The Greatness Of
SocratesKeep this in mind the next
time you are about to repeat a rumor or spread gossip.
In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC),
Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day an acquaintance ran
up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard
about Diogenes?
"Wait a moment," Socrates replied,
"Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the
Triple Filter Test."
"Triple filter?" asked the
acquaintance.
"That's right," Socrates continued,
"Before you talk to me about Diogenes let's take a moment to 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."
"All right," said Socrates, "So you
don't really know if it's true not. Now let's try the second filter, the
filter of Goodness. Is what you are
about to tell me about Diogenes something
good?"
"No, on the
contrary..."
"So," Socrates continued, "You want
to tell me something about Diogenes that may be bad, even though you're not
certain it's true?"
The man shrugged, a little
embarrassed. Socrates continued, "You may still pass the test though, because
there is a third filter, the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about
Diogenes 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 or anyone at all?"
The man was bewildered and ashamed
and left. This is an example of why Socrates was a great philosopher and
held in such high esteem.
It also explains why Socrates never
found out that Diogenes was banging his wife.
No comments:
Post a Comment