Abstract
Finance and philosophy may seem to be worlds apart. But they share at least one common ancestor: Thales of Miletus. Thales is typically regarded as the first philosopher, but he was also a financial innovator. He appears to have been what we would now call an option trader. He predicted that next year’s olive harvest would be good, and therefore paid a small amount of money to the owners of olive presses for the right to the next year’s use. When the harvest turned out to be as good as predicted, Thales earned a sizable amount of money by renting out the presses (Aristotle, Politics, 1259a).
Obviously, a lot has changed since Thales’ times, both in finance and in our ethical and political attitudes towards finance. Coins have largely been replaced by either paper or electronic money, and we have built a large infrastructure to facilitate transactions of money and other financial assets—with elements including commercial banks, central banks, insurance companies, stock exchanges, and investment funds. This institutional multiplicity is due to concerted efforts of both private and public agents, as well as innovations in financial economics and in the financial industry (Shiller 2012).
Our ethical and political sensitivities have also changed in several respects. It seems fair to say that most traditional ethicists held a very negative attitude towards financial activities. Think, for example, of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple from moneylenders, and the widespread condemnation of money as “the root of all evil”. Attitudes in this regard seem to have softened over time. However, the moral debate continues to recur, especially in connection with large scandals and crises within finance, the largest such crisis in recent memory of course being the global financial crisis of 2008.
This article describes what philosophical analysis can say about money and finance. It is divided into five parts that respectively concern (1) what money and finance really are (metaphysics), (2) how knowledge about financial matters is or should be formed (epistemology), (3) the merits and challenges of financial economics (philosophy of science), (4) the many ethical issues related to money and finance (ethics), and (5) the relationship between finance and politics (political philosophy).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |
| Editors | Edward N. Zalta |
| Publisher | Metaphysics Research Lab Center for the Study of Language and Information Stanford University |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Publication series
| Name | The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |
|---|---|
| ISSN (Print) | 1095-5054 |
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de Bruin, B., Herzog, L. M., O'Neill, M., & Sandberg, J. (2018). Philosophy of Money and Finance. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Metaphysics Research Lab Center for the Study of Language and Information Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/money-finance/
de Bruin, Boudewijn ; Herzog, Lisa Maria ; O'Neill, Martin et al. / Philosophy of Money and Finance. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. editor / Edward N. Zalta. Metaphysics Research Lab Center for the Study of Language and Information Stanford University, 2018. (The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
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title = "Philosophy of Money and Finance",
abstract = "Finance and philosophy may seem to be worlds apart. But they share at least one common ancestor: Thales of Miletus. Thales is typically regarded as the first philosopher, but he was also a financial innovator. He appears to have been what we would now call an option trader. He predicted that next year{\textquoteright}s olive harvest would be good, and therefore paid a small amount of money to the owners of olive presses for the right to the next year{\textquoteright}s use. When the harvest turned out to be as good as predicted, Thales earned a sizable amount of money by renting out the presses (Aristotle, Politics, 1259a).Obviously, a lot has changed since Thales{\textquoteright} times, both in finance and in our ethical and political attitudes towards finance. Coins have largely been replaced by either paper or electronic money, and we have built a large infrastructure to facilitate transactions of money and other financial assets—with elements including commercial banks, central banks, insurance companies, stock exchanges, and investment funds. This institutional multiplicity is due to concerted efforts of both private and public agents, as well as innovations in financial economics and in the financial industry (Shiller 2012).Our ethical and political sensitivities have also changed in several respects. It seems fair to say that most traditional ethicists held a very negative attitude towards financial activities. Think, for example, of Jesus{\textquoteright} cleansing of the temple from moneylenders, and the widespread condemnation of money as “the root of all evil”. Attitudes in this regard seem to have softened over time. However, the moral debate continues to recur, especially in connection with large scandals and crises within finance, the largest such crisis in recent memory of course being the global financial crisis of 2008.This article describes what philosophical analysis can say about money and finance. It is divided into five parts that respectively concern (1) what money and finance really are (metaphysics), (2) how knowledge about financial matters is or should be formed (epistemology), (3) the merits and challenges of financial economics (philosophy of science), (4) the many ethical issues related to money and finance (ethics), and (5) the relationship between finance and politics (political philosophy).",
author = "{de Bruin}, Boudewijn and Herzog, {Lisa Maria} and Martin O'Neill and Joakim Sandberg",
year = "2018",
language = "English",
series = "The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy",
publisher = " Metaphysics Research Lab Center for the Study of Language and Information Stanford University",
