What is the conflict in this dialogue? Why does Socrates begin to interrogate Euthyphro?

Euthyphro

This first group of questions is based on one of Plato’s most famous dialogues, The Euthyphro.
In his dialogues, Plato will use his teacher Socrates as his protagonist, and while the earlier dialogues, like The Euthyphro, probably more genuinely reflect the historical Socrates, later dialogues, including The Republic, probably include instances of Plato putting his own thoughts into Socrates’s mouth.

One indicator that we are dealing with the historical Socrates is that, while Socrates often interrogated people in his pursuit of knowledge, he never puts forth a view himself. Socrates’s wisdom consisted in his knowledge that he knew nothing, and he interrogated others to see if they knew exactly what they claimed to know. Socrates’s method consists of three parts that I want to highlight:

• The Socratic Method: A form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions
• Irony: A pose of ignorance assumed in order to entice others into making statements that can then be challenged.
• Aporia: Puzzlement, confusion, doubt; Created by Socrates’ questioning
Answer the following questions after reading the dialogue. We’ll start off basic just to see if you can match the concepts with examples from the text. These questions will help focus your reading comprehension throughout the semester:

1. What is the conflict in this dialogue? Why does Socrates begin to interrogate Euthyphro?
2. How does Socrates utilize the Socratic Method throughout the dialogue?
3. Where do you see Socrates using irony? Give an example from the text. Why is this a good example of irony?
4. Where do you see aporia occurring in the text? Give an example from the text. Why is this a good example of irony?

Divine Command Theory

1. What is Divine Command Theory? What is the basis for this type of ethical theory?
2. What is “the Euthyphro Dilemma”? What kind of program does it pose for Divine Command Theory?
3. What are some of the ways Divine Command Theory addresses and tries to deal with the Euthyphro dilemma?
4. What is at least one other objection to Divine Command Theory (outside of the Euthyphro Dilemma)?

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