What is "civil disobedience"?

Civil disobedience is best defined as the act of intentionally disobeying a law to protest its existence or application. This form of protest typically involves nonviolent resistance to laws that individuals believe to be unjust or immoral. Historically, civil disobedience has been employed by various social movements seeking to bring attention to specific laws that violate ethical principles or civil rights.

The practice involves a conscious decision to break certain laws while accepting the consequences of that action, thereby highlighting perceived injustices within those laws. Notable figures such as Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. have articulated the philosophical basis for civil disobedience, emphasizing its role as a moral stance against oppression.

Other choices do not accurately capture the essence of civil disobedience. For instance, while a legal defense in criminal trials might relate to how one argues against enforcement of certain laws, it does not encompass the broader idea of intentional law-breaking for protest. Similarly, gathering support for new laws or providing public testimony in court do not relate directly to the concept of civil disobedience as they do not involve the act of defying existing laws to effect change.