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A Philosopher
In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge
in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great
philosopher and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just
heard about your friend?"
"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me
anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the
Triple Filter Test."
"Triple filter?"
"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me
about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment
and filter what you're going to say. The first filter is Truth.
Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to
tell me is true?"
"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."
"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's
true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of
Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my
friend something good?"
"No, on the contrary..."
"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something
bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may
still pass the test though, because there's one filter left:
the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about
my friend going to be useful to me?"
"No, not really."
"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me
is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to
me at all?"
This is why Socrates was a great philosopher and held
in such high esteem.
It also explains why he never found out his best friend
was screwing his wife.
in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great
philosopher and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just
heard about your friend?"
"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me
anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the
Triple Filter Test."
"Triple filter?"
"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me
about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment
and filter what you're going to say. The first filter is Truth.
Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to
tell me is true?"
"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."
"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's
true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of
Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my
friend something good?"
"No, on the contrary..."
"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something
bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may
still pass the test though, because there's one filter left:
the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about
my friend going to be useful to me?"
"No, not really."
"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me
is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to
me at all?"
This is why Socrates was a great philosopher and held
in such high esteem.
It also explains why he never found out his best friend
was screwing his wife.
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