Philanthropy as Meaning-Driven Social Behavior: An Integrative Model of How and Why to Give in Western and Global South Contexts

Abstract

This research aims to reconstruct the concept of philanthropy through an integration of Western and Indonesian Islamic perspectives within an Indigenous Psychology framework. Philanthropy studies have tended to be dominated by Western approaches that emphasize the prosocial aspects of "how" giving for example, empathy, altruism, and social norms. However, this framework is considered inadequate to explain philanthropic practices in religious societies like Indonesia, which are steeped in spiritual values ​​​​and the question of "why" giving.The research employed a qualitative approach using library research and content analysis of primary literature from two epistemological traditions: Western and Indonesian Islam. The findings demonstrate that philanthropy is a multidimensional phenomenon influenced not only by psychological mechanisms and social structures, but also by dimensions of meaning, religiosity, and cultural values. In the Indonesian context, the envirromental and everyday social practices in pesantren strengthen the embeddedness of philanthropy, while the modernization of Islamic philanthropic institutions is oriented toward social justice. This research produces a conceptual synthesis in the form of a meaning-based social behavior model that integrates the "how" and "why" dimensions. This model expands philanthropy theory, strengthens the Indigenous Psychology approach, and provides a more holistic and contextual framework from a Global South perspective.