The
 Philosophy
 of
 9/11:
 A 
Critical 
Analysis 
of 
the 
Main 
Debates

Alberto
Di
Felice

The
Philosophy
of
9/11
to
ask
very
similar
questions,
ultimately
questions
about
some
vision
of

the
human
condition
in
the
human
consortium.
From
this
standpoint,

9/11
can
be
thought
of
as
a
case
study
that
provides
general
insight
into

the
ancient
and
labyrinthine
complexities
of
social
action.
This
study
can
make
no
pretense
at
completeness;
its
purpose
is

merely
to
focus
attention
on
some
key
philosophical
issues
and
debates

that
have
been
raised
in
connection
with
the
terrorist
attacks
on
the

United
States.
It
announces
itself
as
a
critical
analysis
because
my
argu
ment
will
emerge
mainly
in
the
form
of
criticism,
and
will
be
largely

guided
by
the
theories
and
thinkers
I
have
selected.
These
come
from

the
most
varied
quarters,
not
only
philosophy
but
also
history
and
cul‐
tural
studies,
and
the
reader
may
be
somewhat
perplexed
to
find
so
dif
ferent
theoretical
approaches
taken
up
in
the
same
text.
Notwithstand
ing
the
obvious
difficulties,
and
in
line
with
my
basic
intuition,
I
have

nonetheless
tried
to
expose
the
various
underlying
assumptions
about

the
nature
of
human
selves,
and
consequently
of
human
society,
that

can
be
found
in
all
said
theories.
This
essay
is
divided
into
three
chapters.
The
first
chapter
is
devoted

to
an
analysis
of
9/11type
terrorism,
and
discusses
what
have
been
usu‐
ally
 taken
 to
 be
 its
 distinctive
 characteristics.
 The
 most
 influential

analysis
of
what
has
been
described
as
the
“new
terrorism,”
largely
re‐
flected
in
the
Bush
doctrine,
is
treated
at
some
length.
This
discussion
is

necessary
 to
 isolate
 some
 conceptual
 mistakes
 that
 have
 guided
 the

American
military
response.
It
will
also
call
attention
to
the
inherently

political
character
of
all
forms
of
terrorism,
of
which
9/11
is
but
an
in‐
stantiation.
This
is
the
most
technical
and
empirical
chapter
in
the
es
say,
and
will
provide
a
convenient
and
solid,
if
invisible,
outline
for
the

ensuing
analysis.
The
second
chapter
considers
extensively
the
controversial
readings

offered
by
Jean
Baudrillard
and
Slavoj
Žižek,
and
reviews
them
as
exam‐
ples
of
radical
cultural
critiques
rooted
in
Marxist
interpretations
vari
ously
linked
to
the
famous
work
of
Theodor
W.
Adorno.
I
have
called

6
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