Intrinsic Evil?

[BVM_1221]

With the elections getting closer, the question of who to vote for and/or what party to vote for has, once again, brought the phrase “intrinsic evil” to the forefront. But what exactly does it mean?

I did a GOOGLE search, and the phrase seems to crop up ONLY in Catholic publications. Such as this one…

americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=11166

I am starting this thread to ask people to post their own favourite links to pages that discuss the meaning of “intrinsic evil”. Not not not the topic of abortion or anything else you consider an intrinsic evil. :tsktsk::tsktsk::tsktsk:

Just the concept itself, OK?

 

[Earnest_Bunbury]

Intrinsic evil is something that is evil in and of itself. This is murder, adultery, stealing, worshiping other gods, etc., enumerated in the 10 Commandments. It is in our actions that one either performs evil or not. If one kills an innocent it is murder, an intrinsic evil. Abortion fits this bill. All justifications to the contrary merely try to mitigate ones moral culpability but most know this is killing of an innocent.

Electing a politician who advocates murder of an innocent for convenience is one who advocates something intrinsically evil and cannot be trusted to do the right thing.

 

[Hadrianus]

An action which is an “intrinsic evil” is simply an action which can never be good in itself. This does not mean, however, that the action is necessarily worse than something which though not evil intrinsically, could be worse by virtue of circumstances.

 

[joshrp]

With the elections getting closer, the question of who to vote for and/or what party to vote for has, once again, brought the phrase “intrinsic evil” to the forefront. But what exactly does it mean?

I did a GOOGLE search, and the phrase seems to crop up ONLY in Catholic publications. Such as this one…

americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=11166

I am starting this thread to ask people to post their own favourite links to pages that discuss the meaning of “intrinsic evil”. Not not not the topic of abortion or anything else you consider an intrinsic evil. :tsktsk::tsktsk::tsktsk:

Just the concept itself, OK?

Evil is any idea that considers that man is merely a beast, and not made in the image and likeness of God. This is the litmus test for what is evil and what it good.

 

[yablabo]

With the elections getting closer, the question of who to vote for and/or what party to vote for has, once again, brought the phrase “intrinsic evil” to the forefront. But what exactly does it mean?

I did a GOOGLE search, and the phrase seems to crop up ONLY in Catholic publications. Such as this one…

americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=11166

I am starting this thread to ask people to post their own favourite links to pages that discuss the meaning of “intrinsic evil”. Not not not the topic of abortion or anything else you consider an intrinsic evil. :tsktsk::tsktsk::tsktsk:

Just the concept itself, OK?

Intrinsic evil is that which is lacking in and of itself. Evil cannot be defined essentially, since evil has no essence. Evil can only be defined by good. When a good being is lacking (or has a privation), we point to it and say either that it has an evil or it is evil.

For example, a blind horse is an evil horse, since it lacks what it should have to make it a wholly good horse. That is a physical evil.

For example, a man murders another man. Men ought not murder one another. The man, in order to be a wholly good man in a moral sense, ought not to be a murderer. There is some lacking in his will which “able-izes” him to commit murder. That is moral evil.

For example, someone commits the action of a direct abortion. Direct abortion is an action which should never have been committed because it is an action which lacks any goodness whatsoever. That is intrinsic evil. Only actions or false/erroneous concepts can be called intrinsically evil…never beings themselves, because the very fact that a being exists points to some goodness in it.

– Nicole

 

[RosaryFan]

With the elections getting closer, the question of who to vote for and/or what party to vote for has, once again, brought the phrase “intrinsic evil” to the forefront. But what exactly does it mean?

I did a GOOGLE search, and the phrase seems to crop up ONLY in Catholic publications. Such as this one…

americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=11166

I am starting this thread to ask people to post their own favourite links to pages that discuss the meaning of “intrinsic evil”. Not not not the topic of abortion or anything else you consider an intrinsic evil. :tsktsk::tsktsk::tsktsk:

Just the concept itself, OK?

I always wondered what “intrinsic evil” meant, until our priest explained it.

The act of abortion is intrinsically evil because it is an evil act all the time and in every circumstance. The act of chopping off someone’s limbs is NOT intrinsically evil because there can be an instance where it is necessary and even good to do so. Such as if you have gangrene, and you need to have a limb removed. That is the difference between an act which is intrisically evil and that which is not.