The Concept of Holiness and Socrates Position - Essay Example

Socrates brings out the concept of holiness as being in close relation to the gods and how they regard things in their domain; when he states “…that which is in a state to be loved of the gods and is dear to them, is in a state to be loved of them because it is loved of them?" (Whydthathappen). Following his words, the concept of holiness takes a stand that things are holy because the gods value them and hold them in high regard and esteem. Due to this, the essence of love by the gods determines the state of holiness within an item, was provided the gods like or love an item; subsequently, it can be considered holy. Because the gods love an item, the object undergoes a state of transition from neutrality, when the gods did not love it, to a point of eternal quality because the gods in the current time love it (Whydthathappen). In addition, because of wielding the quality, the item remains holy provided that.

In totality, it is the love of the gods that determine the state of being of an object concerning holiness; thus when an object is regarded as being holy in the absence of the gods, it becomes null. This is because; the gods’ absence means that nothing is holy since they do not regard any object to be of quality worth noting. According to Socrates, saying that an object is holy because it is loved by the gods is a redundant concept because it puts the entire essence of quality on a lower being (Sharpe 35). The lower being is left to judge the quality of an item and leads the gods into loving it like a man (the lower being) considers and labels it to be holy. The standards of the gods must be in play for an object or item to bear the term holy because they are regarded to be a final authority. To illustrate the argument presented by Socrates, it is important to note that one does not say that he is hungry because he eats. Rather than that, one says, he eats because he is hungry because it is the only logical explanation of what leads to the other. Similarly, the gods love things, and as a result, the things gain holy status.

In conclusion, Socrates’ definition of holiness follows the logic of power and authority, where the senior being defines the parameters for the junior to follow. As a result, items become holy based on the quality and love that gods bestow upon them, and do not love the items because they are holy.