Bhala, Kara Tan --- "The philosophical foundations of financial ethics" [2019] ELECD 1551; in Russo, A. Costanza; Lastra, M. Rosa; Blair, William (eds), "Research Handbook on Law and Ethics in Banking and Finance" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) 2

Book Title: Research Handbook on Law and Ethics in Banking and Finance

Editor(s): Russo, A. Costanza; Lastra, M. Rosa; Blair, William

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 1

Section Title: The philosophical foundations of financial ethics

Author(s): Bhala, Kara Tan

Number of pages: 23

Abstract/Description:

The chapter gives an overview of four moral theories forming the philosophical foundation of financial ethics: utilitarian theory, deontology, justice theory and virtue ethics and it lays out why financial ethics has been largely absent in the finance academy. After defining ethics and describing its main characteristics, the chapter continues with a short history of ethics from Ancient Greece to Continental Existentialism and Anglo-American Analytic Philosophy. It evaluates the two main reasons for the neglect and outright dismissal of financial ethics: Ethical Relativism and Modern Finance Theory.