Terrorism in Contemporary World: A Study on existential Roots of Terrorism.

Abstract

This research was an attempt to philosophically – and, existentially, - answer the questions as follows: (1) what does it means for an individual to be (in this case became) terrified and resort to terrorism to overcome this terror?, (2) what are the sources of it?, and (3) what are the conditions that make terrorism both contemporary and constant in our existence?. In doing so, the research set out the study by investigating the conception of subject in the modern philosophical context, with the beliefs in the hindsight that; firstly, the appropriate and fruitful way of gaining insight into and making sense of the subject or subjectivity in the contemporary setting is to do it in the modern philosophical scenario, which, in itself, is the result of the advent of the intellectual and philosophical movement called “the enlightenment,” and , secondly, the concept (or concepts) of “subject” is politically constructed, historical variable, and ideological infused, therefore, together with the first belief, the modern subject is best understood within the span of modern period rather than trying to come up with the eternal aspect of subject that is persistent and resistant to time, change, and history. It is found that by exploring into the modern philosophical conceptions of subject, the process of individualization of the modern subject is the process of opposition, therefore, the subject realizes itself through the opposite. In this way, I argue that there are degrees of violence inherent in the modern subject and the conception of the subject because it is based upon the suppression of the opposite, and, through the attempt at doing an existential study into the root cause of violence in the modern subject, it is found that the inherent violence is a logical and, even, natural reaction to “terror,” which is an emotional response to the core of the human condition - “nothingness” at the core of being.