Cultural Property and the Ethics of War
The 2017 Morris Colloquium
Centre for Values and Social Policy, University of Colorado at Boulder
27 – 28 April, 2017
Cultural Property and the Ethics of War
The destruction of cultural property in war zones is of pressing concern. Recent and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East have featured both the deliberate, symbolic destruction of cultural artifacts and sites by ISIS, such as the destruction of the Temple of Bel, and the incidental damaging of such sites during combat, such as the damage to the site of Ancient Babylon by the US military. While the last ten years have seen an increase in philosophical interest in the ethics of war, the existing literature approaches questions of harm almost exclusively in the context of harm to human beings. This colloquium will explore how we might extend thinking about the ethics of war to incorporate the value of cultural property.
Speakers:
Erich Hatala Matthes (Wellesley)
Helen Frowe (Stockholm)
Derek Matravers (Open University)
Adil Ahmad Haque (Rutgers)
More information will be available on the CVSP website.