Plato: The trial and death of Socrates

Socrates and Euthyphro’s Paradox

Socrates is Euthyphro’s father and has been accused of impiety. He is being tried in an Athens court, but he rejects the charges.

Euthyphro’s Knowledge

Euthyphro professes to be knowledgeable about piety and to have a solid understanding of god-related topics. Meletus is the accuser, and Socrates’ son is the one who will prosecute his father. Euthyphro works as a prosecutor in the Athenian court where his father is on trial. The Euthyphro’s paradox concerns what is regarded as pious. In his definition of the word, Euthyphro states that a pious item is what the gods consider pure and anything that is not approved by them is impiety. Socrates is not satisfied by the answer provided by Euthyphro, and he requests him to shed more light on the definition. Socrates’ solution to the paradox is to expose the incompetence of Euthyphro on matters relating to the gods. By exposing him, Socrates will be able to show that Euthyphro is not sure of what he is doing or saying since he cannot satisfactorily define the word piety on which the trial is based (Field 16). If Euthyphro cannot comprehend the issue of piety, then he is not in a position to prosecute Socrates. The solution provided by Socrates will reveal that Euthyphro is incompetent to serve the people, especially as a prosecutor. Revealing Euthyphro lack of knowledge will affect the attitude of the people of Athens towards him.

Socrates’ Claims and Exposing Incompetence

Socrates makes several claims that are meant to prove the knowledge used to bring him before the jury is not sufficient. First Socrates claims he is innocent and would like an explanation as to how he has been considered guilty. He points out the flaws in the knowledge embraced by the prosecutor Euthyphro. His question on what is piety is directed to his son who happens to be the prosecutor. The information provided by the prosecutor does not fully answer the question. According to Socrates, the people of Athens do not have a great understanding of what is pure and that which is not. The judgment made by learned people has blinded the city dweller such that they do not understand what is morally right. The learned people such as Euthyphro claim to have much information concerning religion and theology (Lane 9). However, a closer examination of their principles reveals that they do not know what they are doing. Their understanding of different aspects is narrow and should not be used him. Socrates claims that if the court decides to listen to the case presented by Euthyphro, then they would be liable for making an erroneous decision. The reason is that Euthyphro’s knowledge on religious matters is questionable. Through the question asked by Socrates, the jury should have realized that the prosecutor is having conflicting ideas about a single issue.

Socrates’ Plan to Expose Incompetence

As a solution to Euthyphro paradox, Socrates develops a plan to expose the incompetence among the leaders in Athens. He asks for a definition of piety from Euthyphro, who is his son but a distinguished member of the society. Socrates does not want to plead guilty of the crimes leveled against him but wants to make a point. He does not accept the simple answers provided by Euthyphro in trying to answer the question on piety. The main aim is to educate the jury and the people of Athens that whatever activities they are doing, there is a high probability that they are based on false claims. Socrates calls upon all the people to start examining their knowledge on different aspects. Another point Socrates wants to make is that in the analysis of a concept, it is not logical to use a single point of view (Field 23). It would be best if the people question the motive behind actions and do a close analysis of the guiding principles. To his expectation, Euthyphro does not have a clear definition of the word. Euthyphro is a distinguished member of the society, and he is considered a diviner. Besides, he is a teacher on matters relating to morals and politics. Euthyphro assists people in finding solutions to their day-to-day problems. Therefore, he is an honored member of the community. Although Euthyphro is considered wise, his guiding principles are based on narrow understanding. Socrates wants to show the people of Athens that the people they consider leaders in the city base their arguments on little information. For instance, Euthyphro cannot provide proof to show that definition of piety encompasses justice to human beings. Instead, he claims that human justice is based on a different aspect. The statements by the prosecutor, Euthyphro, reveal his limitation in understanding both nature and human aspect. He too, like many other city leaders, is limited in knowledge and information. Therefore, leaving such leaders to make decisions on behalf of the people can result in serious societal problems.

