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The Euthyphro Dilemma is based upon the part of Plato's Euthyphro dialogue, in which Socrates asks "Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?".
It is employed in the philosophy of religion to refute the notion of divine command theory, which hold that God is the foundation of ethics and morality.
The Euthyphro Dilemma asks, "Are morally good acts willed by God because they are morally good, or are they morally good because they are willed by God?".
Agreement with the first part of the dilemma appears to prove that morality exists independently of God.
Agreement with the second part of the dilemma gives rise to the "emptiness problem", the tautology that things are good merely because God has decided they are good; and God, being omnipotent, could as easily will what we would otherwise suppose were immoral things - abhorrent commands, should he or she choose.
In the first case, the link between morality and God is severed. In the second case morality is rendered a useless concept. Both outcomes undermine Divine Command Theory and, arguably, the existence of God.
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