Money

Yale-NUS College, Spring 2025

Key Information

• Instructor: Andrew M. Bailey (email)
• Time: 13:00-14:20, Tue/Fri
• Place: Classroom 16
• Office Hours: By appointment (my office is in Saga, Floor 2, in the suite nearest to Tower B)

Module Description

If you have money, you probably think about it a fair bit. And if you don't have money, you might think about it even more. In this module, we will think about money a lot. One goal of the module is to reach a clearer understanding of questions concerning money and its place in a well-lived life. But it is not just the questions and proposed answers (considered as theoretical problems) that are important. I also hope to see students grapple with the topic in a personal way, and to adjust their own opinions and practices in light of the experiences and evidence we uncover in the module.

This module lies at the intersection of philosophy, politics, and economics. It will therefore require engagement with both theoretical and empirical concepts, analysis, and arguments. Reading assignments will draw from recent philosophical articles, some literature (short stories) and relevant work in the social sciences.

Questions and Topics

The module will revolve around some questions about money, including:

• How does money differ from mere wealth, and what are the main results in the psychology of money? What can these results tell us about how we ought to think about money?
• Rich people agree that being rich won't necessarily make you happy. But then again, they also say it can make misery a lot easier to live with. Is that right? What, exactly, is the relationship between money and happiness? Should you want to be rich? How much is enough? What would happen if we settled for less?
• Does money make us worse? Is the love of it, after all, the root of all sorts of evil?
• Money is, among other things, a means of exchange and a store of value. Are there ethical limits on what we should use money for? Are there things that simply should not be for sale?
• What do markets do to us? Does money (owning it, using it, buying and selling, and so on) alienate us? From our own selves? From each other?
• Is paid labor, by nature, exploitative or unjust? What about contemporary institutions of paid labor?
• Wealth and income inequality get a lot of attention and are often thought to be deep problems. But are they real problems? If there's something wrong with wealth and income inequality, what might it be, exactly? Does justice require a certain distribution of wealth or income?
• What norms of communication, expression, and semiotics govern markets? Are these norms contingent? Do we have a duty to change those norms?
• What is the ultimate use of using economic analysis? How can it inform philosophical reflection on our topics? How can philosophy inform economic analysis?
• What are cryptocurrencies, and are they a form of money?

Policies and Assignments

Guiding Principle

In this module, as in all others, I will aim to both challenge and exercise care for students. This module will be pitched at a level somewhere between PPT and a 4000-level module intended exclusively for PPE majors.

Evaluation

Your grade for the module will be determined by the following activities (click for details):

• Preparation: 5%
You will complete two Preps on assigned readings. Preps encode (in 1-2 pages) your critical interaction with some bit of reading before class discussion. The goal here is not just to say what the reading was up to, but to begin to evaluate it. You will be assigned particular readings on which to do Preps. For details, go here.
• Creation: 10%
You will complete one creative Project. You may, if you wish, work in groups. This Project may involve practical applications suited to your own interests and proclivities. The Project assignment will be open-ended and you will present results to the entire class. You will begin work on this project in Week 7. Details here.
• Engagement: 35%
Successful seminar engagement includes listening, asking questions, and lively and critical interaction with your colleagues. You may, if you wish, supplement your engagement grade through sophisticated discussion in office hours and up to one additional Prep.
• Disquisition: 50%
You will complete an in-depth oral exam spanning a wide range of course topics. An extensive list of questions will be distributed in advance, and particular topics of focus will be selected at random at the time of exam. Details here. Exam form here.

Class Attendance

You may miss up to two class meetings without penalty. Beyond that, each unexcused absence will count against your Engagement grade. You may ameliorate up to one unexcused absence with an additional Prep.

Academic Integrity

I tend to be an easy-going professor. Exceptions to this rule tend to involve intellectual fraud. Avoid intellectual fraud, submit only your own best work, and cite your sources. Use of generative tools should be explicitly acknowledged. Talk with me if you have any questions on this matter. Consider yourself warned; there will be no further warning.

Accommodations

If you have a condition that interferes with your ability to participate in this module, you may be entitled to accommodation. Please contact your Assistant Dean of Students to secure such accommodation.

Schedule and Readings

You need not purchase any books for this module. If you have trouble accessing the readings, or if printing them imposes difficulties, email me.