Terror and Terrorism: A History of Ideas and Philosophical-Ethical Reflections

摘要

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.