From June 15 to June 20, 11 students from Insper participated in the summer seminar Ethics and the Market 2025, held at Harvard University in the United States. The program is a partnership between the Abigail Adams Institute (AAI), an independent academic initiative focused on humanities education for Harvard undergraduates, and Insper. The group of Brazilian students will join another 11 students from Harvard to discuss fundamental ideas of open societies, based on the principles of market economy and constitutional democracy.

 

Inspired by the Socratic model, which favors debate over expository lectures, the seminar is coordinated by professors and political scientists Fernando Schüler, from the course Critical Thinking and Ethics at Insper, and Danilo Petranovich, director of the AAI. Students from any undergraduate program at Insper could participate in the selection process, which started last year and included the submission of texts, a statement of intent, and an oral presentation in English. Eleven were then selected: Felipe Iudi Hirano Nishimura, Henrique Reed Lucas, Igor Bueno Zillner, Ione Foresti, Julia Favretto Gennari, Manuela Arrais Rocha, Marina Dall Oglio, Rafael Fonseca Felipe, Renan Augusto Carvalho Ferreira, Renan Augusto Guimarães Saraiva, and Rodrigo Brito Cohim Ribeiro. Natura contributed to the full payment of expenses for two scholarship students from the school.

 

The seminar required the 22 students to read in advance 15 texts related to the theme "ethics and market," from both classical and contemporary authors like Adam Smith, John Milton, Michael J. Sandel, Deirdre McCloskey, and John Rawls. Each session, totaling 15, will be dedicated to one of the texts. The student must present a summary of the reading in three to four minutes and can speak more than once per session. "The challenge is to extract the best ideas from the text and demonstrate the ability to synthesize," explains Schüler. "There's no need for consensus. What’s important is to clearly present your argument in a respectful conversation."

 

The schedule encourages reflection on issues of justice, freedom, and equality in contemporary society, with challenges such as expression, meritocracy, and market ethics. Part of this literature is already covered in the course Critical Thinking and Ethics, taught in the first semester of the undergraduate programs in Business Administration and Economics at Insper. "In the seminar, there will be many new texts and a deeper analysis than what is done in the classroom," states Schüler. "We’ve already held two preparatory sessions with the students who will be at Harvard. The entire discussion will be in English, which adds another layer of difficulty."

 

Ricardo Angulo participated in the first edition of the summer program with AAI in 2023. "This seminar was defining for my way of thinking because the immersion in the texts is profound, as we have only a few days to delve into subjects previously unknown to all," says Ricardo, who will graduate in Economics at the end of the year. "For my student journey, the experience defined, for example, the topic of my final project. These were ideas that have stuck with me for two years, with great intensity, as I continue to build work on the topics developed in the seminar."

 

Selected for the second edition, Julia Gennari is eagerly anticipating the debates. "It’s a tremendous opportunity to learn from Harvard students and professors," says the student in the fourth semester of Economics. "I believe this experience goes far beyond academics; it builds confidence. It's daunting to go to another college, famed as the best in the world, and debate topics as complex as modern economics. Seeing that Insper trusts us to represent the school in this context is very gratifying. It makes all the effort worthwhile and strengthens the desire to learn."

 

Igor Zillner, in the fifth semester of Economics, also celebrates the chance to explore the campus in Cambridge and debate thinkers who have shaped societal thought, exchanging ideas from different worldviews. "It's going to be simply incredible," says Igor. "In terms of our preparation, Professor Schüler conducted some sessions where we were able to discuss a specific text from the bibliography, as a preview of what will happen in the seminar. I am diligently reading the texts to absorb as much content as possible in this tremendous opportunity that Insper has facilitated."

 

According to Schüler, Insper is expanding partnerships with educational institutions outside Brazil to create increasingly international students. The undergraduates will have the opportunity to explore the university campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and interact with young people from Harvard. Throughout the program, they will be guided by Schüler and Petranovich, who has previously taught at Duke and Yale universities, also in the United States.