An intrinsically evil act (Lat. intrinsece malum) is an action that, by its object — i.e., by what the agent consciously and willingly does — is morally evil always and everywhere, independently of intention, circumstances, or consequences (cf. Bexten 2017, pp. 302 ff.). The moral species of the act is determined by its object (fontes moralitatis), as Thomas Aquinas teaches.
Hildebrand speaks of a structural disregard for morally relevant values: certain actions violate the dignity of the person in a way that cannot be outweighed by any good intention. Wojtyła, i.e. John Paul II, formulates in Veritatis Splendor (no. 80): “Such [acts are] always and in themselves, i.e. by virtue of their very object, [evil].” Seifert calls this teaching “the cornerstone of Wojtyła’s ethics.”
The category of the intrinsically evil act stands in opposition to consequentialist and proportionalist ethics. These claim that every action can be justified by sufficiently good consequences. From a personal-ontological standpoint this position is untenable. If the person possesses an unconditional dignity, then there are actions that structurally violate this dignity and can therefore never be permitted. The personalist norm sets an absolute limit to action.
The ontology classifies the intrinsically evil act as a subclass of the morally evil act. Among the intrinsically evil acts are, among others: murder, rape, abortion, euthanasia, suicide, assisted suicide, torture, perjury, surrogacy, artificial fertilization, and contraception. Rape is a crime that violates the person in all three dimensions — bodily, psychic, and spiritual — and breaks the personalist norm in a radical way.
Ontological classification:
- Superordinate concept: morally evil act
- Subordinate concepts: murder, rape, abortion, euthanasia, suicide, assisted suicide, torture, perjury, surrogacy, artificial fertilization, contraception
Chapter assignment: Chapter 5: Oblivion of the Person (German)
Sources: Generated by querying the Personhood ontology.
Further sources:
- John Paul II (1993): Veritatis Splendor. Encyclical, no. 80 (intrinsically evil acts).
- Seifert, Josef (1987): Back to ‘Things in Themselves’. A Phenomenological Foundation for Classical Realism. London/New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul (Wojtyła’s ethics).
See also
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Chapter 4: Personhood (German)