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By Dr. Harry Tennant
Thursday, November 18, 2010 Education History: ...or Modern Day Creativity-- The Triple Filter Test I came across The Triple Filter Test in a forwarded email years ago. It had a single spicy punchline that made the otherwise fascinating story unfortunately suspect. I copied the email here, less the final "joke" sentence. It seems that there is quite a bit of discussion on the net about the truth of this story. Is this part of Socrates teachings? Has there been a definitive ruling? There seem to be more doubters than believers. Regardless, it is an instructive piece. The Triple Filter Test Keep this philosophy in mind the next time you either hear or are about to repeat a rumor.In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?" "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 my student 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 or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?" "No, on the contrary ...". "So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, 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 my student 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?" The man was defeated and ashamed. Posted at 8:06 AM Keywords: Socrates , Triple Filter Test , Gossip , Rumors 0 Comments |