The Philosophy of Money and Finance

Most people use money almost every day, and financial assets have become so important to modern life 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 a 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? What role should financial assets and financial institutions play in our lives and in society?

The philosophy of money and finance inquires into these types of questions, and takes a look ’under the hood’ of money and finance, to address issues concerning the nature of money and the normative foundations of financial systems. 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 Philosophy of Money and Finance presents sixteen original chapters providing a comprehensive introduction to this exciting new field. The book is divided into four parts, covering metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and political philosophy. Within each part, questions that are central to the topic are presented and discussed by leading scholars. The essays are written in a clear and straightforward manner and without presupposing any background in either philosophy or finance.

Joakim Sandberg, University of Gothenburg, Lisa Warenski, CUNY Graduate Center

Joakim Sandberg is Professor of Practical Philosophy and Director of the Financial Ethics Research Group at University of Gothenburg. He is also Professor of Economics and Finance from a Humanist Perspective at University of Groningen, and Vice Director of the Sustainable Finance Lab which is a collaboration between several Swedish universities and companies. Joakim has led several research projects within the philosophy of money and finance on topics including ethical responsibilities in investment, the ethical and legal duties of financial institutions, consumer attitudes towards sustainable finance, ethical and political aspects of financial crises, ethical aspects of microfinance for the poor, political aspects of cryptocurrencies, and banks’ obligations with regard to biodiversity.

Lisa Warenski, PhD, is Research Associate in the Department of Philosophy at University of Connecticut and affiliated Associate Professor at the City University of New York Graduate Center. She works primarily in epistemology. She has published on a priori justification, fallibilism, naturalistic epistemologies, and metanormativity. Her research in applied epistemology focuses on epistemic practices in financial institutions. She is a former corporate credit analyst and loan officer with over eight years’ experience working in major money center banks in New York City.