¶ … pious is what all the gods love, the opposite, what all the gods hate, is the impious." How does Socrates react to this definition? Why is this not an adequate definition, and why does it fail to reveal the form?
Socrates is not satisfied with Euthyphro's definition of pious because Euthyphro's definition fails to reveal the form of pious. Socrates believes that forms are perfect models of reality. They are independent and universal. So when Socrates asks Euthyphro to explain what pious means, he expects Euthyphro to provide him with the form of pious. In other words, something Socrates can use and refer to in the future as what it means for something or someone to be pious.
Euthyphro has been engaged in this dialogue because he has claimed to know many things about the gods, what is divine and consequently what is pious. At first, Euthyphro offers his own situation of going to court to prosecute his father for murdering a murderer as an explanation for what is pious. Socrates dismisses this as an example, not a proper definition. Euthyphro agrees and then provides his definition that pious is what all the gods love. As is Socrates way, he asks if they could examine his statement a little closer.
Socrates then gets Euthyphro to admit that the gods loving or not loving piety is a quality of pious and not what pious is. And since Socrates believes this definition to be a quality of something that is pious it is thus not usable as an archetype for pious. Then, he gets Euthyphro to say that piousness is a part of justice like even is a part of
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