Hello David,

If slinging "cultural relativism" makes you feel better, that's fair.
It is no different than my stating I feel a position that favors older
stuff simply because it's older is "antiquated" and "academically
irresponsible or offensive [to me]."    (I suspect, though could be
mistaken, that generation gap might go part way to explaining our
difference in view.)

In my mind, to say a copy of the Qu'ran dating from the 1200s or a
cuneiform tablet dating from 4000 BC is or no greater or less value to
history than the Dead Sea Scrolls, a Gutenberg Bible, the Constitution
of the United States, or a painting by Jackson Pollock.  "Scientific and
research value" is not universal.

Two opinions on the same issue which is A.O.K.

Sincerely,
Jay Heuman




> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
> Behalf Of David E. Haberstich
> Sent: Friday, April 18, 2003 10:47 am
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: "What if someone stole the Constitution and the Liberty
> Bell?"
>
> Nonsense.  Even if one considers the symbolic value of all
> the lost Iraqi artifacts to be somehow comparable to the
> symbolic value of the Constitution and the Liberty Bell, the
> scientific and research values of the ancient objects are
> clearly higher.  Lumping all historical artifacts together as
> equivalent in signficance is a pointless exercise in cultural
> relativism. Even "contemporary historians" value the
> research potential of ancient artifacts, do they not?
> "Antiquated practice developed by Eurocentric
> academicians," my foot.
> "Academically irresponsible and offensive"?  Come on.
> David Haberstich

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