"Home may have become a dangerous place for democracy to flourish now," said Nobel prize–winning economist Amartya Sen, this year’s Bartels World Affairs Fellow. In his May 5 lecture, following prepared remarks, he engaged in discussion and Q&A with faculty representing disciplines touched by his work and Cornell students. One faculty member was Rachana Kamtekar, professor of philosophy, who considered the rise of “outsider” candidates and voters in South Asia who may be less likely to see democracy's intrinsic value.

In his new book, “Rational Rules: Towards a Theory of Moral Learning,” Sage School of Philosophy professor Shaun Nichols argues that we can explain many of the features of moral systems and how humans form them in terms of rational learning from evidence. Every day, moral principles govern human decisions small and large, from how to treat one’s neighbor to how to design ethical technology. But how do we acquire this important sense of what is wrong and what is right?