Talking to the enemy

This work revolves almost around what each person believes, but only a few want to die for it. It is about believing in something important that goes beyond the interests of individuals and their immediate families. It is about the nature of faith, the origin of society, and the limits of reason. This work tries to answer the question: Why do people believe in a cause? And why do some die and kill for it? The answer is briefly that people do not simply kill and die for a cause. They kill and die for each other. This work will show how and why this happened: in human evolution and throughout history; from the jungles of Southeast Asia and the barren political lands of the Middle East to New York, London, and Madrid. Terrorists do not commit terrorism because they are exceptionally vengeful or indifferent, poor or uneducated, humiliated or lacking self-respect, or because they were taught as children a radical religion, or brainwashed, or have minds inclined to crime, or are suicidal or craving to have sex with virgins in heaven. Most often, terrorists are not nihilists, but morally extremist and influenced by foolish hope. This work aims, through these practical considerations on how to confront terrorism and how to deal with seemingly intractable conflicts, to present a broader vision of the origin and development of religion, the epidemics of war, the rise of civilizations, and the creation of the concept of humanity and the limits of reason. If any of these details succeed, it will make the effort behind it worthwhile.