Philosophical Perspectives on Ruins, Monuments, and Memorials

Jeanette Bicknell is an independent scholar based in Toronto, Canada. She is the author of Philosophy of Song and Singing: An Introduction (2015) and Why Music Moves Us (2009).Jennifer Judkins is a retired Adjunct Professor of Music at UCLA and has twice served as a Trustee for the American Society for Aesthetics. Recently, she authored two articles in then Routledge Companion to Philosophy and Music (2011), and was a guest editor and contributor to the "Symposium on Ruin and Absence" in the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism (2014).Carolyn Korsmeyer is Research Professor of Philosophy at the University at Buffalo. Her recent books include Things: In Touch with the Past (2019) and Savoring Disgust: The Foul and the Fair in Aesthetics (2011). She is a past president of the American Society for Aesthetics.

"This lavishly illustrated, fascinating collection brings together original essays by philosophers, archaeologists, architects, cultural scholars, and art historians. All aspects and functions of ruins, monuments, and memorials are covered, including the ethical dilemmas they can pose, the loss of cultural heritage they often represent, the issues surrounding their restoration and preservation, and their aesthetic value. In these times, when memorials valorize people and events that are now regarded with moral suspicion and war and conflict see the widespread destruction of remnants of ancient civilizations, this book could not be more topical." - Stephen Davies, former President of the American Society for Aesthetics and Distinguished Professor, University of Auckland, New Zealand"This stunning collection of 23 new essays by philosophers, art historians, architects, and archaeologists is called Philosophical Perspectives on Ruins, Monuments, and Memorials. But this rather academic sounding title gives little indication of the fascinating and exciting contents of the volume. The titles of some of its essays give a better idea, for example, "Churches as Memory Machines," "Rust Belt Ruins," "From Haunted Ruin to Touristified City: An Aesthetic History of Venice," "The Reconstruction of Damaged or Destroyed Heritage," "Reflections on the Atomic Bomb Ruin in Hiroshima," and "The Ruins of War". These are not simply academic studies; they are meditations on the interaction of human experiences and values—aesthetic, moral, religious, cultural, historical—as embodied in ruins, monuments, and memorials. Moreover, the 45 illustrations are alone worth the price of the volume." - Allen Carlson, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Alberta, Canada

• Editors’ Introduction: History, Ethics, Aesthetics: When Values ConvergePart I: Honoring and Mourning1. Life and Death in Rock: A Meditation on Stone MemorialsKathleen Higgins2. How Memorials Speak to UsGeoffrey Scarre3. How Memorials Mean, or How To Do Things with StonesJames O. Young4. The Proper Object of Emotion: Memorial Art, Grief, RemembranceDeborah Knight5. Churches as Memory MachinesNoël Carroll6. More than Bare Bones: The Artistry and Ethics of OssuariesSusan L. Feagin and Carolyn KorsmeyerPart II: Ruins Past and Present 7. The Values of Ruins and Depictions of RuinsPeter Lamarque8. On the Road to Ruin: Anticipating and Appreciating the Natural Degradation of Human ConstructionsRonald Moore9. Ruins and Sham Ruins as Architectural ObjectsSaul Fisher10. Rust Belt RuinsRenee Conroy11. Neo-PicturesqueDominic McIver Lopes and Susan Herrington12. Layers in London: How Buildings RememberJennifer Judkins13. From Haunted Ruin to Touristified City: An Aesthetic History of VeniceMax Ryynänen14. The (Future of the) Ruins in the United Arab EmiratesZoltán Somhegyi15. Environmental Heritage and the Ruins of the Future.Erich Hatala MatthesPart III: Conflict, Destruction, and the Aftermath16. The Reconstruction of Damaged or Destroyed HeritageDerek Matravers17. Reflections on the Atomic Bomb Ruin in HiroshimaYuriko Saito18. Bamiyan’s Echo: Sounding Out the EmptinessJames Janowski19. The Ruins of WarElizabeth Scarbrough20. Respect, Responsibility, and RuinsJeremy Page and Elisabeth Schellekens21. The Physical Legacy of a Troubled PastJeanette Bicknell22. For the Union Dead: Memorial Hall at Harvard University, and the Exclusion of the Confederate FallenIvan Gaskell23. Ruins and Debris: Cultural Heritage Practice, Resource Management, and ArchaeologyRobin Coningham and Kai Weise