Ambiguous Words Invite Bad Actions

[Michie]

One of the consolations of studying philosophy is to realize that the French aphorism plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose—the more things change, the more they stay the same—accurately describes much of the history of ideas, especially moral and political ideas. It’s tempting to feel that we live in an unprecedentedly mad age, one so disconnected from reality that it can only mean that the end of the world is nigh. But madness and the denial of reality have a long, if less-than-august, legacy that is worth remembering. Indeed, we can go back to the birth of philosophy itself.

Socrates (470—399 BC) spent much of his time debating with interlocutors about the meaning of words. He always sought definitional clarity; his interlocutors, often in a hurry to get out of the conversation, almost invariably wanted to leave the terms as ambiguous as possible. In one dialogue,for example, Socrates encounters a fellow named Euthyphro who is in a rush to prosecute his own father in the Athenian courts for a crime against “piety.” Shocked by Euthyphro’s zeal, he replies that Euthyphro must surely be well-versed in the meaning of “piety”—and have thought very carefully about its application—to warrant this otherwise scandalous lack of filial respect. Euthyphro assures Socrates that he is, indeed, an expert, which prompts Socrates to engage in a dialectical examination of the meaning and justification of the term—which soon reveals that Euthyphro hasn’t the faintest idea of what he’s talking about.

The dialogue ends with Euthyphro responding to Socrates’ offer to pursue greater definitional clarity: “Well, some other time, then, Socrates, because I’m in a hurry to get somewhere and it’s time for me to go.”1 Unperturbed by his own ignorance, Euthyphro then dashes off to get his father thrown into jail. (One wonders if a large inheritance was pending a successful prosecution). Forebodingly, we also learn in the Euthyphro that Socrates himself is being brought up on charges of “impiety” and “corrupting the youth”—charges that will later lead to his execution, even though, as we see in the accounts of Socrates’ trial, the accusers fail to provide a fixed, consistent, and coherent definition of “piety” and “corruption.”

Continued below.
Ambiguous Words Invite Bad Actions - Word on Fire

 

[GodsGrace101]

One of the consolations of studying philosophy is to realize that the French aphorism plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose—the more things change, the more they stay the same—accurately describes much of the history of ideas, especially moral and political ideas. It’s tempting to feel that we live in an unprecedentedly mad age, one so disconnected from reality that it can only mean that the end of the world is nigh. But madness and the denial of reality have a long, if less-than-august, legacy that is worth remembering. Indeed, we can go back to the birth of philosophy itself.

Socrates (470—399 BC) spent much of his time debating with interlocutors about the meaning of words. He always sought definitional clarity; his interlocutors, often in a hurry to get out of the conversation, almost invariably wanted to leave the terms as ambiguous as possible. In one dialogue,for example, Socrates encounters a fellow named Euthyphro who is in a rush to prosecute his own father in the Athenian courts for a crime against “piety.” Shocked by Euthyphro’s zeal, he replies that Euthyphro must surely be well-versed in the meaning of “piety”—and have thought very carefully about its application—to warrant this otherwise scandalous lack of filial respect. Euthyphro assures Socrates that he is, indeed, an expert, which prompts Socrates to engage in a dialectical examination of the meaning and justification of the term—which soon reveals that Euthyphro hasn’t the faintest idea of what he’s talking about.

The dialogue ends with Euthyphro responding to Socrates’ offer to pursue greater definitional clarity: “Well, some other time, then, Socrates, because I’m in a hurry to get somewhere and it’s time for me to go.”1 Unperturbed by his own ignorance, Euthyphro then dashes off to get his father thrown into jail. (One wonders if a large inheritance was pending a successful prosecution). Forebodingly, we also learn in the Euthyphro that Socrates himself is being brought up on charges of “impiety” and “corrupting the youth”—charges that will later lead to his execution, even though, as we see in the accounts of Socrates’ trial, the accusers fail to provide a fixed, consistent, and coherent definition of “piety” and “corruption.”

Continued below.
Ambiguous Words Invite Bad Actions - Word on Fire

Below where!

So what does PIETY mean?