Member-only story
Practical advice: Should I give money to a beggar?
M. wrote: Should I give money to a beggar who asks me every day at the same traffic light on my way to work? I understand that Stoically we are citizens of the cosmos and we must help each other; but when it comes to temperance, as a cardinal virtue, does it mean that I should give him some coins one day, and the next I should not? People I have talked to have told me that they are lazy, that they do not look for a job on their own. Someone said (I’m not sure if it was Lao Tzu): “If you give a hungry man a fish, you feed him for a day, but if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” What should a Stoic do?
Well, the first thing a Stoic would do is not to assume that the person in question is lazy or doesn’t want a job. Epictetus reminds us that it is dangerous and uncalled for to jump to conclusions about other people’s intentions:
“Someone bathes in haste; don’t say he bathes badly, but in haste. Someone drinks a lot of wine; don’t say he drinks badly, but a lot. Until you know their reasons, how do you know that their actions are vicious?” (Enchiridion 45)
There are all sorts of reasons why people may end up homeless, jobless, or poor (or all of the above), and it isn’t up to us to pass judgment, especially given that such judgments are often based on nothing more than prejudice.
Regarding fish and fishing, according to the Quote Investigator the sentiment is first documented in the novel “Mrs. Dymond” published in 1885 by Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie:
“He certainly doesn’t practise his precepts, but I suppose the Patron meant that if you give a man a fish he is hungry again in an hour. If you teach him to catch a fish you do him a good turn. But these very elementary principles are apt to clash with the leisure of the cultivated classes.”
Since you brought up the quote, let me ask you: if you decide not to give that person fish, are you going to take the time to teach him how to fish instead?
But let’s get to the heart of your question: should a Stoic, or indeed a decent person, give money to a homeless or poor person every time they ask? If you take seriously the notion that that person is your brother, then you probably should. After all, you would do it if it…
