Plato's Euthyphro - Which comes first: God or Morality?

About this Video

• Video Title: Plato's Euthyphro - Which comes first: God or Morality?
• Channel: Jeffrey Kaplan
• Speakers: Jeffrey Kaplan
• Duration: 00:28:41

Introduction

This video analyzes Plato's Euthyphro dialogue, focusing on the central question of whether morality is derived from God's will or if God's love for certain actions defines their morality. Kaplan explores different interpretations and potential problems with each perspective.

Key Takeaways

• Euthyphro's initial definition of piety is flawed: He initially equates piety with his own actions (prosecuting his father), which Socrates rejects as merely an example, not a definition.
• The "gods love it because it is good" vs. "it is good because the gods love it" dilemma: This core question explores the explanatory priority of morality: does the inherent goodness of an action cause the gods to love it, or does the gods' love make an action good?
• Problems with polytheistic and monotheistic interpretations: The video examines difficulties with defining morality based on the varying preferences of multiple gods (polytheism) and the potential arbitrariness of a single God's commands (monotheism).
• Socrates's argument for explanatory priority of morality: Socrates argues that if the gods love actions because they are virtuous, then the virtue must exist independently, prior to the gods' love. This suggests morality is not determined solely by divine decree.
• The challenge of divine command theory: The video highlights the inherent problem of divine command theory, which suggests that morality is based solely on God's commands. This creates the potential for arbitrary or even immoral commands to be deemed "good" simply because they are decreed by God.