October 11 Colloquia: "The Problem of Population Decline"

4 October 2024

Join us on Friday, October 11 from 4:00-6:00 PM MT in-person in ASH 2-02A and online for "The Problem of Population Decline", a research talk by Victor Kumar (Boston University).

Abstract: Conventional wisdom used to be that the world is heading toward disastrous overpopulation. In fact, what we now face is severe population decline. I'll identify a wide range of harms that will ensue if the global population declines too rapidly, argue that there are few corresponding benefits, and explore possible solutions.

Speaker Bio: Victor Kumar is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Boston University, where he is Director of the interdisciplinary Mind and Morality Lab. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona and 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. Victor's 2022 book A Better Ape (OUP), co-authored with Richmond Campbell, is about the evolution of morality and moral progress. His current work focuses on the psychological and cultural underpinnings of social change. 

Join online here.