Victor Kumar is assistant professor of philosophy at Boston University. Kumar received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona and has held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Michigan and the University of Toronto. His primary philosophical interests are in ethics, cognitive science, and evolutionary theory.
Website: https://www.bu.edu/philo/profile/victor-kumar/
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Better-Ape-Evolution-Moral-Human/dp/0197600123
Summary:
In this interview, we discuss professor Kumar's new book, A Better Ape, in which he and his co-author draw on the latest research in the biological and social sciences to explain the key role that morality has played in human evolution. They explore the moral traits that humans share with chimpanzees; how a more complex moral mind enabled Homo sapiens to arise and out-compete other human species; and the place of morality alongside historic revolutions in technology and social organization. Throughout the book, Kumar and Campbell argue that morality co-evolved with intelligence and complex sociality. Morality prevents societal collapse and enables complex knowledge.
