Is something good because the gods approve it, or do the gods approve it because it is good?

• The Situation: Euthyphro claims that piety is whatever the gods love.
• The Dilemma: Socrates asks whether divine approval creates goodness, or whether the gods recognize something that is already good.
• The Significance: The question challenges us to ask whether morality depends entirely on authority.
• The Modern Form: Is an action right merely because a religion, government, culture, or leader commands it?

## Reference: Plato, Euthyphro, 10a–10d.