The parable of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel of Luke is brought up in the course of a discussion between Jesus and a man of law with regard to the question of what one ought to do “to inherit eternal life”. Referring to the answer given by the law the man quotes a verse from the Pentateuch: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”. (Lv 19:18). He goes on to question Jesus on the meaning of the word “neighbour” to which Jesus replies with a parable:

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:29-37)

The qualities of the Good Samaritan

A study of the Samaritan’s behaviour reveals several qualities that contribute to his altruism:

• First, there is his selflessness. The Samaritan’s disinterested renouncements are striking: he leaves his business (his travels) aside to dedicate considerable time to this man, he makes expenses and avoids no efforts (for example in leaving him his donkey)—all for a stranger of whom he expects nothing in return and to whom he owes nothing.
• The disinterested character of his behaviour is reinforced by the fact that the half-dead stranger is probably Jewish—he in other words belongs to a community that is hostile toward Samaritans. The altruistic gesture of the Samaritan is thus a form of transgression of communitarian taboos. The Good Samaritan’s altruism tends toward a certain universality in which the negative perception of the other is surpassed.
• Then there is the fact that careful attention is paid to detail in the carrying out of the altruistic act. The Samaritan doesn’t content himself with a simple gesture (as for example bringing the man to the closest abode) but takes the smallest details into account—this is perhaps the most striking aspect of the story: he provides first aid (cleans and binds the wounds, uses oil and wine), transports the wounded man to an inn, covers expenses and takes precautions for the future. He acts upon his altruistic impulse to the fullest extent, zealously following through and giving it all his heart.
• Finally, his altruistic action stems from a noble emotion: “He took pity on him”. It’s the presence of this emotion that distinguishes the Samaritan from the two other travellers who seem not to harbour this emotion. This emotion—or, in the context of the Gospel, this love for one’s neighbour—is what motivates the altruistic act and gives it meaning.

The commentators of this parable tend to linger on the fact that the priest and the Levite—contrary to the Samaritan—did not stop despite the fact that they had noticed the poor man—the probable reason being that as they were responsible for religious office the contact with blood would have made them impure in the eyes of the law. By opposing the transgressive attitude of the Samaritan to the “legal” attitude of the priest and the Levite, Jesus would be expressing here the priority of the “law toward one’s neighbour”—the law of the heart—over the Law, for he who seeks “to inherit eternal life”. This is a characteristic reversal of the message of this Gospel.

Attention to others

Another essential quality of the Samaritan’s is his attention to others. To fully understand this idea, let us consider the following experiment that uses the parable and that Daniel Goleman describes in his book Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships (Chapter 4: An Instinct for Altruism):

1. 40 students from a divinity school are studying a sermon from the Bible, half of whom are focusing on the parable of the Good Samaritan.
2. The experiment (that the students are—of course—not aware of) is the following: on their way to present their papers they all pass a man bent over and moaning.
3. 24 out of 40 students stop independently of the theme of their sermon. Having studied the parable at length has had no particular effect on their behaviour.
4. Out of the 10 students who believed they were late, only one stopped. Out of the 10 who believed they had time 6 stopped.

The main factor determining the students’ aptitude for altruism was thus the degree of concern that they would do well in their presentation (which was reinforced by the anxiety of arriving on time). Furthermore, those who had studied the parable had visibly not crossed the threshold of theory to practice.

Daniel Goleman concludes that for altruism to be possible, the time to pay attention to others needs to be taken. Focusing on others enables empathy to spring up within us, allows us to feel concerned, and generates an emotional circle that motivates us to act. One of the main difficulties we are facing in this modern world is that we get caught up in what he calls “urban trance”—this self-absorbed state we tend to fall into on crowded streets—and thus become incapable of this simple act of attention that generates the emotional circle and in turn altruism; despite the fact—as Goleman points out—that it is an instinctive activity.

This experiment is presented by Daniel Goleman in the following conference on the theme of compassion:

Conclusion

The following diagram sums up a first glance of the bundle of human qualities involved in practising altruism (click on image for a better view):

To conclude let us keep in mind two key ideas:

• Practising altruism mobilizes numerous qualities including: abnegation, attention to detail, noble emotion, universality, and, most of all, attention to others. Try analysing these prerequisites for altruism in yourself.
• The ambivalence of the character of the Good Samaritan in everyday language. Indeed, “to play the Good Samaritan” means to be charitable and helpful to those in need. The expression has a friendly and positive connotation, but sometimes comes with tinge of irony: the Good Samaritan strikes as a “soft touch” and the naivety of his actions call to mind the Scout’s good deeds. In that sense, he is somewhat immature and exposes himself to potential crooks and swindlers. This touch of irony or cynicism in everyday language (in French perhaps even more so than in English) accounts for a certain ambivalence in the representation we have of the Good Samaritan. Does this ambivalence suggest certain risks or limits of altruism?

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