Are People Selfish? Based on the Behavioral Economics Games, the Altruistic Behaviors of Waqf Founder the Ottoman Empire to Reduce Poverty

Türkçe

It is known that people do not merely consider their interests but also have been thinking about other peoplewith empathy in making decisions since the very first day of their existence. This type of positive socialbehavior is considered as altruism, empathy and love toward others. Altruistic behaviors, exhibited withoutexpecting a reward or something in return, prioritize the benefit of the others. Although mainstreameconomics mentions individuals maximizing their own interests, any behavior that will increase the welfareof the other regardless of interest is essentially an economic action. The aim of the study is to investigatethe behaviors of Ottoman waqf founders in favor of others or non-selfish behaviors in terms of altruisticfeatures based on behavioral economics games and concepts. After all, it was determined that empathyinduced altruistic behavior that emerged in the ultimatum, dictator, trust and public good games, were thesame as the waqf founders’ altruistic behaviors.