Euthyphro
Estevan Galarza
02/01/2007
During the course of reading Euthyphro, the idea of doing what is right became the overall goal for what Socrates was trying to argue. Though to one such as myself, I would easily define it as doing what is morally good according to a just law. However, after reading this dialogue, there would seem to be many loop-holes that could be argued against my understanding. The whole dialogue of this section concerns how a man named Euthyphro is supposed proceed against his father in civil court, and how Socrates see's this as morally wrong. How he asserts his disposition is through asking Euthyphro to give his reasoning behind his actions, and constantly disagreeing with him through more questions which lead into more universal idea's such as right and wrong, just and unjust. Though the dialogue ends with not so quite a clear ending concerning who is right, Socrates did have a much better understanding of why one should always do the right and just thing.
To begin, the charges brought against Euthyphro's father are very severe, but the facts say otherwise. When Euthyphro tells Socrates that he is going to proceed against his father on charges of murder, Socrates becomes shocked because of the fact that he is going through with it (Plato, 3). When asked to go into detail on the charges, Euthyphro explains that the man who is dead was a poor dependent of his family that worked as a field laborer (3). One day, this laborer who was under the influence of alcohol, got into a fight with one of Euthypho's servants, and killed him (3). As a result, Euthyphro's father tied up the laborer's hands and feet and then threw him into a ditch, awaiting a diviner (law enforcer) that he sent for in order to find out what to do with the man (3). But because of this laborer being a murderer, he was not cared for, and being under the impression that he was a murderer, even if he did die, they...
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