This literature review examines self-defense as a general concept and in the context of specific legal doctrines. It looks at general issues of self-defense, such as philosophical principles, morality, and social norms; general guidelines of proportionality and force; and how non-lethal technology does not change these principles and guidelines. From there, the paper exams three major legal doctrines—Duty to Retreat, Castle Doctrine, and Stand Your Ground— and discusses their definitions, histories, legal significance, applied usages and specific study results, and the arguments and controversies surrounding them. The paper then analyzes the concept of self-defense through the theoretical perspective of Donald Black and concludes with a summation of what these laws have meant for the United States.
","abstract_html":"<p>This literature review examines self-defense as a general concept and in the context of specific legal doctrines. It looks at general issues of self-defense, such as philosophical principles, morality, and social norms; general guidelines of proportionality and force; and how non-lethal technology does not change these principles and guidelines. From there, the paper exams three major legal doctrines—Duty to Retreat, Castle Doctrine, and Stand Your Ground— and discusses their definitions, histories, legal significance, applied usages and specific study results, and the arguments and controversies surrounding them. The paper then analyzes the concept of self-defense through the theoretical perspective of Donald Black and concludes with a summation of what these laws have meant for the United States.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Shields, Jake"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Peter Wood","Kristina Ajrouch","Brian Sellers"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z","subjects":["Castle Doctrine","Duty to Retreat","Morality","Self Defense","Social Norms","Stand Your Ground","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/877","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Peter Wood","Kristina Ajrouch","Brian Sellers"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Shields, Jake"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-03-15T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Castle Doctrine","Duty to Retreat","Morality","Self Defense","Social Norms","Stand Your Ground","Social and Behavioral Sciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/877"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This literature review examines self-defense as a general concept and in the context of specific legal doctrines. It looks at general issues of self-defense, such as philosophical principles, morality, and social norms; general guidelines of proportionality and force; and how non-lethal technology does not change these principles and guidelines. From there, the paper exams three major legal doctrines—Duty to Retreat, Castle Doctrine, and Stand Your Ground— and discusses their definitions, histories, legal significance, applied usages and specific study results, and the arguments and controversies surrounding them. The paper then analyzes the concept of self-defense through the theoretical perspective of Donald Black and concludes with a summation of what these laws have meant for the United States.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Self-defense in the United States: A review of the literature"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Peter Wood","Kristina Ajrouch","Brian Sellers"],"dc:creator":["Shields, Jake"],"dc:date.available":["2018-03-15T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This literature review examines self-defense as a general concept and in the context of specific legal doctrines. It looks at general issues of self-defense, such as philosophical principles, morality, and social norms; general guidelines of proportionality and force; and how non-lethal technology does not change these principles and guidelines. From there, the paper exams three major legal doctrines—Duty to Retreat, Castle Doctrine, and Stand Your Ground— and discusses their definitions, histories, legal significance, applied usages and specific study results, and the arguments and controversies surrounding them. The paper then analyzes the concept of self-defense through the theoretical perspective of Donald Black and concludes with a summation of what these laws have meant for the United States.
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