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 Id like you to pass a little test. Its called the Test of Three. Test of Three? Thats right, Socrates continued. Before you talk to me about my student lets take a moment to test what youre going to say. The first test 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 dont really know if its true or not. Now lets try the second test, the test 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 youre not certain its true? The man shrugged, a little embarrassed. Socrates continued. You may still pass though, because there is a third test - 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?
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 04:29:16 +0000
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