Self-defense is a topic about which scholars, legislators, judges, and laymen alike have strongly held—and often strongly divergent—opinions. While some favor ‘tough-on-crime’ approaches according broader leeway to defenders, others advocate for a more empathetic, ‘humanitarian’ construction of the law.

By way of illustration of such polarities of perspective, consider the 20th century German case allowing a farmer to shoot a youthful fruit thief in the back because the ‘right ...