Euthyphro
In this session, we will reflect on the difficulty of reasoning well, especially about the things that matter most in life. Plato’s dialogue, The Euthyphro, represents a great example of this difficulty. In it, the philosopher Socrates meets a man named Euthyphro and asks him what it is that makes an action righteous (or alternatively, morally praiseworthy). Even though Euthyphro is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to be righteous himself, it turns out he has trouble giving Socrates an explanation of what makes actions righteous. In this class session, we’ll reflect on this mismatch between the strength of our convictions relative to the degree we have reflected deeply on them.
Text: The Euthyphro, Plato
Learning outcomes:
- Understand the arguments given by Socrates and Euthyphro in The Euthyphro.
- Understand the so-called Euthyphro Dilemma.
- Reflect on the difficulty of reasoning (and arguing) well.
Do this:
- Learning—especially learning in philosophy—goes best when you allow yourself to be immersed in the ideas you’re studying. A recommendation we have is this: after you’ve done the reading and written some notes on it, go on a short 5-10 minute walk and let your mind wander over the ideas.