Plato’s Euthyphro describes a conversation between Socrates, Euthyphro and the definition of piety. Socrates meets Euthyphro by chance outside the Athens court where Socrates will be charged with impiety. Socrates becomes confused and shocked when he discovers Euthyphro’s father is being prosecuted for murder. Euthyphro is accusing his father of murder. One of their servants had killed a slave. Euthyphro believes that most people will find it immoral for a father to accuse a son of something, but Euthyphro knows better. Socrates then asks Euthyphro what piety is.
Euthyphro claims to have wisdom in these matters. Socrates denies this and only says he is ignorant. Euthyphro, a Sophist, claims to be wise in such matters, while Socrates, who makes no such claim for himself, professes only to be ignorant. Socrates dismisses Euthyphro immediately, stating that his answer only amounted to an example rather than a definition. Euthyphro’s first attempt to define the concept of piety did not fare any better. In his second definition, he stated that Piety was what the gods loved and Impiety was what the gods hated. Socrates objected again to this definition, saying that something that one god hates can be loved by another. This logic allows for something to be both pious and unpious in the eyes of the Gods. This is not logical nor does it satisfy the definition. Euthyphro went back to his third attempt, defining Piety as “what all gods love”. Impiety, on the other hand, is what the gods detest. From this definition, the philosophers asked: Is it piety that the gods enjoy, or piety that the gods enjoy? Other words, does something good happen because God tells you to do it? Or is it good because God makes it so?
The dialogue is centered on Socrates’ argument against this definition. Euthyphro is made to look ridiculous by his examples. He claims that things aren’t considered pious by the gods. They love pious things like helping an unknowing stranger because it has a certain intrinsic value, that is, being pious. Then. Euthyphro gives Socrates another definition. Socrates shot him down again after his fourth attempt at defining piety. His definition this time is a little unclear. Euthyphro’s final and fifth attempt to define Piety was that it is the act of saying and doing something pleasing to gods when praying and offering sacrifices. Socrates thinks Euthyphro has just repeated himself at this point. Euthyphro rushes away after failing five times to define the word piety. Socrates: I’m sorry, but I must leave.
The Bible provides a clear answer to Euthyphro’s dilemma. God’s character is the benchmark of goodness. He created all things and makes them for a specific reason. The ability of an object to achieve the purpose it was created for is how we define its goodness. We define evil if God creates a thing to fulfill a purpose but it fails to do so. God defines good and bad by His own character, which is the solution to Euthyphro’s dilemma.
