Complexity science provides new ways of modelling the financial system as a complex system. It challenges dominant views of linearity, predictability, and responsibility in finance. On the philosophical side, this could have implications for how we think about morality in financial markets. On the policy side, the complexity approach could require a rethinking of how we regulate the financial system.

In this seminar, we first provide an introduction to some key concepts and the mathematical foundations of complexity science. Drawing on resources from the philosophy of science, we then ask what we can possibly expect to learn from models of complexity. We also ask if the financial system is really ‘complex’. We’ll spend a lot of time investigating some specific complexity  models. Finally, we discuss the implications of these approaches for the ethics of finance and for financial regulation.

Get the seminar briefing pack.

Winter 2015/16, with Carsten Jung and Kate Vredenburgh

Philosophy and Economics Programme, University of Bayreuth