The Euthyphro Dilemma ee Euthyphro = You-thay-fro It is appropriate to start our study of the relationship between religion and morality with this classic philosophical dilemma ee 3

Some Background First 4

Socrates: a biography Born 469BCE in Athens, Greece. No recorded works yet he was one of history’s most influential philosophers. We know of Socrates through the writings of his student Plato. Often described as rotund and ugly, he was known for talking to anyone and engaging them in philosophical debate. His commitment to philosophy meant that personal hygiene came second place - he was often barefoot & dirty and had very few possessions. 5

The Greek Gods Hades: god of the Underworld Zeus: King of the Gods Apollo: god of the Sun and the Music Ares: god of War Poseidon: God of the sea Aphrodite: goddess of Love and Beauty 6

‘The unexamined life is not worth living.’ Socrates 7

Socrates: a biography Socrates aim was not to tell others the truth – he often claimed to be ignorant of it himself – but rather to help them dig for it and discover it for themselves 8

Socrates and Euthyphro We are going to be learning about a very famous argument in moral thinking between Socrates and Euthyphro. We know about it from Plato’s writing in The Last Days of Socrates. 9

Socrates and Euthyphro It all kicked off when Socrates asked Euthyphro what he thought makes something ’good’ (or ‘holy’ or 'pious' - the language they used in those days). 10

Why Euthyphro? Euthyphro was taking his father to court for the mistreatment of a slave (so he must have been a pretty devout and moral guy). Socrates was on trial for the ‘crime’ of stirring up trouble in the city’s youth – he could face the death penalty for this. Socrates was also known not to be a fan of the Greek gods 11

Socrates strikes up a conversation with Euthphyro 12

Euthyphro explains that he is acting in a holy and righteous way So Socrates then asks the question: 'what is holy?' Euthyphro responds “what is agreeable to the gods....that is holy. What is not agreeable is unholy”. 13

Socrates says that the gods seems to be all over the place Socrates says that the gods seems to be all over the place! Because they are always disagreeing surely there can be no universal 'right' or 'wrong'. Again Euthyphro says “What's holy is what all the gods approve of, and what's unholy is what they all disapprove of.” poly-theism many gods 14

The Euthyphro Dilemma Socrates ends the argument by asking Euthyphro: ‘Are actions ‘good’ simply because the gods command them or do the gods command certain actions because they are already ‘good’?’ 15

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Or to put in another way........ Is torture wrong because God prohibits it, or does God prohibit torture because it is already wrong?

Or to put in another way........ Is murder wrong because God prohibits it, or does God prohibit murder because it is already wrong?

1. ‘Are actions ‘good’ simply because the gods command them or 2. do the gods command certain actions because they are already ‘good’?’ 19

1. Actions are ‘good’ simply because the gods command them This suggests that the gods can call anything good! They get to pick and choose Remember, the Greek Gods are pretty difficult to trust! Therefore humans may not agree with what the gods decide upon 20

Divine Command Theory Divine Command Theory: you should follow all commands you are given from god(s) without question. Euthyphro would have agreed with this: Actions are ‘good’ simply because the gods command them 21

If the gods decide on that which is good – then goodness is arbitrary (always subject to the will of one person – could the gods change their minds?)‏ In theory then, the gods could decide that adultery is good, that murder is good, all they have to do is say it and something becomes good!

Euthyphro’s Problem: Divine Command Theory Suppose Euthyphro was hanging about and hears a godlike voice telling him to kill the next person who passes him. He is convinced he has heard the voice of the gods and he has been brought up always to obey the commands of gods, because they only command what’s right. Should he kill? Even if he thinks it is wrong (which he does) the gods have told him to do it – and whatever they say is right. 23

"With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion." Richard Dawkins

Discussion If there was such a thing as god(s) do you think he/she/it/they would command you to do something which you knew was wrong? Why / why not? 25

2. The gods command certain actions because they are already ‘good’?’ If certain actions are already good then even the gods can't disagree with them This means even the gods are subject to this higher law This means morality is fixed (absolute) by some standard independent of the gods This discredits the gods as they are subject to this higher law themselves It also means that we don’t need to consult the gods when making moral decisions 26

This was why Socrates was eventually put to death by the authorities! Euthyphro’s dilemma raised the question of how the gods may be linked to right and wrong. Socrates was really asking Euthyphro if it was wise to always obey the gods. He was making the challenge that morality may not depend on the will of the gods This was why Socrates was eventually put to death by the authorities! 27

Socrates: a biography Socrates was condemned to death by drinking hemlock, he refused a chance to escape and, surrounded by his friends, embraced death with great dignity. Socrates died in 399BCE, Athens. 28

The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David (1787). 29

The Christian Response A Christian may read this dilemma and say: - “Yes, statement 1 is correct. Something is good because God commands it. But God is Himself is perfect goodness – it is his character . Therefore He would only ever command us to do that which is good. He would never ask us to do evil or go against our consciences” 30

The Euthyphro Dilemma Copy the following.... “Are actions ‘good’ simply because the gods command them or do the gods command certain actions because they are already ‘good’?” The Euthyphro Dilemma raises the challenge that goodness and morality may be independent of the will of the gods 31

Copy the following... The Divine Command Theory (DCT) refers to the belief that Euthyphro held - that actions are good because the gods command them. The problem some people have with this is that followers of a religion may commit evil acts “in God's name”, because they believe they are hearing from God. Christians would respond by saying that this is impossible as they believe goodness is intrinsic to who God is. God himself is the standard of goodness, God doesn't pick and choose what goodness is at random. Therefore he would never ask anyone to do evil or act in a way that violates their conscience

Read p73 from the purple book and complete the questions 33

Sample Exam Question (a) Describe the Euthyphro dilemma. 5KU 34

Homework: Create a Mini Poster Your task is to create a visual aid that explains the Euthyphro Dilemma and the issues it raises. Your poster should include: - The dilemma itself - The position Euthyphro took - The position Socrates took - The implications of each dilemma - An explanation of the Divine Command Theory