How Did Human Morality Evolve? - Dr Victor Kumar - #573

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the show. My guest today is Dr. Victor Kumar. He's an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Boston University, part of the Mind & Morality Lab's Moral Psychology Research Group and an author. Morality might seem like something that exists independently of humans. Things are either good or bad. The current evolutionary state humans are in should not impact this judgment. Yet, it seems that culture and evolution heavily influenced each other and the influence morality too. Expect to learn why Asian people get red faces when they drink alcohol, which moral emotions can be detected in chimpanzees, why sympathy can be seen as investment advice, how come some people can consume milk and others can't, whether moral grandstanding and performative empathy on Twitter can be explained by evolution, the reason for altruism existing and much more. In other news, this episode is brought to you by Surfshark VPN. Protect your browsing online and get access to the entire world's Netflix library for less than the price of a cup of coffee per month. If you use a shared working space like a library or university premises or a cafeteria that you go and work out of, the internet administrator can see all of the traffic that you are moving backward and forward and this is not very secure. Also, you do not want websites to be split testing you on prices for products that you're already buying or fishing to try and steal your information and retarget you with ads. All of this is stopped by using Surfshark VPN and it means you can change your location and access any country's Netflix library. You're already paying for a Netflix membership, so why not get a VPN for less than $2 or £2 per month and 10x how much you've got access to. Also, there is an 83% discount, three months free and a 30 day money back guarantee if you go to surfshark.deals.modernwisdm. That's surfshark.deals.modernwisdm. In other other news, this episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. You are not eating enough fruit and vegetables in your diet and you know it. And this is going to help. Athletic Greens contains dairy free probiotics to support your gut health, enhance nutrient absorption and strengthen your immune system. It's got adaptogens which respond to influences like stress and can aid in supporting better sleep quality and lowering everyday physical and mental fatigue. their neural support formula can support cognition, memory and the nervous system. And their superfood complex contains antioxidants that are known to countrack the impact of free radicals that can cause cell damage within your body. They've updated the recipe 53 times over the last decade and it is always getting better. Also, there is a 90-day money back guarantee so you can buy it and try it for 89 days. And if you do not like it, they will give you your money back. Head to athleticgreens.com/modernwisdom to get a year's free supply vitamin D, five free travel packs, free pots, shakers and that 90-day money back guarantee. That's athleticgreens.com/modernwisdom.
And in final news, this episode is brought to you by House Of Macadamias. House Of Macadamias have partnered with 94 independent farmers, forming the single largest producer in the world, which gets them the first pick of the highest quality macadamia nuts in the region to make their one-of-a-kind snacks like their vegan, paleo and keto-friendly chocolate dipped macadamias. It took two years of taste testing to get these right, and they've got salty, sweet and spicy versions. So if you are a nut lover, this is something that you should absolutely check out. Macadamia nuts take between five and ten years to grow and have a really unique nutritional profile, which has got tons and tons of health benefits. Also, you can get a 20% discount off your first order if you go to houseofmacadamias.com/modernwisdom and the code MW20 at checkout. That's houseofmacadamias.com/modernwisdom and MW20 at checkout. But now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Dr. Victor Kumar.
Why would evolutionary theory at all be involved in a conversation when studying morality?

**Victor Kumar** (4:33)
It's a pleasure to be on the show. The reason is because we are evolved beings. We didn't create morality from scratch. We inherited it from our ancestors. We have similar capacities for morality that are shared with other animals like chimpanzees. And so the first step to understanding morality is to understand where it came from.

**Chris Williamson** (4:55)
OK. Does morality not just come out of culture? Is this not just something that humans create out of the wishy-washy nowhere of interacting with each other?

**Victor Kumar** (5:05)
I mean, it comes out of culture too, because culture evolved. So culture evolves just like our genes do. We have information. We pass it on. Information that allows us to succeed in our environment is more likely to be transmitted to the next generation. So when we think of morality as being evolved, it's not just genetic capacities to feel pro-social emotions and care about other creatures. It's also a culturally evolved system of norms and institutions. And all of these things combine to produce human morality.