The
Triple-Filter Test for Gossips:
In ancient Greece, Socrates
was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the
great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your
friend?"
"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before
you talk to me about my friend, it might be good idea to take a moment and
filter what you’re going to say. That’s why I call it the triple filter test.
The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about
to tell me is true?"
"Well, 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?"
"Umm, no, on the contrary…"
"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell
me something bad about my friend, 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?"
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