Kaczynski's basic thesis is, in his own words, that "Scientific progress will result in the extinction of individual liberty." While his ideas and anxieties aren't especially new - we need only recall Huxley's Brave New World or Orwell's 1984 - the Unabomber's call to a revolution against technology and his readiness to shed blood for his beliefs set him apart. Most intellectuals and philosophers aren't willing to kill for their ideas; most terrorists, on the other hand, aren't willing or able to explain their motives (not infrequently because they don't have any); Ted Kaczynski is, I will argue, a rare combination of philosopher and terrorist. As one biographer has suggested, Kaczynski proved so elusive because he was the last person anyone would expect - "a Thoreau with bloodstained hands." His manifesto - which he sent to the New York Times and Washington Post demanding publication within three months "or else" - reveals a number of literary influences from Dostoevsky and Joseph Conrad to Nietzsche, Emerson and Thoreau. In what follows, I attempt to place Kaczynski among other terrorists, and I hope to ferret out a few of the many philosophical influences on him. How different is his thinking, for instance, from that of Henry David Thoreau? Less than we might suppose, I will suggest. "A Thoreau with bloodstained hands" is perhaps not the oxymoron we initially take it to be. Can a man be called evil who genuinely believes he is saving humanity from a self-destructive path?.
We would be wise not to dismiss Kaczynski as hastily and disdainfully as we do other terrorists. He was not, I believe, mentally ill, nor was his motivation political, as is so often the case with terrorists in this day and age: Israeli and Palestinian suicide bombers are only the most recent examples. Kaczynski's concerns are, or should be, ours as well. In his manifesto he writes chiefly of modern man's increasing loss of freedom in the wake of computers and genetic engineering; he cites motorized transport as an example of technology intended for good but which has come at the cost of our autonomy; he writes:.
Many people realized terrorism is a big problem. ... Like what exactly is terrorism? ... And last but not least how can terrorism be prevented? ... For my first question, which was, what is terrorism? ... I found this answer in a book called " Terrorism in The 20th Century" (A narrative encyclopedia from the anarchists through the weather man to the Unabomber) by: Jay Robert Nash. ...
A free essay on terrorism Despite the end of the Cold War and the faltering beginnings of the peace process in the Middle East, terrorism still remains a serious threat to many countries, not surprisingly, given that the underlying causes of the bitter ethnic and religious struggles which caused the rise in terrorism pre date the Cold War, and most of these conflicts remain unresolved. While the former Soviet Union sponsored terrorism o...
Terrorism that occurs throughout the world is known as global terrorism. ... The results of terrorism are almost always catastrophic. ... Between 1978 and 1995, an anarchist and terrorist known as the Unabomber planted or mailed homemade bombs that killed 3 people and wounded 23 others in 16 separate incidents throughout the United States. ... In April 1996, federal agents arrested Theodore Kaczynski, a suspect they thought to be the Unabomber. ... One other key element in terrorism is hijacking. ...
Recently, Terrorism has been a main cause of fear. ... There were the shootings at Columbine High School, the Unabomber, and the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing. ... The push of blame unto media and entertainment enabled America to calm their fears of terrorism. ... The Homeland Security Act also established a colored warning system for terrorism. ... Terrorism will always exist no matter how many wars are fought against it. ...
