Faculty Publications

Euthyphro, Foucault, And Baseball: Teaching The Euthyphro

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Teaching Philosophy

Volume

30

Issue

3

First Page

249

Last Page

258

Abstract

The central question of the Euthyphro is "Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or pious because it is loved?" A baseball analogy explains this to students: "Does the umpire say 'Out' because the runner is out, or is the runner out because the umpire says 'Out'?" The former makes the relevant knowledge public, making Socrates the appropriate secular moral authority, while the latter makes it religious, invoking Euthyphro's expertise. Foucault's aphorism that power is knowledge illuminates how the aristocracy stands behind Euthyphro, while Socrates empowers the democracy. An abstract epistemological question has important political consequences. © Teaching Philosophy, 2007.

Department

Department of Philosophy and Religion

Original Publication Date

1-1-2007

DOI of published version

10.5840/teachphil200730311

Link to Full Text

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