Description:
How Terrorism is Wrong collects articles by Virginia Held along with much new material. It offers a moral assessment of various forms of political violence, with terrorism the focus of much of the discussion. Here and throughout, Held examines possible causes discussed, including the connection between terrorism and humiliation. Held also considers military intervention, conventional war, intervention to protect human rights, violence to prevent political change, and the status and requirements of international law. She looks at the cases of Rwanda, Kosovo, Iraq, and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Finally, she explores questions of who has legitimate authority to engage in justifiable uses of violence, whether groups can be responsible for ethnic violence, and how the media should cover terrorism.
Review Quotes: "Excellent sources for those who would profit from being presented with an overview of the literature is telling us about terrorism (and violence). I strongly recommend [How Terrorism is Wrong]. --Social Theory and Practice
"No philosopher has done more than Virginia Held to explore the moral dimensions of terrorism, particularly against the background of conventional methods of violence. If waging war for national defense or to stop gross injustice can be justified, she argues, non-conventional attacks or threats that cause much less harm overall to civilians can be justified on similar grounds. Held takes seriously the goal of reducing circumstances for violence of any kind. These essays stress the normative and practical importance of not looking at terrorism in a political vacuum: they display great rigor, courage, balance, and compassion." - Lionel K. McPherson, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Tufts University"The general reader will find much of interest in all the essays in this book. In the wider context of public debate about terrorism and the 'war' against it, Held provides a strong antidote to the simplistic deliverances of 'moral clarity' many of our political leaders and 'public intellectuals' claim to possess." - Igor Primoratz, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"Held's work on violence and terrorism is exceptionally clear, persuasive, and edifying. This is an area of applied philosophy that is just now developing and in which there is, not surprisingly, widespread interest." - Cheshire Calhoun, Professor of Philosophy, Arizona State University