Customer Reviews

After the Terror

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Few academic philosophers have the guts or the sensitivity of Ted Honderich. For a profession whose Anglo-American branch proudly removed itself from mundane affairs like international politics and the fate of peoples, this little work stands in stark exception. No publication I know captures the background sense of moral reasoning shared by today's international progressive movement better than this one. Nor are the subtle but deadly shades of culpability among dominant western societies more searchingly revealed. Sure, there is material to gainsay, although the tone is often more probing than assertorial. His thrust, however, is dead-on and should help rouse an irrelevant profession from its long ideological slumber. For those willing to confront the agonizing realities of our age at eye-level, including terrorism, Honderich's remains an indispensible and provocative tool.

After Sep 11 everyone stopped asking why this happened to us, and started concentrating on the revenge war. This book shades a light on a reality that the US Media/Government tries hard to hide.

Looks at the moral issues around terrorism. Deals with questions like: what is to count as a 'good life'? Why is terrorism morally wrong? To what extent are Western countries materially and morally responsible for the terrorism they experience? Under what conditions is terrorism morally justified? What kind of opposition to one's own state is morally justified? Honderich is a consequentialist: his "principle of humanity" is that we should attempt to drag people out of "bad lives".

Now in a newly expanded and revised edition, After The Terror questions what terrorism tells us about our moral obligations. Postulating that the harsh realities of terrorism pit a "morality of humanity" that emphasizes sympathy and generosity against conventional, unreflective morality, After The Terror explores the philosophical side of what to do, and revises philosophical principles to better explain human actions that are ruthless to the point of inexplicable. More a call for a discussion of ideas and foundations than a direct exhortation for political action, After The Terror is nevertheless a "must-read" for anyone struggling to make sense of the September 11th attacks or like occurences of terrorism.

Honderich says "It is a good thing, a certification, to have disapproval in some quarters." For books like After the Terror, the one-star ratings can be as telling as the thoughtful five-star reviews. People may well be uncomfortable with Honderich's analysis, but that doesn't make After the Terror a bad book. Read it - TWICE - and if still you think it's a bad book, give it one star. If it makes you feel bad, that's something entirely different.

Its been difficult for me to find people who espouse these opinions and also know lots of big words. honderich, safe under an ivory rock, crawling out from time to time to apologise for and encourage murder and atrocities, is one of the few. the only good news - the book was hard to locate at the library. Hondy - what about a move to the terror farms in pakistan and gaza in sympathy?

Honderich's After the Terror is indeed a welcome attempt to explain terrorism. However, the philsophical basis of Honderich's arguements are notably poor, and the reasoning behind his statements weaker still. Honderich's book is thought provoking in the way theories of intelligent design are thought provoking. They are held to be wrong, and almost entirely indefensible by the whole of the academic community, and yet one should never say alternative theories should be ignored altogether. Although it makes for bad philosophy, one cannot blame those outside the mainstream for attempting to bring some into their flock.

Smart and incisive, the author is capable of feeding us crap in a convincing manner. I only wonder why isn t he working in Iraq, Iran or in Palestine, why is he hiding behind an imoral civilisation he is so eager to condemn?

Ted Honderich takes a trip down victimology lane to explain how the attacks were caused by American foreign policy. While it is fair to make this a hypothesis, the lack of balanced factual discussion in the book lays bare the hidden agenda of the author's glee in being able to say "I told you so!"

The only good thing I can say about the book is at only 160 pages it mercifully short compared to other works on this topic.