The Philosophy of Money and Finance

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Abstract Most people use money almost every day, and financial assets have become so important to us that they determine our fate both as individuals and as societies. Yet we seldom stop to think about what all of this means, how it works, and how it ought to work. How can that small piece of paper in your wallet have value? How can so much power be vested in the numbers that roll across bankers’ computer screens? And what role should financial assets and financial institutions play in our lives and in society? The philosophy of money and finance is a field of inquiry that seeks to answer these types of questions and to take a look under the hood of money and finance. Although philosophical theorizing about money and finance dates back to antiquity, the topic has only recently emerged as a central research focus. Economic globalization, technological innovation, the events of the 2008 financial crisis, and the Covid pandemic, have brought new urgency to a broad array of questions in this field. The original chapters in this volume provide a comprehensive introduction to this exciting new field for scholars and the intellectually curious public. The book is divided into four parts: I. Metaphysics, II. Epistemology, III. Ethics, and IV. Political Philosophy. Within each part, questions that are central to the topic are presented and discussed by leading scholars. The chapters are written in a clear and straightforward manner and without presupposition of any background in either philosophy or finance.