One objection to removing statues combines the claim that statues honour with the claim that they are historical records. The need to remove statues is canvassed on the basis of what they convey today — i.e. Bespoke consulting, leadership and counselling programs to help you navigate complexity. However, the issue is not just about the statues we take down. Ethics supports good and right choices. In the UK and US and other nations around the world, public monuments dedicated to people who have profited from or perpetuated slavery and racism are being torn down by demonstrators and public authorities who sympathise with the justice of their cause. ethics of removing or leaving in place such statues? For example, was the person driven by greed and a desire for personal enrichment – but just happened to increase the common good along the way? KNOW YOUR SELF. This is an unedited version of an article originally published by The Conversation. Picture this: it’s 20 April 2021 and the charming Austrian village of Braunau am Inn – Hitler’s birth place – reveals a new statue of … If removing a statue would, for example, spark a violent riot that would risk unjust harm to lots of people, the duty to remove could be outweighed by the duty not to … They elevate both the likeness and the reputation of their subject – conferring a kind of immortality denied to those of us who simply fade away in both form and memory. The police killing of George Floyd sparked widespread protests and reignited efforts across the U.S. to remove Confederate and other statues viewed as symbols of slavery and racism. But the Quinnipiac University survey … In several cities, these tributes have been vandalized or torn down by protestors or removed by public officials. Two warrior-leaders – the latter celebrated; the other not. Notice that the conclusion only states that there’s strong moral reason to remove the monuments, stopping short of stating that there’s a moral obligation to remove the statues. Are there aspects of the person’s conduct that are so heinous as to rule them out, irrespective of any other achievement that might merit celebration? It is essential under the American system of representative government that the people have Ethics can guide us through complex terrain. SUBCHAPTER I . By signing up you agree to our privacy policy. Frowe, H. (2019). NAVIGATE COMPLEXITY A majority of voters support removing Confederate statues from public spaces around the country, according to a new national poll. Why or why not? The duty to remove a statue is a defeasible duty: like most duties, it can be defeated by lesser-evil considerations. On the ethics of removing controversial statues. Suggested Citation, Universitetsvägen 10Stockholm, Stockholm SE-106 91Sweden, Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic, Subscribe to this free journal for more curated articles on this topic, We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content.By continuing, you agree to the use of cookies. What are we to make of these acts? As America grapples with racism in its past, President Donald Trump lined up squarely with those who argue that the pendulum has swung too far in favour of removing statues and other symbols of that flawed history, saying mistakes will be repeated if not learned from and understood. (There is majority support for removing the statues in … There will be considerable debate about what statues should be removed. 4. This page was processed by aws-apollo4 in 0.141 seconds, Using these links will ensure access to this page indefinitely. It is important that we neither praise nor blame people for outcomes that they would never have intended but were the inadvertent product of their work. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a … The duty to remove a statue is a defeasible duty: like most duties, it can be defeated by lesser-evil considerations. Last week, the Central Park Sims statue — one of many that stand in numerous US cities — was vandalized. What are the unseen dangers of returning to business? Ethics extends a great invitation. The outstanding achievements of the marginalised and oppressed are, for the most part, barely noticed, let alone celebrated. Only the sixth criterion looks beyond the person to the wider good of society. Bernstein compares memorialized Confederate figures, such as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, to slave-owning presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, as well as British colonialists Cecil Rhodes and Winston Churchill. (3) Any person who willfully, or otherwise, obstructs any public canal, drain, ditch, or watercourse, impedes or obstructs the flow of water therein, or damages or destroys any public drainage works constructed in or maintained by any district commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. Ten Confederate statues are still on display in the Capitol building after the removal of Virginia's Robert E. Lee sculpture. #BlackLivesMatterpic.twitter.com/ca98capgnQ. Picture this: it’s 20 April 2021 and the charming Austrian village of Braunau am Inn – Hitler’s birth place – reveals a new statue of Adolf Hitler on the main square. In those cases, we should not gloss over the truth of what happened. That’s why I think it important for civic authorities to take responsibility for addressing such questions, and to do so proactively. The absence is eloquent. In considering this, does the statue perform a role beyond celebrating a particular person and their life? The point of removing Confederate monuments is not just to to get rid of the statues themselves, but to develop a strong social consensus that recognizes the wrongness of the Confederacy's cause. On the ethics of removing controversial statues This is an unedited version of an article originally published by The Conversation . Although the ballot measure to remove the Andrew Jackson statues from in front of the Jackson County courthouses wasn't approved Tuesday, activists don't plan to … (4) If there is moral reason to remove some monument(s), then people are morally obligated to remove the monument(s) unless there is equally strong or stronger reason to preserve them. But if they otherwise deserve to be honoured for their achievements, then these should not be deemed ‘tainted’ by the deeds of others. Did they significantly exceed the achievements of others in relevantly similar circumstances? Journal of Practical Ethics, Volume 7 number 3. MAINE REVISED STATUTES . There are some deeds that are so wrong as to be beyond rectification. Published March 10, 2016 | By Katrien Devolder. 10 But The decision to remove statues of historic figures should not be based on how their words and deeds are judged by current liberal standards. Such a work is a public declaration that a particular person, through their character and deeds, is deserving of public commemoration. (3) Any person who willfully, or otherwise, obstructs any public canal, drain, ditch, or watercourse, impedes or obstructs the flow of water therein, or damages or destroys any public drainage works constructed in or maintained by any district commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. Unlike when a duty is negated, one still owes something in cases of outweighing. And it especially matters that it is outweighed by the predicted consequences of wrongful behaviour by others. Did the person pursue ends that were noble and directed to the public good? Putting ethics at the centre of everyday life. Both duties are incompatible with retaining public statues of people who perpetrated serious rights violations. 1 § 1001. Both monuments have been dragged into a nationwide debate about memor­ials to historical … 3. Will Humphries, Southwest Correspondent. KNOW YOUR WORLD. This paper argues that public statues of persons typically express a positive evaluative attitude towards the subject. Tooley, on the other hand, feels like removing statues is almost always the wrong thing to do. If removing a statue would, for example, spark a violent riot that would risk unjust harm to lots of people, the duty to remove could be outweighed by the duty not to … That outline the history of the figure being portrayed to be beyond.. 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