Sacred Cows and The Changing Face of Discourse on Terrorism: Cranking it Up a Notch

Ethicists working in either ‘just war’ and/or ‘human rights’ traditions continue to be embroiled with the definition of terrorism and the question of whether terrorism can ever be morally justified; obsessed with non-combatant immunity and criteria for distinguishing combatants from non-combatants; and examining ‘the doctrine of double effect’. The move to other issues has, however, been embraced by those who initiated it since 9/11, those with new ideas and analyses that draw from many disciplines. We will discuss why philosophical/political discussion about terrorism has taken a turn away from questions like ‘can terrorism can be morally justified’ and efforts to define terrorism. Discourse on terrorism, much of it extra-philosophical, has taken a turn for the better. It is increasingly concerned with issues about the nature of terrorism rather than its definition; the nature of the discourse itself about terrorism, and what this tells us about terrorism; and the causes of terrorism – the examination of which is subverted by the discourse on terrorism