Establishes that “the pious is what all the gods love”. Socrates immediately asks a clarifying question, asking whether the gods love pious acts because they are pious or whether it is because because the gods love these actions it makes them pious. Euthyphro chooses to say that the gods love pious acts because they are pious, which was an error in his thought process. Euthyphro made the mistake of asking the question. Socrates shows that although Euthyphro is considered an expert in this field, he absolutely knows how to understand piety. He brought the conversation to the beginning by saying that pious acts are pious because they are pious, which is no explanation. It is redundant in thought, which is what Socrates wanted to avoid. Ultimately, when Socrates tries to push Euthyphro's thinking further, Euthyphro simply gives up and avoids Socrates altogether. Plato once again illustrates the importance of applying rational thinking when venturing to find the truth. Euthyphro did not ask himself penetrating and challenging questions to further push his idea towards the truth. If he had used rational standards, he would have developed his idea much more clearly