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Ethics
Euthyphro Dilemma
The question: Is something good because God commands it, or does God command it because it is good?
From Plato's dialogue *Euthyphro*. This dilemma challenges divine command theories of ethics:
- ◆*Horn 1:* If good = what God commands, then morality is arbitrary (God could command anything).
- ◆*Horn 2:* If God commands what is good, then goodness exists independently of God.
**Responses:** - **Orthodox Christianity** resolves this through the essence-energies distinction: goodness is not external to God nor arbitrarily willed — it flows from God's eternal, unchanging nature. - **Islam** (Ash'ari school) affirms divine command theory — what God commands *is* good by definition. - **Classical Theism** generally argues that God's nature *is* the Good, collapsing the false dichotomy.