As the saying goes “There’s nothing new under the sun“. And nothing is truer than when it comes to people gossiping, even in ancient Greece over 2,000 years ago. So much so that we have a fable passed down to us as to how the great Socrates dealt with it – his three filters.
The Three Filters
Socrates
Philosopher
Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. He is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon and the plays of his contemporary Aristophanes.
| Born : | Alopece |
| Died : | 399 BC, Classical Athens |
| Spouse : | Xanthippe |
| Books : | The Apology |
| Students : | Plato, Xenophon, Antisthenes, Aristippus, Euclid of Megara |
Separating Useful Information from Gossip
We are increasingly being fed with utterly useless information – because we willingly consume it. So, I think it is time to take a step back and take Socrates’ advice to help us in making a better judgment about the information that we consume, especially on the internet.
In a nutshell, pass the information through these 3 Filters :
| Filter 1 : Truth | Is the information provider absolutely sure about the veracity of his/her claim? |
| Filter 2 : Goodness | Does it have any goodness? |
| Filter 3 : Useful | Is the information useful to you personally? |
So the next time you are presented with gossip try applying Socrates’ three filters and you may find as well as being good for you it will also be good for the person who is the object of the gossip as well.
