The three Socratic filters refer to an anecdote of the Greek philosopher Socrates. It is considered one of the great life lessons that apply to situations in which rumor and gossip prevail.
The story
He tells of an occasion when one of his disciples arrived and told the philosopher that he had met one of his friends and that this friend had told him about Socrates with great malevolence.
Socrates asked him to calm down and after thinking about it for a moment he replied that before telling him the story he should go through three necessary filters. If it did not pass for these filters, the message was not worthy of being heard.
The Socratic method of teaching is based on questions and so the philosopher proceeded on this occasion, asking his disciple:
- “Are you absolutely sure that what you are going to tell me is true?” Thinking for a moment the disciple realized that he could not be sure that what he had heard was a malevolence, it was more a matter of perspectives.
- “What are you going to tell me is good or not?” The disciple replied that it was not good at all. On the contrary, the words would cause affliction and discomfort.
- “Is what you have to tell me about my friend going to help me?” The disciple hesitated and replied that he didn’t really know if the information could help him.
Socrates replied: “If what you want to tell me is not true, good or even not useful, why would I want to know?”
How do I apply the three Socratic filters in this blog
This is how you can summarize the three Socratic filters: Truth | Kindness | Utility
In the philosopher’s opinion, these are the questions we have to ask ourselves before saying or writing something.
Being this triple filter an excellent guide, I will apply it in this blog,
whether for my own publications or other bloggers’ publications.
In the context of this blog, the three Socratic filters are translated into the following analysis before any publication:
- Truth: Can I prove it? Do you know for sure? Would you be able to sustain it before anyone? Would you be willing to bet your reputation on this?
- Goodness: Will it improve the situation of the people involved? Does it make me feel better or benefit the other person or myself? Will it cause positive emotions?
- Usefulness: Will someone’s life or my life improve with this information? Can that person take any practical action with that information or that message?
