Citation

Meneguz G. Psicoterapia e Scienze Umane 2005; 39(2): 165-192.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

According to common moralistic interpretations, terrorists are evil rascals fighting the Good, and terrorism itself is an expression of the force of Evil. Furtehrmore, experts in psychology and behavioral sciences have claimed that terrorists are mentally ill. However, available multidisciplinary analyses show a number of factors underlying terrorism, such as economical, political, religious, sociological, and possibly, if at all, psychological ones. Intriguingly, the questions coming up in the analysis of terrorism do neither regard the psychological profile of the terrorist nor the paranoid mental dynamics of terrorist groups. Rather, they touch upon the sociopolitical dynamics favoring the phenomenon, the political impact of the terrorist's action and its role in a particular conflict. It is suggested, therefore, that the phenomenon of terrorism can neither be understood nor explained by psychological or biological determinants.

Language: it

Keywords

Motivation; human; suicide; Terrorism; War; psychotherapy; war; Fundamentalism; motivation; article; conflict; mental disease; politics; psychoanalysis; psychological aspect; religion; terrorism; economic aspect; sociology; Suicide bombers