Intrinsically Evil Acts

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Ron_Conte

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given that:
A is an intrinsically evil act
B is a moral act
  1. Is it ever moral to do A?
  2. Can good intention or dire circumstances ever make it moral to do A?
  3. Can intention or circumstance ever change the essential moral nature of A, so that A becomes a different kind of act, one that is now moral?
  4. If A is done before, during, or after B, can A ever become moral or become a different kind of act, one that is now moral?
  5. When the second font of morality is bad, is the act necessarily intrinsically evil?
 
Ron_Conte said:
given that:
A is an intrinsically evil act
B is a moral act
  1. Is it ever moral to do A?
  2. Can good intention or dire circumstances ever make it moral to do A?
  3. Can intention or circumstance ever change the essential moral nature of A, so that A becomes a different kind of act, one that is now moral?
  4. If A is done before, during, or after B, can A ever become moral or become a different kind of act, one that is now moral?
  5. When the second font of morality is bad, is the act necessarily intrinsically evil?
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  1. No.
  2. No, but circumstances can lessen culpability.
  3. No.
  4. No.
  5. I’m not sure I understand the question.
– Mark L. Chance.
 
Ron_Conte said:
given that:
A is an intrinsically evil act
B is a moral act
  1. Is it ever moral to do A?
Click to expand...
It is never morally permissable to perform an intrinsically evil act, even as the means to achieve a good end.
 
Ron, aren’t you very conservative and orthodox on these issues? I seem to remember from your website that you think it is immoral to perform certaint acts in the bedroom even though there is no definative Church teaching on the matter…

Just wondering why you would ask such an elementary question when you seem to have a very good grasp on moral theo?
 
I’m asking these questions to see what the range of opinions are.

Ron
 
  1. Is it ever moral to do A?
    No, it is never moral to commit an intrinsically evil act.
  2. Can good intention or dire circumstances ever make it moral to do A?
    No.
  3. Can intention or circumstance ever change the essential moral nature of A, so that A becomes a different kind of act, one that is now moral?
    If this were possible, then A would not have been intrinsically evil in the first place.
  4. If A is done before, during, or after B, can A ever become moral or become a different kind of act, one that is now moral?
    Same as 3.
  5. When the second font of morality is bad, is the act necessarily intrinsically evil?
    **It is possible. We can adulterate “good” or “virtuous” deeds so as to make them evil.
    **
LJN21 said:
Why? Opinion does not dictate morality.
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Did he say it did?
 
Good fruit can not come from a rotten tree. If A is an evil act then nothing good can result from A. You also mention good intentions, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
  • Charlie
 
wjp984 said:
What are some examples of things that are intrinsically evil?
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Rape (CCC 2356)
Artificial Contraceptives (2370*CCC *)
LJN21 said:
No, but its somewhat implied. That is why I asked, why he was asking.
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No more implied than if I were to begin an abortion poll asking, “How many people here think that abortion is always wrong?”
Crimsonflyboy said:
Good fruit can not come from a rotten tree. If A is an evil act then nothing good can result from A. You also mention good intentions, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
  • Charlie
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Not exactly. We cannot morally commit evil with the intent to do good, however the sole reason God allows the existence of evil is so that He might bring a greater good out of it.

The epitomous example is the crucifixion of Christ. That such wondrous good could possibly come out of such an evil crime is far beyond our understanding.
 
passus said:
the sole reason God allows the existence of evil is so that He might bring a greater good out of it.
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I don’t know if that is quite true. God allows evil b/c he respects our free will. Without the potential to do evil, free will would be void, and no good that we do would have any meaning.

God Bless
 
Me thinks the bush he is beating around, is for someone to say that self-stimulation is intrinsically evil, and just like the posts above, people say that you can never do an intrinsically evil act no matter what the intention or circumstances. So post coital or coital masturbation is immoral.

I’ve been wrong before, once. :cool:
 
passus said:
  1. When the second font of morality is bad, is the act necessarily intrinsically evil?
    It is possible. We can adulterate “good” or “virtuous” deeds so as to make them evil.
Click to expand...
On this point, if the deed is good, then the second font of morality is good; also, if the second font is bad, then the deed (or act) is not a good deed, but an intrinsically evil act.

Intention (first font) and circumstances (third font) can make the overall act sinful, even if the act itself (narrowly considered, apart from the intention and circumstances) is good. But again the act would not be intrinsically evil.

My answer to 5. is that whenever the second font is bad, the act is necessarily intrinsically evil, because the second font considers only the essential moral nature of the act (the moral object inherent in the act itself).
 
Ron_Conte said:
given that:
A is an intrinsically evil act
B is a moral act
  1. Is it ever moral to do A?
Click to expand...
No.
  1. Can good intention … ever make it moral to do A?
Click to expand...
No.
Can … dire circumstances ever make it moral to do A?
Click to expand...
Yes.
  1. Can intention or circumstance ever change the essential moral nature of A, so that A becomes a different kind of act, one that is now moral?
Click to expand...
Yes.
  1. If A is done before, during, or after B, can A ever become moral or become a different kind of act, one that is now moral?
Click to expand...
No.
  1. When the second font of morality is bad, is the act necessarily intrinsically evil?
Click to expand...
No.
 
Veritatis Splendor teaches that intention and circumstance cannot make an intrinsically evil act moral.

It should be obvious that if an act is intrinsically evil, then neither intention nor circumstance can make the act good. It is inherently evil. Nothing can make the act good, not other acts, not intention, not circumstances.

When the second font of morality is bad (evil, immoral) the act is by definition intrinsically evil.
 
Intrinsically Evil Acts: lying, stealing, murder, unnatural sexual acts, natural sexual acts outside of marriage, blasphemy, idolatry, greed, lust, hatred of God or neighbor, etc.
 
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