IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v52y2018icp57-68.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Pataphysics of finance: An essay of visual epistemology

Author

Listed:
  • Schinckus, Christophe

Abstract

Since the economic crisis of 2008, numerous observers have called into question the way that financial knowledge deals with economic reality. In this challenging context, the time has come to embark on a reflection about the role of finance (and financial knowledge) in our contemporary society. This article contributes to this reflection by expanding the process of research through a pataphysical parody illustrating the imaginary dimension of financial knowledge and its implications for accounting practices. Although this imaginary aspect of financial knowledge is often forgotten in finance, it is nevertheless very important since, as I will explain, it directly shapes the computerization of financial markets and can eliminate the economic referent of accounting signs. These claims will be discussed through the lens of a visual epistemology based on the science of imaginary solutions (pataphysics) to illustrate this imaginary nature of financial models. Discussion of the paradoxical consequences implied by increasing computerized implementation of an imaginary solution will ensue. More generally, this paper proposes, on one hand, an original (and critical) perspective on financial knowledge, and on the other hand, an invitation to discuss and escape (from) the mainstream paradigm for the purpose of promoting pluralism in finance.

Suggested Citation

  • Schinckus, Christophe, 2018. "Pataphysics of finance: An essay of visual epistemology," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 57-68.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:52:y:2018:i:c:p:57-68
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2016.08.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235416300405
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2016.08.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Millo, Yuval & Schinckus, Christophe, 2016. "A nuanced perspective on episteme and techne in finance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 124-130.
    2. Domagoj Sajter Tomislav Æoriæ, 2009. "(I)rationality of Investors on Croatian Stock Market: Explaining the Impact of American Indices on Croatian Stock Market," Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, vol. 12(2), pages 57-72, November.
    3. D. Colander & H. Follmer & A. Haas & M. Goldberg & K. Juselius & A. Kirman & T. Lux & B. Sloth, 2010. "The Financial Crisis and the Systemic Failure of Academic Economics," Voprosy Ekonomiki, NP Voprosy Ekonomiki, issue 6.
    4. Mattessich, Richard, 2003. "Accounting representation and the onion model of reality: a comparison with Baudrillard's orders of simulacra and his hyperreality," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 443-470, July.
    5. Macintosh, Norman B., 2003. "From rationality to hyperreality: paradigm poker," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 453-465.
    6. Robert J. Shiller, 2012. "Finance and the Good Society," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 9652.
    7. Christophe Schinckus, 2012. "Financial Economics and Non-representative Art," Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics, , vol. 24(1), pages 77-97, January.
    8. Gendron, Yves & Smith-Lacroix, Jean-Hubert, 2015. "The global financial crisis: Essay on the possibility of substantive change in the discipline of finance," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 83-101.
    9. Guorong Jiang & Nancy Tang & Eve Law, 2002. "Electronic trading in Hong Kong and its impact on market functioning," BIS Papers chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), Market functioning and central bank policy, volume 12, pages 124-137, Bank for International Settlements.
    10. Macintosh, Norman B. & Shearer, Teri & Thornton, Daniel B. & Welker, Michael, 2000. "Accounting as simulacrum and hyperreality: perspectives on income and capital," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 13-50, January.
    11. Geoffrey Poitras, 2000. "The Early History of Financial Economics, 1478–1776," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2151.
    12. Andrew W. Lo & Robert C. Merton, 2009. "Preface to the Annual Review of Financial Economics," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 1-17, November.
    13. Schinckus, Christophe, 2015. "Positivism in finance and its implication for the diversification finance research," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 103-106.
    14. Michael Power, 2010. "Fair value accounting, financial economics and the transformation of reliability," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 197-210.
    15. Everett, Jeff, 2011. "Norman Macintosh: Accounting academe's joyful kynic," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 148-157.
    16. Walker, Stephen P., 2016. "Revisiting the roles of accounting in society," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 41-50.
    17. Franck Jovanovic, 2008. "The Construction of the Canonical History of Financial Economics," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 40(2), pages 213-242, Summer.
    18. Nihel Chabrak & Yves Gendron, 2015. "Promoting research from the "periphery" : engaging critically with the global financial crisis," Post-Print hal-02386863, HAL.
    19. Christian Laux & Christian Leuz, 2010. "Did Fair-Value Accounting Contribute to the Financial Crisis?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(1), pages 93-118, Winter.
    20. Jensen, Michael C., 1978. "Some anomalous evidence regarding market efficiency," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(2-3), pages 95-101.
