Judgment of Solomon
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-28
CORE DEFINITION
The Judgment of Solomon is a story from the Bible, 1 Kings 3:16-28. It is recorded that two mothers of newborn sons came to King Solomon, each claiming her story to be true. They lived in the same house, and one night, shortly after giving birth, one woman discovered she had smothered her own child. In grief and jealousy, she swapped her dead child with the other woman's living child. The next morning, the second woman found the dead child but soon realized it was not her son but the first woman's. King Solomon pondered, then ordered a sword to be brought and declared that the only fair solution was to cut the living child in two, giving each mother half. Upon hearing this dreadful verdict, the first woman said, "It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it!" But the second woman cried out, "My lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!" Solomon immediately gave the child to the second woman, for the true mother instinctively protected her child, while the liar showed she did not truly love the child.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
The Judgment of Solomon is a story from the Bible, 1 Kings 3:16-28. It is recorded that two mothers of newborn sons came to King Solomon, each claiming her story to be true. They lived in the same house, and one night, shortly after giving birth, one woman discovered she had smothered her own child. In grief and jealousy, she swapped her dead child with the other woman's living child. The next morning, the second woman found the dead child but soon realized it was not her son but the first woman's.
Anchor fast decisions
Solomon set a 'destructive proposal' (splitting the child) to expose the true preferences of the two claimants: the true mother, out of love, would rather give up the child (not wanting the child to die), while the false mother, out of possessiveness, would accept the destruction. Essentially, it is a screening mechanism that makes the 'true type' self-reveal in equilibrium—using extreme costs to distinguish between those who only seek possession and those who seek the child's well-being.
MINIMUM ACTION
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%89%80%E7%BD%97%E9%97%A8%E7%9A%84%E5%AE%A1%E5%88%A4verified
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