editor = "Zalta, {Edward N. }",
booktitle = "Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy",
}
de Bruin, B, Herzog, LM, O'Neill, M & Sandberg, J 2018, Philosophy of Money and Finance. in EN Zalta (ed.), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Metaphysics Research Lab Center for the Study of Language and Information Stanford University. <https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/money-finance/>
Philosophy of Money and Finance. / de Bruin, Boudewijn; Herzog, Lisa Maria; O'Neill, Martin et al.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. ed. / Edward N. Zalta. Metaphysics Research Lab Center for the Study of Language and Information Stanford University, 2018. (The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry for encyclopedia/dictionary › Academic › peer-review
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AU - de Bruin, Boudewijn
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N2 - Finance and philosophy may seem to be worlds apart. But they share at least one common ancestor: Thales of Miletus. Thales is typically regarded as the first philosopher, but he was also a financial innovator. He appears to have been what we would now call an option trader. He predicted that next year’s olive harvest would be good, and therefore paid a small amount of money to the owners of olive presses for the right to the next year’s use. When the harvest turned out to be as good as predicted, Thales earned a sizable amount of money by renting out the presses (Aristotle, Politics, 1259a).Obviously, a lot has changed since Thales’ times, both in finance and in our ethical and political attitudes towards finance. Coins have largely been replaced by either paper or electronic money, and we have built a large infrastructure to facilitate transactions of money and other financial assets—with elements including commercial banks, central banks, insurance companies, stock exchanges, and investment funds. This institutional multiplicity is due to concerted efforts of both private and public agents, as well as innovations in financial economics and in the financial industry (Shiller 2012).Our ethical and political sensitivities have also changed in several respects. It seems fair to say that most traditional ethicists held a very negative attitude towards financial activities. Think, for example, of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple from moneylenders, and the widespread condemnation of money as “the root of all evil”. Attitudes in this regard seem to have softened over time. However, the moral debate continues to recur, especially in connection with large scandals and crises within finance, the largest such crisis in recent memory of course being the global financial crisis of 2008.This article describes what philosophical analysis can say about money and finance. It is divided into five parts that respectively concern (1) what money and finance really are (metaphysics), (2) how knowledge about financial matters is or should be formed (epistemology), (3) the merits and challenges of financial economics (philosophy of science), (4) the many ethical issues related to money and finance (ethics), and (5) the relationship between finance and politics (political philosophy).
AB - Finance and philosophy may seem to be worlds apart. But they share at least one common ancestor: Thales of Miletus. Thales is typically regarded as the first philosopher, but he was also a financial innovator. He appears to have been what we would now call an option trader. He predicted that next year’s olive harvest would be good, and therefore paid a small amount of money to the owners of olive presses for the right to the next year’s use. When the harvest turned out to be as good as predicted, Thales earned a sizable amount of money by renting out the presses (Aristotle, Politics, 1259a).Obviously, a lot has changed since Thales’ times, both in finance and in our ethical and political attitudes towards finance. Coins have largely been replaced by either paper or electronic money, and we have built a large infrastructure to facilitate transactions of money and other financial assets—with elements including commercial banks, central banks, insurance companies, stock exchanges, and investment funds. This institutional multiplicity is due to concerted efforts of both private and public agents, as well as innovations in financial economics and in the financial industry (Shiller 2012).Our ethical and political sensitivities have also changed in several respects. It seems fair to say that most traditional ethicists held a very negative attitude towards financial activities. Think, for example, of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple from moneylenders, and the widespread condemnation of money as “the root of all evil”. Attitudes in this regard seem to have softened over time. However, the moral debate continues to recur, especially in connection with large scandals and crises within finance, the largest such crisis in recent memory of course being the global financial crisis of 2008.This article describes what philosophical analysis can say about money and finance. It is divided into five parts that respectively concern (1) what money and finance really are (metaphysics), (2) how knowledge about financial matters is or should be formed (epistemology), (3) the merits and challenges of financial economics (philosophy of science), (4) the many ethical issues related to money and finance (ethics), and (5) the relationship between finance and politics (political philosophy).
M3 - Entry for encyclopedia/dictionary
T3 - The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
BT - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
A2 - Zalta, Edward N.
PB - Metaphysics Research Lab Center for the Study of Language and Information Stanford University
ER -
de Bruin B, Herzog LM, O'Neill M, Sandberg J. Philosophy of Money and Finance. In Zalta EN, editor, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab Center for the Study of Language and Information Stanford University. 2018. (The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
