The very first scene of the Trial and Death of Socrates takes place on the steps of the King Archon’s court when Socrates runs into Euthyphro, who one may imagine sauntering out of the courthouse proudly. The men exchange initial pleasantries, and through those simple hellos, Euthyphro discloses that he is at the courthouse prosecuting his own father for murder because he believes it is the pious thing to do. This news immediately shocks my students, and, frankly, it appears to be of great surprise to Socrates as well. After twenty years of exploring this dialogue with my students, I imagine their outrage comes from Euthyphro’s lack of empathy for his father’s accidental situation. How could he possibly believe that the righteous or faithful thing to do is to prosecute his own father? 

Ashby, R. and P. Lee. “Children's Concepts of Empathy and Understanding in History." In The History Curriculum for Teachers, edited by Christopher Portal, 62–88. London: Falmer, 1987.

Batson, C. Daniel. “These Things Called Empathy: Eight Related but Distinct Phenomena.” In The Social Neuroscience of Empathy, edited by Jean Decety and William Ickes, 3–15. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009.

Bråten, Stein. On Being Moved from Mirror Neurons to Empathy. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2007.

Burns, Charles. P. E. “Teaching and Self-Formation: Why the Ignoble ‘Intro to World Religions’ Really Matters.” Teaching Theology & Religion 4, no. 1 (2001): 15–22.