How are we to combat terrosrism? Is terrorism ever morally justified? When is it rational to become a terrorist? What is so terrorizing about terrorism? The answers to these important questions depend on the most fundamental one: what is terrorism? In this thesis I utilize a practice analysis to discover how we in the West think about war. From that analysis, a definition of terrorism, captured in military categories, is offered. This definition is then used to discover what makes terrorism so terrifying for us. Finally, the definition of terrorism argued for in this thesis is tested for its applicability to further analysis by using the definition to analyze the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Pentagon and World Trade Center attacks on events of September 11th, and nuclear deterrence. / vi, 86 leaves ; 29 cm.