Euthyphro dilemma
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“”The point which I should first wish to understand is whether the pious or holy is beloved by the gods because it is holy, or holy because it is beloved of the gods.
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| —Socrates[1] |
The Euthyphro dilemma, originally presented in the Euthyphro dialogue, addresses how something is determined as good in relation to a god or gods. The essential of the dilemma is in determining whether an act is good because it is commanded by god, or whether a god only commands acts which are intrinsically good. The dilemma needs to be considered by anyone who claims that there is a divine source of absolute morality.
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[edit] Statement of the problem
The dilemma results in what is essentially a dichotomy of options in what the causal relationship between morality and a god is:
- Acts are good because they are commanded by god.
- God commands acts because they are good.
In the first case, we are left with a case of divine moral relativism, also known as divine command theory. If something is good purely because a god has said so, then the same act can be good or bad depending on the stance of a god at that particular time. Another problem is that there is no way to determine the will of a god - prophets may lie and miracles can be convincingly faked.
In the second case, there must be some source of morality that is separate from the god, one that the god might be accessing in some way to determine whether something is moral or not. However, if this is the case, then a god is actually not necessary for morality, and even moral absolutism is possible without a god.
[edit] Attempts to address the dilemma
A third option is sometimes proposed: goodness is somehow inherent in god's character in such a way that whatever god commands is good, and this for some reason solves the problem. However, this also leaves us with a tautology: "God only commands good because god is good." As such, it is impossible to refute or verify, and any act at all can be justified and considered "moral".