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Terror and Terrorism: A History of Ideas and Philosophical-Ethical Reflections
Brig. Gen. Edwin R. Micewski,
Ph.D.
Abstract
The essay addresses the question of the moral legitimacy of terrorism within the
framework of a brief history of ideas and a moral philosophical evaluation. The
article offers a terminological and epistemological grounding to the notions of
terror and terrorism and provides an historical account of the phenomenon as it
has evolved throughout the ages up to our present day. It highlights the
significance of publicity and other socially relevant factors to terrorism and
outlines both the mental and psychological characteristics of terrorist
activity. The major part of the article is dedicated to delineating the nature
of terrorist violence and its moral and legal implications. By way of a
phenomenology of violence in the context of a concept of political justice, the
fundamental ethical illegitimacy of terrorist violence is deduced. The article
concludes with deliberations on the question of a universal set of ethics in
both world religions and international law. It sheds light on the demanding
dimension of combating terrorism for security affairs in this new century and
particularly underscores the challenge to the democratic statutory state to
fight the potentially inhumane without disclaiming the principles of humanity
embodied in its own social order. The essay takes into account the current
social as well as political debate around the subject of terrorism in both the
United States and Europe, characterized by confusion and disorientation
particularly as regards a moral evaluation of the terrorist phenomenon. The
approach undertaken in this article offers an argument rooted deeply in Western
philosophy as well as political thought, thus providing urgently needed
illumination for further ethical orientation in both academia and public
discourse.
Full text available through
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