Abstract
AbstractPhilosophers, archeologists, and other heritage professionals often take a rather negative view of heritage reconstruction, holding that it is inappropriate or even impermissible. In this essay, we argue that taking such hardline attitudes toward the reconstruction of heritage is unjustified. To the contrary, we believe that the reconstruction of heritage can be both permissible and beneficial, all things considered. In other words, sometimes we have good reasons, on balance, to pursue reconstructions, and doing so can be morally acceptable. In defending this claim, we discern a number of arguments made against heritage reconstruction and demonstrate that these arguments are either exaggerated or lack support.
Highlights
In the sixth century CE, two statues of the Buddha were carved into the cliff of the Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan
Mismanaging heritage sites might unjustly harm stakeholders by damaging or defiling something they cherish, misleading them about their history, or disrespecting them and products of their culture. This is why we investigate the moral acceptability of heritage reconstruction rather than narrower, purely aesthetic, questions.)
We briefly examine the value of cultural heritage monuments, with a particular emphasis on the type of value that these objects are held to possess in virtue of their authenticity or genuineness
Summary
How to cite: Thomas, Joshua Lewis and Bülow, William (2020). Journal of the American Philosophical Association, 6(4) pp. For guidance on citations see FAQs. c 2020 Joshua Lewis Thomas; 2020 William Bülow https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Version: Version of Record Link(s) to article on publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1017/apa.2020.11. Journal of the American Philosophical Association ( ) – © The Author(s),. /), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the same Creative Commons licence is included and the original work is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use.
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