Socrates was a Greek philosopher renowned for his wisdom and also for his art of giving birth to spirits: the maieutics
One day when he was walking on the agora, he was approached by a quidam who questioned him like this:
- Socrates! Do you know what I just learned about one of your students?
- Warning ! said Socrates, before saying anything, you must pass the test of the triple filter …
- Triple filter?
- Yes. Before you talk to me about one of my students, you have to filter what you are going to say … The first filter is the TRUTH. Are you absolutely certain that what you are going to tell me is true?
-Euh … that is to say … no. I just heard him say … –
Well, you’re not sure what you’re going to say is the truth.
-The second filter is GOODNESS. What do you have to say to me is it good for my student?
-Ben … not exactly …
-So, you want to tell me something that is not good for my student without being sure it is true. Let’s try the third filter, if you do not mind: this is the UTILITY filter. What do you want to tell me is it useful for me?
-It is hard to say, rather no, in fact …
-You will grant me that you wish to entrust me with something bad about my student, which will be of no use to me and of which you are not sure that it is true. Do not you think it would be better, in this case, to shut up?
-Si, Socrates, I can see you’re right. I will shut up then.
It is by this reasoning that Socrates passed to posterity as a great sage.
It is also in this way that Socrates did not know that Plato was deceiving him with his wife. And the maieutics then!