First, Euthyphro suggests that holiness is persecuting religious offenders. Socrates finds this definition unsatisfying, since there are many holy deeds aside from that of persecuting offenders. He asks Euthyphro instead to give him a general definition that identifies that one feature that all holy deeds share in common. Euthyphro suggests that what is holy is what is agreeable to the gods, in response to which Socrates points out that the gods often quarrel, so what is agreeable to one might not be agreeable to all.

Euthyphro's most important attempt to define holiness comes w

Analysis and ThemesOverall Analysis and Themes

Euthyphro replies that surely the gods all agree that a person who kills someone unjustly should be punished. Socrates points out that disputes do not arise as to whether an acknowledged wrongdoer should be punished, but as to whether or not the person has in fact acted unjustly. For Euthyphro's argument to have any weight, he must show not that all the gods agree that someone who kills unjustly should be punished, but that all the gods agree that a certain killing was unjust. Socrates presses Euthyphro to prove that all the gods would agree that Euthyphro is acting justly in prosecuting his father for unintentionally having left a man to die of exposure when that man had killed someone in a drunken rage.

By the end of the dialogue, we are no closer to having a definition of holiness than we were at the outset, so we might ask what we have learnt. If nothing else, we have learnt with Euthyphro that holiness is not easily defined and that perhaps we are more ignorant than we think. That this last definition turns around and appears to be another incarnation of an earlier definition might suggest that Euthyphro has exhausted his stock of definitions. When we think we have a possible definition of holiness, we are probably still on the same wrong track. A proper definition of holiness may have to wait for the Theory of Forms to be formulated (as suggested in the Commentary section of 4e - 6e).

In this section, we see Socrates beginning to apply the familiar method of elenchus, or cross-examination. Now that Euthyphro's position is more clear, Socrates begins to examine it more closely, asking Euthyphro to draw out the consequences of what he has asserted. This method of questioning is very much in line with Plato's theories of teaching and knowledge, and with the dialogue form in general. In middle period dialogues, such as the Meno and the Republic, Plato asserts the distinction between knowledge and true belief--that knowledge requires justification, but true belief does not. That is, if I tell you that the sum of the squares of the legs of a right triangle are equal to the square of the hypotenuse, I have only given you a true belief. For you to actually come to know the Pythagorean theorem, I must also give you an explanation and proof for why this is so, so that you can reason it through on your own.

The brief discussion regarding Euthyphro's literal treatment of the Greek myths may seem out of place here, but it will be brought back into the dialogue at a later time. It should be noted that Athenians at this time generally did not believe the myths to be literally true. Euthyphro's proud and dogmatic insistence that he does know the truth regarding these matters only makes him appear less credible. (His position might be compared in modern times to a religious fundamentalist.)

Thus, much of the initial dialogue is devoted to the idea that virtue must be rigorously defined before we can deal with subsequent questions about it. This point is at the heart of the Socratic elenchus, which seeks to clear the ground of received, unconsidered knowledge in favor of the pursuit of truth. Meno confidently offers a number of definitions of virtue, but each of them merely cobbles together various aspects of Greek cultural custom. Socrates then dissects these to show that they do not meet the requirements of a definition. Thus, on the pretense of determining what virtue is, Socrates actually pursues the prior project of showing what fundamental virtue is not. What is really accomplished in the Meno is not a theory about virtue but rather a theory about what is necessary to frame a good theory about virtue.

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Approximate Word count = 7866
Approximate Pages = 31 (250 words per page double spaced)