A Propaedeutic Treatment of Embodied Theology and the Applications of Self-Defence

Abstract

Self-defence is generally thought to be either a staple of martial arts practice or a way for the Crown to establish if an accused was acting in self-defence. That calls to mind two essential aspects about the actor in self-defence: 1) the subjectivity of the actor’s intent and actions, and 2) the objective examination against what other prudent persons would or would not do given the same set of circumstances. Assessing criminal liability is essential to the legalities of self-defence but, the discovery of one’s mind and actions after the fact is relevant to consequence and reflective practice which merely defines what may be considered reasonable, legitimate, and necessary as per case. More importantly, is there a divine pre-eminence of self-defence that can ameliorate one’s actions of force against another to curtail the negative effects of a hostile attacker. In this article, I propose that both virtue and duty can lead the actor to discover the sacred site of the lived-body as the self-known as I to value the self-known as the other. To view the body as sacred in such a pre-emptive way may re-establish restraint and control over one’s actions as to promote bodily integrity and the preservation of life.