Question:What is the definition of self-defense?

If you are being attacked in any way where you can not escape from it, and your only option is to fight back, that is considered self defense. This can become kind of tricky because it would not be considered self defense if there was a way...

"The right to use force against an unjust aggressor. The moral premises on which justifiable self-defense is based are the fact that the possession of life includes the right to use the means necessary to protect one's life, provided...

All persons are entitled to exercise force to prevent an unlawful interference with themselves or a third person. The amount of force must not exceed that which is necessary to terminate the force. In determining whether the person reason...

what is the definition of self defense under california state law?

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A: Calif. state Supreme Court declared: "It is well established that the ordinary self-defense doctrine--applicable when a defendant reasonably believes that his safety is endangered-may not be invoked by a defendant who, through his own wrongful conduct (e.g., the initiation of a physical assault or the commission of a felony), has created circumstances under which his adversary's attack or pursuit is legally justified." HERE IS GENERAL LAW JOURNAL COMMENT:"In self-defense cases, the jury will be asked to guess what was going on in the mind of the accused before and during the killing.[FN52] This notion relates to the degree of culpability, if any, and whether the defendant's conduct was contrary to the policy of the state as set out in its penal code. Essentially, there is an objective standard and a subjective standard in self-defense cases.[FN53]The objective standard, the requirement in some states, calls for the jury to be instructed to view the occurrence in question through the eyes of the "ordinary man." In other words, jurors must compare the defendant's acts with the acts of a hypothetical "reasonable person" under the same or similar circumstances. This is the theory most favored by prosecutors.Other states have adopted a subjective standard that compels the jury to view the acts in question through the defendant's imperfect eyes. This theory has the advantage of opening up much to advocacy, but in many cases it also puts the onus on the defendant to take the stand to tell his or her story to twelve critical peers."There are many gray areas and there are different standards for self defense in homicide or home invasion or battery. You usually can not use more force than you were threatened with. If someone comes at you with a knife... it depends on who they are physically compared to you. Larger, stronger. Maybe you can use a gun maybe you can't. A lawyer is the best person to ask who knows all the details about the case. And then it is usually for the jury to decide.