18 April 2013

A philosophical look at the economy

A workshop at the University of Dundee later next week will examine whether philosophy holds the solutions to ongoing economic turmoil across the world.

Philosophers and market theorists will bring their different perspectives to the event, which takes place at the Dalhousie Building on Thursday, 25th April. The papers presented will reflect on how contemporary philosophy can help us conceptualise the market and reflect on economic problems.

The workshop, entitled 'Oikos + Topos: Economy, Market, and Place in Contemporary Philosophy' is organised by Dr Ashley Woodward. He says that the event will apply fresh perspectives to the financial challenges facing an increasingly globalised system of trade.

"We firmly believe this is an area where philosophical examination of issues and theories can have a real impact on matters that affect everyone across the world," he said. "What is particularly interesting is that a couple of the speakers come from non-academic backgrounds, with one being a stockbroker and one having worked in management.

This helps us to not only engage with contemporary philosophy, but also to do things differently by bringing in expertise from the worlds of finance and management. Our speakers will explore the nature of the market and try to get to the root of where exchange takes place, whether in stock markets or in everyday transactions more familiar to people, and what this means for trade.

"The different beliefs about how markets work are relevant as, ultimately, all economic theories - Marxism, Capitalism, Keynsian, neo-liberalism etc - are philosophies. Many economics department only teach one theory, with the result that they become closed to new ideas while ignoring justified criticisms

"Who knows, maybe the recession would have been averted if there had been a more critical examination of the direction we were moving in. The recent financial crisis shook faith in neo-liberalism and suddenly everything is up for grabs.

"Another aspect to consider is that computers actually make a lot of decisions for us these days, and this obviously has implications for everyone and raises issues about how much control people actually have over the economy. Opening up the real problems we face up to philosophical questioning can only be a good thing."

'Oikos + Topos: Economy, Market, and Place in Contemporary Philosophy' takes place at the Dalhousie Building on Thursday, 25th April. The workshop draws on the works of philosophers such as Gilles Deleuze, Jean-François Lyotard, Paul Ricoeur, and Quentin Meillassoux,

Attendance is free and all are welcome. There is no need to book a place at this event, although more information is available by contacting Dr Ashley Woodward on a.z.woodward@dundee.ac.uk.

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