Concept of Intrinsic Evil and Catholic Theological Ethics

One of the most sweeping, categorical, and absolute phrases that has ever been employed by the hierarchical teaching authority of the Roman Catholic Church refers to a concept called ‘intrinsic evil’. In short, intrinsic evil is invoked to describe certain kinds of human acts that can never be morally justified or permitted, regardless of the intention of the person who performs them or any circumstances within which they take place. The most common examples of things that people recognize as being classified as intrinsically evil are, suicide, euthanasia, abortion, and the use of contraception. The ease with which the term ‘intrinsic evil’ gets right to the point, thereby making the fairly complex field of ethical reflection seem manageable and widely accessible, is one of the reasons for its attractiveness within Roman Catholic ethical teaching. However, this kind of simplification risks or even encourages avoidance of critical questions such as, "Where does this concept come from and what meanings are associated with it?", "Is it supposed to express an ethical judgment or to form it?", and "Is there a substantial difference between intrinsically evil acts and morally wrong acts?". The contributors to this volume engage with these and similar issues surrounding the formation and use of the concept, and in the process dispel the naïve belief that the concept can somehow escape the complexity of ethical discourse or establish certainty of ethical judgments that is otherwise unattainable. In light of this realization, the most important issue becomes whether the concept can still be useful for Catholic theological ethics. Although the contributors to this volume do not completely agree on this issue, they have shown that a critical scrutiny of the concept must necessarily precede settling this issue and that the concept might not be able to withstand such critical judgment.The book provides a description of the origin and meanings of the concept of intrinsic evil. While the term itself tends to create confusion rather than clarity, eliminating its use does not imply that we cannot still have a meaningful discussion about ‘things that should never be done’.

The contributors to this book have provided a truly deep analysis of a subject that has played a central role in Catholic ethics for a long time. By examining the language of intrinsic evil from various points of view, they have produced important insights into numerous matters, including the inconsistency in the use of the term, problems resulting from its usage, and the need for a dynamic, personalist approach to ethics, rather than a static one. Whether they agree or disagree with individual contributors to this volume, scholars wishing to join in debate about intrinsic evil will do well to make this book a significant part of their research., This book offers an accurate and in-depth analysis of the concept of intrinsic evil. It considers historical instances, systematic articulations and applications to moral fields, such as sexual ethics. The theme of the moral negativity of an action is put in relation to the notion of the agent as subject of her/his choices.This turn toward the subject does not weaken the question of moral evil and does not weaken the structure of ethical discourse, degrading it to something subjectivist and relativistic. On the contrary, it emphasizes with vigor and effectiveness, the responsibility of moral action, both in personal and collective agency. For such a perspective it is necessary to have a sensitivity first of all for the human good as a whole and to develop a moral passion that helps to make it concrete in the paths of history. That takes us in a different direction than intrinsic evil, and this book is a powerful help for developing that newer pathway., At the end of January 2018 an international, expert seminar was hosted in Vienna to discuss a much used concept in twentieth century Catholic theological ethics, intrinsic evil. Over the past forty years, the concept, used especially in sexual teachings, has prompted philosophical and theological ethicists to raise occasional critiques about its meaning and use. Now due to the dedicated work of Nenad Polgar, Sigrid Müller, and Joseph Selling we have the seminar's results that thoroughly, objectively, professionally, and critically analyze the concept from a variety of perspectives. Suffice it to say, those earlier doubts are now clearer. This collection effectively suggests, I think, that the credible utility of the concept has run its course. An important, long-needed, rich investigation, beautifully edited in this collection., Recent Catholic teaching, especially in Veritatis Splendor, has too often used the technical moral theological concept, ‘intrinsic evil’, as an authoritarian bludgeon to aggressively suppress theological conversation on, and discernment about, controversial ethical issues, especially in sexual ethics. This invaluable collection of essays by noted scholars critically engages the tradition, and one another, to deconstruct the concept by exploring its historical, philosophical, theological, and ideological roots, and to move the tradition forward with a comprehensive and comprehensible framework for constructing foundational ethical concepts.

Nenad Polgar is assistant professor at the University of Zagreb and post-doctoral assistant at the University of Vienna. Joseph A. Selling is emeritus professor of theological ethics in the Faculty of Theology at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.