Plato's Pod: Dialogue on Euthyphro

Our last episode examined the legend of Atlantis, a society of wealth and beauty that became disordered as mortality and human nature diluted the divine portion in the people whose existence and memory perished.

In The Euthyphro we can discuss the divine portion in the title character who is about to prosecute his father for murdering a servant who had himself committed murder. In justifying his action, Euthyphro explains to Socrates that he is pious who does the will of the gods in punishing murderers, while Socrates asks, “You think that your knowledge of the divine, and of piety and impiety, is so accurate that, when those things happened as you say, you have no fear of having acted impiously in bringing your father to trial?”

After Socrates relates his own accuser’s charges of religious innovation and corruption of youth (foreshadowing his own trial and death), he quizzes Euthyphro on the nature of piety. Is there a general form of piety in which all pious actions partake? How is piety to be judged when the gods are sometimes themselves in discord? Is piety a trade that man makes with the gods, and why would they be interested in man’s offering? Is piety the result, or the cause, of the gods’ love for man?

The cracks in Euthyphro’s initial certainty on piety begin to show in his responses. Here we might explore the parallels to Plato’s Meno, who could offer only conflicting examples of virtue but not the form of virtue itself. We can consider again the themes of communication and understanding discussed in our recent episodes on The Phaedrus, and Plato’s words at Critias 107(b): “…he is a successful speaker when he speaks of gods to an audience of mortals. The audience’s lack of experience and sheer ignorance concerning a subject they can never know for certain provide the would-be speaker with great eloquence.”

Our episode will be recorded in voice only without video, using first name as it appears on your screen profile. Our dialogue will be podcast at https://rss.com/podcasts/platospod/ for those who would like to share in our knowledge. After the recording ends, participants are welcome to remain with us for a half hour of “Plato’s Café”, a casual discussion of your choice of themes from any of Plato’s works, or philosophy in general.

Wherever we go in our discussions we gain knowledge from each other’s perspectives, and for the increase in knowledge we invite everyone to add their voice to the dialogue. Plato, without a doubt, would have imagined no better way than in dialogue for knowledge – the account of the reasons why – to find its home.

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APPROXIMATELY ONE WEEK BEFORE THE MEETUP: Please visit https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqvPwkIofv4UaFldrPpbva3VSXI?e=3Y7PjP for questions and themes that we might address, as well as those explored in our previous meetups. We will also post the reading list for our next meeting which will generally be scheduled every two weeks on Sunday at 10 a.m. eastern. During our dialogue, participants are encouraged to relate their comments to Plato's text, referring to the Stephanus marginal number for the passage so others can follow in the reading. Participants are also encouraged to read the text aloud so that the meaning of the written word can resonate.

There are many translations of Plato's works available, of varying quality. Your public library will have multiple electronic and printed editions. A free translation of The Euthyphro is available at https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1642, although the text lacks explanatory notes and passage reference numbers that would be useful to follow in our discussion. Participants in our entire series might be interested in purchasing Plato: Complete Works (https://www.amazon.ca/Plato-Complete-Works/dp/0872203492/).

Whether new to or experienced with Plato, all are welcome to the dialogue and to sharing in the discovery and learning.

The Meetup will take place on Zoom. Please RSVP to access the Zoom link at your Meetup account.