Abstract

Philanthropy, i.e. the inclination to promote human welfare, is a topic that imposes a simple and complicated question at the same time: we give to others having as a main reason the others welfare or the personal well-being? Many scientific disciplines have tried, and still try to give a solution to this question. The purpose of this research is to provide some answers through the analysis of the relevant literature. There will be initially presented the three main theoretical lines related to pro-social behavior (evolutionary, selfish and altruistic), a comparison that highlights the common boundaries of these approaches, and a recent model that proposes to integrate them. Subsequently, empirical evidence will be presented showing the main errors related to emotional and cognitive processes that characterize philanthropic decisions.