Euthyphro does have good motivations for his own actions, but it seems to be implied in the text that Euthyphro is also the kind of person who would vote for Socrates to be sentenced to death. Euthyphro seems to be a stand-in for the average agreeable, righteous Athenian citizen. Euthyphro’s intent to prosecute his father isn’t the sign of decline in public dialogue, the fact that the same argument (importance of “decency”) can be used for both Euthyphro’s righteous prosecution and Socrates’ unjustified death sentence is the sign of decline in public life/dialogue.
Euthyphro does have good motivations for his own actions, but it seems to be implied in the text that Euthyphro is also the kind of person who would vote for Socrates to be sentenced to death. Euthyphro seems to be a stand-in for the average agreeable, righteous Athenian citizen. Euthyphro’s intent to prosecute his father isn’t the sign of decline in public dialogue, the fact that the same argument (importance of “decency”) can be used for both Euthyphro’s righteous prosecution and Socrates’ unjustified death sentence is the sign of decline in public life/dialogue.