Fw: Fwd: Socrates thoughts on gossip ...

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Subject: FW: Socrates thoughts on gossip ...

SOCRATES THOUGHTS ON 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 or 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. 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 having an affair with his wife.  

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