Saturday, September 17, 2016
what is the right answer?
I dont know if this is already been stated but the discussion between Euthyphro and Socrates on what is pious or impious is eerily familiar to the arguement in The Orestia on whether Orestes should be punished for killing his mother. In The Orestia, Orestes is being tried for the murder of his mother, Clytemnestra. His reasoning for killing his mother is because she killed his father Agamemnon and the only way to restore honor to him is to get revenge and murder Clytemnestra. In "Euthyphro" of The Five Dialogues, he is prosecuting his father for killing a man under him who murdered another servant which leads Socrates to ask him the meaning of Pious. In both works the arguements seem to be never ending and even going in circles sometimes. However, in Orestes case there was a verdcict. In Euthyphro's case, he could not answer socrates's question.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I, too, found it frustrating that the question "what is piety?" is never fully answered, because Socrates keeps rejecting Euthyphro's definition/reasoning. It was hard to follow at times because the dialogue would become circular and repetitive.
ReplyDeleteI did not see the connection to "The Orestia" until you pointed it out. You are exactly right! If the verdict in Euthyphro's case was arrived at using the same logic we saw in Orestes' case, then Euthyphro would have lost. His father would not be guilty. It all depends on who the judge and jury are which goes back to the question of whether or not there is true justice. There certainly was not with the Greek gods.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing earlier on in the writing. I saw the similarities of it to The Orestia. And I think the same thing happened here, the verdict of Orestes fate was found, but not if the act itself was right or wrong.
ReplyDelete