The Philosophical Limitations of Using Game Theory in the Interactive Analysis of Islamic Economics

Expanding the use of Game Theory in economics has paved the way for greater use of mathematical techniques in the analysis of interactive behaviors. In the meantime, scholars of Islamic economics, like the other economists, use the (apparently neutral) mathematical language or tools to analyze the interactive behaviors studied in Islamic economics. Nevertheless, it seems that Game Theory is not as neutral as it is claimed to be. The present paper deals with the considerations that should be taken into account in case of using this theory for explaining the issues in Islamic economics. According to the research hypothesis, using Game Theory in the interactive analyses of Islamic economics is faced with some philosophical limitations. The findings show that Game Theory is based on four philosophical foundations: (1) the primacy of consistent understanding over empirical truth; (2) instrumentalism without acceptable prediction (3) the primacy of formal truth based on axioms over empirical truth and (4) resorting to instrumental rationality. The dependence of this theory on the above controversial principles creates some restrictions on its application in the study of Islamic economics. Accordingly, before using Game Theory, the scholars of Islamic economics should be aware of the effects of adopting these principles on the results of their analysis.