For our inaugural episode of The Analyst & The Fool's "Because I Didn't Read It," we begin with Plato's dialogue "Euthyphro." This dialogue tackles the perennial questions: "What is piety? What does it mean to 'obey the will of the gods'? Is the will of the gods unmoving and unchanging, or are the gods mercurial and subject to a higher law?"

The dialogue begins with our homeboy Socrates sitting on the steps of the Athenian courthouse awaiting his trial for corrupting the youth by preaching impiety. His ol' buddy Euthyphro greets him exiting the courthouse. Euthypho informs Socrates that he had just sued his own father for putting a slave to death and that doing so was the "pious" thing to do. Socrates has now struck gold: "Dude, you gotta tell me what piety is now, since I'm about to be charged as a criminal for being impious! I should have you as my defense attorney" Thus begins the enlightening dialogue!

For more information, suggestions, or any other nonsensical antics, please feel free to reach out to us at theanalystandthefool@gmail.com

For more information on Christian Van Dyke and Brandon Wilson, please feel free to check their bios at https://mormonstudies.cgu.edu/students/current-students/

Christian and Brandon also have respective podcast episodes that go into more detail about their backgrounds and scholarly approaches. Those can be accessed at CGU's "American Scripture" podcast site at: https://info.cgu.edu/podcasts/american-scripture/

Brandon also recently recorded a podcast with Nathan Smith about Hesychasm and its psycho-spiritual practices. That can be found on Nathan's YouTube channel, "Mind Makes This World." Check out his other works as well! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0wV7iSa9l2D1S4LrVw2Rpw

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