Reparative Ethics, or the Case of Anna D. Whyte
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In his 2021 New York Times column, The Ethicist, Kwame Anthony Appiah cautioned a reader against destroying her grandfathers Orientalist paintings, observing Im not an enthusiast for destroying art, even when, in some sense, it expresses morally disturbing attitudes. Art is, among other things, a reflection of the ethos of its time. If we are to understand our past, its unhelpful to destroy the evidence. Considering the long history of purging art in conformance with current religious, social, and political principles, Appiah cautioned: Moral criticism of this sort often conflates questions about the character of the artist with questions about
