Philosophy in a Time of Terror - Essay Example

Reading philosophers’ points of view can be amusing, enlightening, boring, and even annoying. Sometimes, it seems they are just rambling out their deep thoughts under the assumption that their readers are on the same page as they are. The interview with Borradori, for example, shows some instances when the interviewer does not seem to follow the thoughts of the interviewees and asks questions that are off-tangent from the last answer.

The topic of terrorism on the devastating September 11 bombings easily triggers deep-seated emotions and insightful thoughts from just about anyone who has an inkling of it. The world stood still on this date, aghast and astounded at the magnitude of terror, questioning the intentions of the terrorists and never finding an answer that fully satisfies one’s understanding because the event itself defies reason.

Habermas tries very hard to capture the impact it had on the world by giving a litany of situations around the globe and what people thought about it. At the same time, he attempts to understand the political motivations of the terrorist attack and compare it to the beliefs and responses of the people it affected.  There is a world of a gap in such beliefs especially right after the event itself. The people the terrorists belonged to may have been in a celebratory mood for the success they achieved in shattering the hopes and dreams of thousands of Americans while the Americans, on the other hand, fell on their knees in desperation, in fear, in prayer.