One day in ancient Greece, an acquaintance met with the great philosopher Socrates and said, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?”
“Hold on a minute,” Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything, let’s put it through the triple filter test.”
“Triple filter?” the man asked.
“That’s right,” Socrates continued. “The first filter is truth. Are you absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?”
The man replied, “Well, no… I just heard about it and—”
Socrates interrupted, “Alright, so you don’t even know if it’s true. Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend, something that’s good?”
The man replied, “No, on the contrary—”.
Socrates interrupted again, “So you want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true. Okay let’s try the final filter, the filter of usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful for me?”
The man replied, “Not really—”.
Socrates concluded, “Well, if what you want to say is not true, not good, nor useful, then why say it at all?”
The human voice is a powerful tool. It can start wars or say ‘I love you.’ It can bring people together or tear them apart. It can move mountains or simply soothe a broken heart. My favourite author, Douglas Adams parodied this in his book ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’ when he wrote “A word slipped through a wormhole in space-time. It was one of those things which was bound to happen sooner or later: a word got through, and it was the wrong word, at the wrong time, to the wrong people. And far far too much to drink had been consumed” this misunderstanding due to a misheard word led to a galactic war.
Indeed, careless speech leads to many problems, while thoughtful speech creates a better world. Yet how many of us have actually learned how to speak? Imagine if we ingrained Socrates’ Triple Filter Test in all children, how different would our media be, and how different would the world be?
Socrates isn’t the only person to emphasize proper speech. Confucius and the Buddha also have many teachings on proper speech.
Confucius’s teachings on proper speech can be found in the book Di Zi Gui: Guide to Happy Life:
- Whatever I speak, trustworthiness comes first
- When I speak, make sure the volume and speed are comfortable for the listener
- When I speak, make eye contact with the listener
- Speaking less is better than speaking more
- Don’t use flowery language, foul language, or exaggeration
- What I do not know for sure, do not say
These principles are taught to children and practiced by adults in ancient China, which is a major factor in their societal peace and harmony.
Buddhism has a very similar three-filter test to Socrates:
- Is it true?
- Is it beneficial for the receiver?
- Is it a timely opportunity to speak?
We can see that the key principle here is to be considerate of the listener.
Can we do even better?
Maybe Larcombe’s Quadruple Filter Test is:
- Truth Filter – Is it true?
- Goodness Filter – Is it good?
- Usefulness Filter—is it useful?
- Ethical Filter—Is it moral & legal?
The additional question over Socrates’ filter assess whether a statement or idea aligns with ethical principles and values, and whether it respects the rights and dignity of others.
Conclusion
My father would say “Engage Brain, Open Mouth“, and for many years I have stated “I have two ears and one mouth, and aim to use them in those proportions” —albeit I didn’t know that this quote should be attributed to the Greek philosopher Epictetus until I started my research for this post.
We are fortunate to receive such wise, wonderful and useful teachings from our ancestors, Ewan, Socrates, Confucius, and the Buddha. Of course, I don’t believe that my additional question will ever confirm that ‘Larcombe’s Quadruple Filter Test’ has a place in history but I am happy to be standing on the shoulders of these giants.