#socrates - The three filter test

One day in ancient Greece, an acquaintance met with the great philosopher Socrates and said, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

“Hold on a minute,” Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything, let’s put it through the triple filter test.”

“Triple filter?” the man asked.

“That’s right,” Socrates continued. “The first filter is truth. Are you absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

The man replied, “Well, no… I just heard about it and—”

Socrates interrupted, “Alright, so you don’t even know if it’s true. Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something that’s good?”

The man replied, “No, on the contrary—”.

Socrates interrupted again, “So you want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true. Okay let’s try the final filter, the filter of usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful for me?”

The man replied, “Not really—”.

Socrates concluded, “Well, if what you want to say is not true, not good, nor useful, then why say it at all?”

#socrates #philosophy #test