Breivik

Breivik the Consequentialist

July 26, 2011 in Moral Theology, terrorism 3 Comments Tags: Breivik, consequentialism

Breivik saw a threat to European civilization and decided to commit a crime to call attention to the danger to Europe and thereby to avert an even greater evil. That is, he killed 80 people so that a whole civilization might be saved. He was a practical exponent of proportionalist consequentialism. He ignored the moral absolute: you shall not murder.

Similarly the Unabomber and eco-terrorists were so certain that our way of life threatens the planet that they committed crimes to call attention to the danger we are facing. It looks like Ivins saw that the U.S. could be devastated by bioterrorism, and conducted the anthrax attacks to call attention to the danger that Congress was neglecting.

We too often think we understand history, and do wrong so that good may come of it.

But is Edward Abbey responsible for ecoterrorism? Should we not talk about dangers to the environment for fear that it might inspire ecoterrorism? Should we not consider what effect the combination of the demographic winter and Moslem immigration will have on Europe for fear it might inspire people like Breivik?

Fundamentalist, Zealot, or Fanatic

July 24, 2011 in terrorism No Comments Tags: Breivik, fanaticism, fundamentalism, terrorism, zealotry

The media are describing Breivik, the Norwegian terrorist, as a Christian fundamentalist.

Fundamentalism has a specific theological meaning, and I doubt that Breivik has any strong opinions on the Virgin Birth or Substitutionary Atonement.

What the media seem to mean by a fundamentalist is a person with strong beliefs in a traditional religion of any sort, especially a person who takes those beliefs literally. But obviously a Thomist or a von Balthasarian can hold to Catholic doctrines strictly without thinking that Genesis describes 7 days of 24 hours each.

Zealot might be a better world – a Christian zealot, a Moslem zealot, a Jewish zealot, an environmentalist zealot, a Marxist zealot. Zeal is a virtue, but a minor one and one too easily disconnected from other virtues, such as justice and charity.

An even better term might be fanatic – that word conveys the disconnection from reality that terrorists usually manifest as well as a willingness to use violence on other people. It became a term of praise in Nazi Germany.