Topics Ethics

Question Concerning the ethics of self-defense: If a convict, about to be executed, finds and seizes the opportunity to kill one of his executioners, is this ethically permissible self-defense? (Of course, even if it was, that wouldn't benefit him in any way. I still find the question interesting.)

Accepted:
May 24, 2012

Comments

Great question. My first thought is that moral rules are invariably qualified ("all else being equal") -- certain actions may be permissible in certain conditions, but presumably not when doing them overrides some other moral obligation. Since (one assumes here) the convict was indeed guilty, and justly convicted, and if (one assumes here) capital punishment is itself permissible, then I'd be inclined to hold that this would NOT be a case of permissible self-defense -- self-defense, yes, but here the only way for him to defend himself is to do some harm which clearly overrides whatever value is in the self-defense -- given the assumptions above, the executioner is by no means guilty of any wrong-doing in performing the execution, so this would amount to killing an innocent person in order to defend a guilty one ... Self-defense is permissible all else being equal, but this sort of case does not strike me as one where all else IS equal ...

hope that's useful