Can the destruction of any physical object be justified with death?

[Fear_Itself]

@Shodan

Interesting question.

I came into the thread thinking “no way - human life is more important than any property”. But then I got to thinking.

Suppose somebody discovered something irreplaceable, that could add to human knowledge. Someone finds a backup copy of all the volumes in the Library of Alexandria, or a genuine extra-terrestrial artifact. And some nut decides it’s evil, and tries to destroy it.

Would I be willing to use deadly force to defend it, even if I was sure that neither I nor any innocent third party was under threat?

I agree with you, with the stipulation that defending something with deadly force is different than punishing with death for an act already committed. If I could save the Library at Alexandria, I would use deadly force to protect it; but if it was already destroyed, I don’t think the death penalty accomplishes anything.