1. As a self-proclaimed prophet, Euthyphro is the perfect candidate for Socrates

1. As a self-proclaimed prophet, Euthyphro is the perfect candidate for Socrates to examine. I always picture Socrates with a sinister grin as he lures Euthyphro in with condescending flattery and begs the “religion expert” to enlighten him. Euthyphro makes several unsuccessful attempts at defining the form of piety before retreating. One failed attempt prompts Socrates to ask one of the most famous questions in the history of philosophy. 10a: Is the pious loved by the gods because it’s pious? Or is it pious because it’s loved?
This question has come to be known as the Euthyphro Question/Problem/Dilemma, and it still poses a problem for theists today. On the one hand, we have the Divine Command Theory equating “morally right” with “commanded by God”. One problem with the DCT is that it makes God’s will random and arbitrary. God could just as easily command you to blow up an abortion clinic, because his morals are not based on an intrinsic goodness. The other problem is that being a passive follower is to refrain from thinking things through. Holocaust survivor and political philosopher Hannah Arendt’s coverage of the Adolf Eichmann trial comes to mind. Eichmann never bothered to think about the consequences of his actions. He just obeyed his orders and loaded Jews onto trains which would lead them to their death.
On the other hand, you might argue that God would never command one to blow up an abortion clinic, because God commands actions because they are morally right. The problem with this line of reasoning is that it takes power out of God’s hands and attributes it to some principle of morality which is outside of God and above God. So, God is no longer moral lawmaker or supreme goodness.
Still, religious practitioners follow moral rules they believe are prescribed by God. That said, please answer the following Discussion Question:
Is an action morally right because God commands it, or does God command an action because it is right?
2. Socrates was formally accused of impiety and corrupting the youth, but I believe he was really on trial for his persistent examinations of Athenian leaders. “Baffled” by the Delphic oracle’s claim that he was wisest, Socrates examined those who claimed to have wisdom only to discover that they had none. He concluded that he is wiser than all of those men, because he alone was aware of his own ignorance.
To make matters worse, young, rich kids with nothing better to do admired Socrates and began conducting their own examinations. So, now there are a bunch of little Socrates wanna-bes running around exposing the ignorance of the Athenian leaders. This, you can imagine, did not go over well. Embarrassed, enraged, and vengeful, the leaders sought to permanently silence Socrates.
Oh, but there’s more. You’ll meet a handsome, drunken Alcibiades in Plato’s Symposium. Alcibiades was the best looking man in Athens. He also happened to be the lover of lead prosecutor, Anytus. Every man in Athens wanted Alcibiades, but you’ll never guess who he wanted. Socrates repeatedly rejected Alcibiades, because he valued a beautiful mind over a beautiful body. The snubbed Alcibiades tells the party guests of the extraordinary effect Socrates’ words have on him. To add further fuel to the corruption charge, Alcibiades accuses Socrates of being crazy about beautiful boys and following them around in a perpetual daze. But let’s be real. Hell hath no fury like a man scorned, so I’m thinking Anytus wanted to eliminate the competition.
Now, imagine you are a juror at Socrates’ trial. Is Socrates guilty of impiety and corrupting the youth? Support your position with evidence/examples from Euthyphro and Apology.