The Euthyphro is one of Plato’s classic dialogues. It is a well-verbalized piece which deals with the question of ethics, consisting of a conversation between Socrates and one other person who claims to be an expert in a certain field of ethics. It is additionally riddled with Socratic irony in which Socrates poses as the incognizant student hoping to learn from a supposed expert, when in fact he shows Euthyphro to be the nescient one who kens nothing about the subject being holiness. Plato's main goal is to edify us, and he believes firmly that cognizance only comes when we are able to justify and account for our true credences. Thus, edifying is not simply a matter of giving the right answers.
From the Apology, Plato shows how Socrates was unyielding in his morals. Any sensible person would have taken the choice to evade death and accepted the ignorant life was the best. However, Socrates defies this by stating the conjecture to the court that to fall to the swift wickedness is worse than death. With this, Plato is defining the logic of Socrates soul is right rather than the evident fact of what the court laws describe. In his passage of Crito, Plato examines the thought of honor in following through one’s own promise.
These two questions were the main idea of the discussion between Socrates and his friends: Glaucon, Adeimantus, Polemarchus, Cephalus… Socrates asks the question of the definition of justice, each one of the interlocutors answers the question in his own way that, according to Socrates, reflects his own personality. One of the important definitions given was that given by Thrasymachus: he defines justice as the advantage of the stronger. “Now listen, I say that the just is nothing other than the advantage of the stronger. Well why don’t you praise me? But you won’t be willing”.
Socrates was searching for a way to prove that relativist way of thinking was false. Relativists believe that truths were relative to culture and morality. If Socrates could undo the work of the sophists, he could prove the existence of objective facts with universal definitions. Socrates was motivated to prove them wrong because he disagreed of the pre-Socratics and wanted to undo the sophists rhetoric of training people how to win arguments with manipulation, instead of truth. In Meno, we find that Socrates was charged with impiety and on his way to the courthouse, he finds Euthyphro.
Descartes states that “I reflect therefore I am.” Descartes shows through his dualism that though the mind and body are separate , they are connected and reliant on one another. This is one key idea that separates Descartes from thinkers like Plato skeptic. The Matrix can be linked to great Philosophers such as Descartes and Plato and can present many key ideas that support their theories. The Matrix in itself shows a tremendous amount of Cartesian Skepticism. Cartesian Skepticism is the idea that we may only know something if we are certain of its truth, meaning that we know little to nothing about anything at all as many of us can not with confidence say we are 100% sure of anything.
(Ambury, p.6). Socrates used this specific type of ignorance possibly to show that he was not judging or voicing his own opinion when conversing with others. With that, Socrates claimed that this ignorance he had, is that he recognized his own absence of knowledge (Ambury, p.8). One can assume that with his ability to acknowledge the state of knowing nothing, Socrates never would try to tell what was right or wrong with the moral beliefs that people had. His ignorance was very helpful, giving him an immense advantage when paired with the Socratic method.
New accusers say that Socrates corrupts the youth and does not believe in the gods of the State, and has new divinities of his own. To defend himself against these charges, Socrates asks Meletus some questions. As a result, Meletus is shown to be contradicting himself and making accusations that are absolutely absurd. To the question “Who are the improvers of the youth?” Meletus replies that they are all citizens, but not Socrates, arguing that he is only one who is corrupting them. At the same time, he recognizes that no one would intentionally make the people worse because he is obliged to live among them.
The Ladder of Love is a highly complex, abstract treatise about beauty, which bring up the idea that love is about pursuing philosophy and the beautiful things, not sexual intercourse. But Plato must have known the Ladder of Love alone is not enough to deliver this idea. It will be scorned and rejected by everyone.He opt, instead, to make the idea more digestible by setting up a contrast between Socrates and Alcibiades, Plato hold up Socrates as the perfect ideal of beauty, as the true lover, the one who loves the truly beautiful and good, and want to own them forever(Symposium, 206E, 207A). Alcibiades´s speeches and ideals, on the other hand, completely contradict those of Socrates. He is portrayed as a honor loving man, who seek knowledge, and by extension, Socrates, not because it will bring him toward the true beauty, but because of the power and the prestige it could bring him.
However, Socrates is not satisfied with such definition and responses to Euthyphro that many of conflicts exist among the gods and what is pleasant to one god might be unpleasant to another. Consequently, Euthyphro says that goodness is something pleasant to all gods. So at end of dialogue, Socrates have not agreed with Euthyphro and says “So I think you’ve just been playing games with me, Euthyphro. I asked you to tell me what holiness really is, and it seems you’ve sneakily refused to tell me” (Plato, 1987, p.49). Thereby, the dialogue leaves readers with unanswered question “Does goodness exist?” and if it exists what goodness is.
In doing so, I will show how there is a consequence within Plato’s view of this subject and a way in which he may respond to this. Socrates begins with asserting that love or eros serves as intermediaries between mortal and immortal, gods and humans, and the ugly and beautiful. The lover himself being intermediate lacks the qualities of the things that are loved, like wisdom, beauty, and immortality; therefore he strives to possess these qualities. Within the dialogue there are aims, and each is not of equal importance but rather follow a priority. As we will see throughout Socrates speech his final goal is