Victor Kumar
Biographic Data
| ID | 3761165 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Victor Kumar |
| GIVEN NAMES | Victor |
| FAMILY NAME | Kumar |
| SIGNATURE | KUMAR V |
| AFFILIATIONS | Earlham College |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7791-4618 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 4 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 10 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Medical Bilingualism
This paper explores increased use of the concept of “medical bilingualism” since 2015 as scholars, especially of East Asian medical history and anthropology, have applied it to engagements between two medical systems. It reveals an ongoing evolution in the way that scholars understand what a medical system is and how medical systems are differentiated and compared with one another. The image of culturally homogeneous systems of meaning and practi…
A psychological account of the unique decline in anti-gay attitudes
Anti-gay attitudes have declined in the U.S. The magnitude, speed, and demographic scope of this change have been impressive especially in comparison with prejudice against other marginalized groups. We develop a philosophically-informed psychological account of the unique decline in anti-gay bias in the context of important cultural and political conditions. We highlight two key psychological mechanisms: interpersonal connection and social categ…
Practical or Cultural
In the United States today, acupuncture and Chinese medicine are so connected that the terms are almost interchangeable. Yet, when acupuncture first came to prominence in the American medical community in the 1820s, it was seen as a European innovation and associated with physicians in Paris and London. In contrast to the cultural models of therapeutic action so prevalent today, medical manuals and textbooks of the nineteenth century tended to cl…
Revolution, recuperation, and wild speculation
Harnessing Moral Psychology to Reduce Meat Consumption
How can we make moral progress on factory farming? Part of the answer lies in human moral psychology. Meat consumption remains high, despite increased awareness of its negative impact on animal welfare. Weakness of will is part of the explanation: acceptance of the ethical arguments does not always motivate changes in dietary habits. However, we draw on scientific evidence to argue that many consumers are not fully convinced that they morally oug…
The Science of Effective Altruism
This chapter evaluates effective altruism and its link to science. Contrary to much philosophical discussion, effective altruism is not tied essentially to utilitarianism and therefore does not suffer from the criticisms directed against utilitarianism. Prominent criticisms of effective altruism itself are unconvincing, since they identify remediable problems within the surrounding social movement and not problems essential to the theory itself. …
Capturing Quicksilver
The Empirical Identity of Moral Judgment
I argue that moral judgement is a natural kind on the grounds that it plays a causal/explanatory role in psychological generalizations. I then develop an empirically grounded theory of its identity as a natural kind. I argue that moral judgement is a hybrid state of moral belief and moral emotion. This hybrid theory supports the role of moral judgement in explanations of reasoning and action and also supports its role in a dual process model of m…
To walk alongside
Can The Golden Bough be taken seriously in this day and age? Or, is it time to let go of this Tylorian survival that today stands largely uncited except as an example or error? In this article, I return to The Golden Bough with the idea that if it is in error, then the nature of this error also deserves attention. Using Lévi-Strauss' approach to the analysis of myth, I investigate the tension between Frazer's classical exegesis of the priesthood …
Knowledge’ as a natural kind term
Knowledge’ as a natural kind term
To walk alongside
Can The Golden Bough be taken seriously in this day and age? Or, is it time to let go of this Tylorian survival that today stands largely uncited except as an example or error? In this article, I return to The Golden Bough with the idea that if it is in error, then the nature of this error also deserves attention. Using Lévi-Strauss' approach to the analysis of myth, I investigate the tension between Frazer's classical exegesis of the priesthood …
Knowledge’ as a natural kind term
The Empirical Identity of Moral Judgment
I argue that moral judgement is a natural kind on the grounds that it plays a causal/explanatory role in psychological generalizations. I then develop an empirically grounded theory of its identity as a natural kind. I argue that moral judgement is a hybrid state of moral belief and moral emotion. This hybrid theory supports the role of moral judgement in explanations of reasoning and action and also supports its role in a dual process model of m…
To walk alongside
Can The Golden Bough be taken seriously in this day and age? Or, is it time to let go of this Tylorian survival that today stands largely uncited except as an example or error? In this article, I return to The Golden Bough with the idea that if it is in error, then the nature of this error also deserves attention. Using Lévi-Strauss' approach to the analysis of myth, I investigate the tension between Frazer's classical exegesis of the priesthood …
The Science of Effective Altruism
This chapter evaluates effective altruism and its link to science. Contrary to much philosophical discussion, effective altruism is not tied essentially to utilitarianism and therefore does not suffer from the criticisms directed against utilitarianism. Prominent criticisms of effective altruism itself are unconvincing, since they identify remediable problems within the surrounding social movement and not problems essential to the theory itself. …
Capturing Quicksilver
Harnessing Moral Psychology to Reduce Meat Consumption
How can we make moral progress on factory farming? Part of the answer lies in human moral psychology. Meat consumption remains high, despite increased awareness of its negative impact on animal welfare. Weakness of will is part of the explanation: acceptance of the ethical arguments does not always motivate changes in dietary habits. However, we draw on scientific evidence to argue that many consumers are not fully convinced that they morally oug…
Medical Bilingualism
This paper explores increased use of the concept of “medical bilingualism” since 2015 as scholars, especially of East Asian medical history and anthropology, have applied it to engagements between two medical systems. It reveals an ongoing evolution in the way that scholars understand what a medical system is and how medical systems are differentiated and compared with one another. The image of culturally homogeneous systems of meaning and practi…
A psychological account of the unique decline in anti-gay attitudes
Anti-gay attitudes have declined in the U.S. The magnitude, speed, and demographic scope of this change have been impressive especially in comparison with prejudice against other marginalized groups. We develop a philosophically-informed psychological account of the unique decline in anti-gay bias in the context of important cultural and political conditions. We highlight two key psychological mechanisms: interpersonal connection and social categ…
Practical or Cultural
In the United States today, acupuncture and Chinese medicine are so connected that the terms are almost interchangeable. Yet, when acupuncture first came to prominence in the American medical community in the 1820s, it was seen as a European innovation and associated with physicians in Paris and London. In contrast to the cultural models of therapeutic action so prevalent today, medical manuals and textbooks of the nineteenth century tended to cl…
Revolution, recuperation, and wild speculation
Psychology (6 works) · Sociology (5 works) · Epistemology (4 works) · Philosophy (4 works) · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment (4 works) · Social Psychology (4 works) · History (3 works) · Medicine (3 works) · Anthropology (2 works) · Art (2 works)