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I'm sorry to hear this decision Mr. PipesReader comment on item: I Give Up: There Is No Terrorism, There Are No Terrorists Submitted by Martin Kessler (United States), Jun 2, 2015 at 23:08 I'm sorry to hear that. Far be it from me to counter the opinions of experts but my feeling is " a rose by any other name..." is not the same. I don't think it's so difficult to know what it is when one comes to experience or be a witness to terror. A terrorist is one who terrorizes. I assume that's where the word "terror" comes from. . I would not call him , say, a murderer or a kidnapper. To me a terrorist is a person who uses violence to create fear, that's the distinction. The term is not new to this century-- it's been around for thousands of years. While some may say they cannot define the term and so avoid its use, there nevertheless can be a definition most universally accepted by experts. We are not under the same rules of evidence as a scientist. Defining the term does not require the same logical rigor as does defining the number 2. We all know what 2 is without hesitation. I don't feel this it right for experts to shy away from the term only because some feel there is no meaningful--that is, operational, or scientific -- way to define it. I just defied it. I have no problem with applying that definition to a unique event having the attribute of creating fear through violence.. That's good enough for me to know what I know when I know it. I am reminded of Spinoza's comment in distinguishing between empirical or intuitivley known knowledge. He said :"When from the fact of knowing something I know what it is to know that thing". You just know it! You do know what terrorism is. I wish you would give it some more thought and perhaps challenge the BBC to a debate on the benefits, if any, of avoiding the word. Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments". |
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