San Diego Law Review
Document Type
Article
Abstract
I was not certain I was going to write something for this symposium. After all, I had written a lot on the topic of self-defense, so what was there left to say that I had not said before? I have concluded, however, after reading a new generation of literature on self-defense, that most who write on the topic neglect its perhaps most important aspect, namely, that it is a preemptive action. As a preemptive action, self-defense perforce takes place before the attack to which it is a response occurs. This preemptive aspect of self-defense brings with it a nest of theoretical problems to which those who write about self-defense too infrequently advert.
Recommended Citation
Larry Alexander,
The Need to Attend to Probabilities—For Purposes of Self-Defense and Other Preemptive Actions,
55
San Diego L. Rev.
223
(2018).
Available at:
https://digital.sandiego.edu/sdlr/vol55/iss2/2