Socrates and the System of Injustice

Socrates does not defend himself since he knew he did not criticize the gods and was not responsible for any other crime such as murder. He leaves the decision in the hands of the jury to decide his fate since they are all founded on the same corrupt system. Socrates reveals that such narrowness in defining ideas and establishing guiding principles produces incompetent leaders in society. Such leaders will only take away what is important to the people and fail to provide solutions to their daily challenges. For instance, the jury at the court was aware that Euthyphro was not able to provide a satisfactory definition of piety, and yet they went forward to sentence Socrates to death. The verdict made was not based on the truth, and it symbolized the act of injustice towards one of the people of Athens. Socrates aim was to let the court make a mistake that is clear to the people so that everyone learns a lesson (Lane 18). Socrates claims that if systems such as the court are not founded on the truth, then the people are likely to suffer from injustice. Basing decisions on unfounded claims only serves to destroy the people instead of benefiting them. For example, Socrates was an important member of society and was very knowledgeable. Due to the incompetence of the court leaders, they lost the precious person when he was sentenced to death. The court did not analyze the truth of the claims made by Meletus and did not evaluate the prosecutor’s competence on various aspects such as religion. The jury adopted a single point of view on the matter; hence they were unable to realize the mistake they were making. The people of Athens did not stand against the injustices done to its people but instead watched Socrates being sentenced to death. Neither the jury nor the people had second thoughts when Socrates easily pleaded guilty to the charges (Lane 21). They did not learn the lesson they were meant to learn at the time. Socrates highlights the issue as a problem with the system. The system of governance and education produces individuals who are narrow in interpreting ideas and understanding concepts. Therefore, each person in society contributes towards committing mistakes since their arguments are based on a shallow understanding of issues.

Socrates’ Agreement and Disagreement with Euthyphro

There are times when Socrates agrees with whatever Euthyphro does. Although Socrates is the father of Euthyphro, he agrees to what his son is doing since he is carrying out his responsibility to the gods and the people. As a member of the court, Euthyphro has the right to prosecute his father for crimes committed. His father is a person like any other in society and is not an exception so as not to face the law. Socrates agrees that Euthyphro is setting a good example in society because every person who commits a crime should be brought to justice. However, there instances when Socrates does not at agreeing with what Euthyphro is doing but criticizes it by exposing his lack of knowledge (Field 29). For instance, Socrates does not agree with the idea of prosecuting a person without proper understanding of the subject matter. Euthyphro does not understand piety and is the prosecutor in the case where his father is charged with the same. Socrates notes that it is an act of injustice to prosecute any member of society without a full understanding of the crime. He was not defending his case or seeking to be forgiven by the court but wanted justice to prevail in Athens.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Socrates succeeds in finding a solution to Euthyphro’s paradox. He believes that a person should be persecuted for facts but not shallow information. To support his case, Socrates mentions that Euthyphro does not understand the subject matter and therefore would not be the suitable candidate to take the position of a prosecutor in his father’s case. Euthyphro fails to provide the correct explanation to the subject, and every answer he provides proves to be insufficient. The plan to expose the incompetence of the prosecutor was aimed at showing every person who attended that trial that their leaders are not learned as they claim. Their knowledge is founded on shallow knowledge of aspects of nature and humanity, and hence there is a need to adopt a different perspective while handling trials. However, the people do not understand Socrates’ message and hence do not react even after learning the incompetence of the prosecutor. To Socrates, the prosecutor was a representative of the many political and spiritual leaders who claim to have great knowledge, but their understanding is questionable. Socrates wanted to open the eyes of the people of Athens to start viewing aspects from different points of view. Adopting a single point of view to ideas will endanger their justice, and they might be prosecuted for crimes they have not committed. Socrates does not object to justice but the injustice committed by leaders due to a lack of enough information. He understands that Euthyphro has to carry out his responsibility as a prosecutor and bring those who commit crimes to justice. However, he objects to the idea that the cases presented by Euthyphro are founded on shallow knowledge is likely to be false.

Works Cited

Field, Guy Cromwell. Plato and His Contemporaries (RLE: Plato): A Study in Fourth Century Life and Thought. Routledge, (2013): 1-77.

Lane, Melissa. Plato’s progeny: How Plato and Socrates still captivate the modern mind. Bloomsbury Publishing, (2015): 4-36.