J. DeVore

Explore the concept of the Socratic Method as demonstrated in the dialogues Euthyphro and The Apology. How does Socrates use questions to expose contradictions and lead others toward self-examination?

Socrates uses questions by making Euthyphro questions himself. Socrates got Euthyphro to say what piety was. Euthyphro said that piety is what he was doing that was putting his dad on trial for murder. Socrates replies that there is more than one act of piety. You can’t say that putting your father on trial for murder is the only act of piety. Euthyphro then says that piety is what the gods like. But Socrates points out that if some of the gods like the same things that the other gods hate so Socrates says that this would make the same things piety and impiety at the same time which is impossible. Another point that Socrates makes is that the gods did not specify what is just and unjust. In this case Euthyphro does not know what is just or unjust because the gods did not specify whether letting the hired worker die was just or unjust. So, the pattern is that Socrates is trying to make the hearer understand what piety is and how it is used by the gods and how piety is complicated to everyone even the gods because they don't agree or make their opinions known. And you can probably do this with other qualities in the world like beauty.

Compare and contrast the accusations against Socrates in Euthyphro and The Apology. What do these accusations suggest about the nature of Athenian society and the challenges faced by those who question the status quo?

In the Apology Socrates says that his first accusers say that he makes what is good seem bad, and what is bad seem good. The accusers that Socrates is most afraid of are his very first accusers. The second accuser is Meletus who says that Socrates is corrupting the youth, does not believe in the city’s gods but does believe in other gods.  In the Euthyphro Socrates is on trial for making up new gods and renouncing the old gods. What matches about the accusations is that Socrates does not believe in gods but believes in other gods. The thing that is not matching is that Socrates makes things that are good seem bad and bad seem good in the Apology and corrupts children in the Apology. But these accusations do not come up in the Euthyphro. In these dialogs the status quo is getting complicated by Socrates and therefore the Athenians do not like this because it makes discussions hard to understand. When most people make you second guess yourself you tend to not appreciate them as much as you used to. When Socrates questions the status quo he is being judged. This is why Socrates is on trial.