Happy Monday - The Socrates Test

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 I'd
like you to pass a little test. It's called the Test of Three."

"Test of Three?"

"That's right," Socrates continued "Before you talk to me
about my student let's take a moment to test what you're
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 don't really know if it's
true or not. Now let's 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 you're not certain it's 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?"

The man was defeated and ashamed. This is the reason
Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high
esteem. It also explains why he never found out what
Plato and his wife were up to every Thursday night.

 

The Wisdom of Socrates

 



Socrates was the first of the three great Athenian philosophers (the other two are Plato and Aristotle). Socrates was born in Athens in 469 BC, so he lived through the time of Pericles and the Athenian Empire. He never wrote down his thoughts but his student Plato did write down some of his sayings after his death.

He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is a habit.

Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.

Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for.

Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.

I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.

By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.

Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live.

Could I climb to the highest place in Athens, I would lift my voice and proclaim, "Fellow citizens, why do you turn and scrape every stone to gather wealth, and take so little care of your children to whom one day you must relinquish it all?

Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor too scornful in misfortune.