The
Triple Filter Test
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
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. 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?"
"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 & held in such high esteem.
Friends
use this triple filter each time you hear loose talk about any of your
near & dear friends.