The article attempts to uncover the rationale of suicide attacks. Its argument indicates that suicide attacks come originate from the self-immolation. This is because these two activities share a common denominator: sacrifice. More specifically, both modes of protest appear to involve self-sacrifice. On the part of self-immolation, acts amounting to suicide are indispensable. This is the same with the recent waves of suicide attacks.
The author used inductive reasoning by means of analogy to present how the acts of self-immolation and suicide attacks are related. The argument developed in the following pattern where the attributes of death and self-sacrifice is present in both scenarios. The problem in this argument is that suicide attacks and self-immolation has different ends, more specifically with the impact of preceding their acts. In self-immolation, there is a minimum chance of collateral damage. This is contrary to suicide attacks where inflicting collateral damage is one of the major ends of the act.
The comparison between self-immolation and suicide attacks allowed readers to see the how these concepts may be related. However, a deeper analysis of the matter places self-immolation on a different class as that of suicide attacks. The former basically involves sympathy and social consciousness as an ends, all of which are righteous and utilitarian in every sense given that harm is limited to the one protesting. On the other hand, suicide attacks impel the one protesting not as a conduit of the general cause of a particular ends, but as a weapon which inevitably induces fear and reckless harm.
Biggs, M. (2008) “Dying for a cause, alone?” Contexts, 7(1) 22-27.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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