    21. Donald MacKenzie, 2006. "An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial Models Shape Markets," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262134608, April.
    22. Fabian Muniesa, 2000. "Un robot walrasien : cotation électronique et justesse de la découverte des prix," Post-Print halshs-00087467, HAL.
    23. Cooper, Christine, 2015. "Accounting for the fictitious: A Marxist contribution to understanding accounting's roles in the financial crisis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 63-82.
    24. Haug, Espen Gaarder & Taleb, Nassim Nicholas, 2011. "Option traders use (very) sophisticated heuristics, never the Black-Scholes-Merton formula," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 77(2), pages 97-106, February.
    25. Eugene F. Fama & Kenneth R. French, 2004. "The Capital Asset Pricing Model: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 18(3), pages 25-46, Summer.
    26. Cox, John C. & Ross, Stephen A. & Rubinstein, Mark, 1979. "Option pricing: A simplified approach," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 229-263, September.
    27. Franck Jovanovic, 2008. "The Construction of the Canonical of Financial Economics," Post-Print halshs-00269991, HAL.
    28. Bougen, Philip D. & Young, Joni J., 2012. "Fair value accounting: Simulacra and simulation," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 390-402.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jovanovic, Franck & Schinckus, Christophe, 2017. "Econophysics and Financial Economics: An Emerging Dialogue," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780190205034.
    2. Pucci, Richard & Skærbæk, Peter, 2020. "The co-performation of financial economics in accounting standard-setting: A study of the translation of the expected credit loss model in IFRS 9," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    3. Roberts, John & Wang, Timothy, 2019. "Faithful representation as an ‘objective mirage’: A Saussurean analysis of accounting and its participation in the financial crisis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    4. Erb, Carsten & Pelger, Christoph, 2015. "“Twisting words”? A study of the construction and reconstruction of reliability in financial reporting standard-setting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 13-40.
    5. Goulding, Richard & Haslam, Colin & Leaver, Adam & Silver, Jonathan, 2024. "A ‘Distributional Apparatus’ for real estate: Fair value accounting and the assetization of UK property," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    6. Jennifer K Gippel, 2013. "A revolution in finance?," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 38(1), pages 125-146, April.
    7. Thomas Delcey, 2019. "Samuelson vs Fama on the Efficient Market Hypothesis: The Point of View of Expertise [Samuelson vs Fama sur l’efficience informationnelle des marchés financiers : le point de vue de l’expertise]," Post-Print hal-01618347, HAL.
    8. Olivier Boiral & Marie‐Christine Brotherton & Léo Rivaud & David Talbot, 2022. "Comparing the uncomparable? An investigation of car manufacturers' climate performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2213-2229, July.
    9. Timothy Johnson, 2015. "Reciprocity as a Foundation of Financial Economics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(1), pages 43-67, September.
    10. Jovanovic, Franck & Andreadakis, Stelios & Schinckus, Christophe, 2016. "Efficient market hypothesis and fraud on the market theory a new perspective for class actions," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 177-190.
    11. Hélène Rainelli & Hélène Rainelli-Weiss, 2019. "Recherche en finance : quand la performativité invite à la réflexivité," Post-Print halshs-02025011, HAL.
    12. M. Fourcade & E. Ollion & Y. Algan, 2015. "The Superiority of Economists," Voprosy Ekonomiki, NP Voprosy Ekonomiki, issue 7.
    13. Jovanovic, Franck & Mantegna, Rosario N. & Schinckus, Christophe, 2019. "When financial economics influences physics: The role of Econophysics," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    14. Gårseth-Nesbakk, Levi, 2011. "Accrual accounting representations in the public sector—A case of autopoiesis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 247-258.
    15. Tiago Cardao-Pito & João Silva Ferreira, 2018. "‘Fair Value’ accounting as the normative Fisherian phase of accounting," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 149-179, September.
    16. Timothy C. Johnson, 2013. "Reciprocity as the foundation of Financial Economics," Papers 1310.2798, arXiv.org.
    17. Marion Fourcade & Rakesh Khurana, 2013. "From social control to financial economics," Post-Print hal-03473899, HAL.
    18. Malsch, Bertrand & Gendron, Yves, 2009. "Mythical representations of trust in auditors and the preservation of social order in the financial community," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 735-750.
    19. Ausloos, Marcel & Jovanovic, Franck & Schinckus, Christophe, 2016. "On the “usual” misunderstandings between econophysics and finance: Some clarifications on modelling approaches and efficient market hypothesis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 7-14.
    20. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/5oi5d12qn3983q921gleelod94 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Adam Leaver & Keir Martin, 2021. "‘Dams and flows’: boundary formation and dislocation in the financialised firm," Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, Springer, vol. 2(3), pages 403-429, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:52:y:2018:i:c:p:57-68. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/critical-perspectives-on-accounting/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.