An intrinsic
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
is a property that an object or a thing has of itself, including its context. An extrinsic (or relational) property is a property that depends on a thing's relationship with other things. For example,
mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...
is an intrinsic property of any
physical object, whereas
weight
In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force acting on the object due to gravity.
Some standard textbooks define weight as a vector quantity, the gravitational force acting on the object. Others define weight as a scalar q ...
is an extrinsic property that varies depending on the strength of the gravitational field in which the respective object is placed. The question of intrinsicality and extrinsicality in empirically observable objects is a significant field of study in
ontology
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities ...
, the branch of
philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of
being
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities ...
.
Criteria
David Lewis offered a list of criteria that should condense the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic properties (numbers and
italics added):
# A sentence or statement or proposition that ascribes intrinsic properties to something is entirely ''about that thing''; whereas an ascription of extrinsic properties to something is not entirely about that thing, though it may well be about some larger whole which includes that thing as part.
# A thing has its intrinsic properties in virtue of ''the way that thing itself, and nothing else, is''. Not so for extrinsic properties, though a thing may well have these in virtue of the way some larger whole is.
# The intrinsic properties of something ''depend only on that thing''; whereas the extrinsic properties of something may depend, wholly or partly, on something else.
# If something has an intrinsic property, then so does ''any perfect duplicate'' of that thing; whereas duplicates situated in different surroundings will differ in their extrinsic properties.
Value
Intrinsic properties are fundamental in understanding
Kantian
deontological
In moral philosophy, deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek: + ) is the normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules and principles, r ...
ethics, which is based upon the argument that an action should be viewed on its
intrinsic value (the value of the action in itself) with regard to
ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ...
and
morality
Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...
, as opposed to
consequentialist utilitarian arguments that an action should be viewed by the value of its outcomes.
Intrinsicism and extrinsicism
Intrinsicism
Intrinsicism is the belief that value is a non-relational characteristic of an object. This means that an object can be good or bad without reference to who it is good or bad for, and without reference to the reason it is good or bad. One example of this might be the belief that certain sex acts are intrinsically evil, even if they harm no one.
Extrinsicism
Extrinsicism is the tendency to place major emphasis on external matters rather than on more profound realities. In terms of morals and ethics, it tends to stress the external observance of laws and precepts, with lesser concern for the ultimate principles underlying moral conduct.
Britannica
/ref>
See also
*Brute fact
In contemporary philosophy, a brute fact is a fact that cannot be explained in terms of a deeper, more "fundamental" fact. There are two main ways to explain something: say what "brought it about", or describe it at a more "fundamental" level. For ...
*Transcendental
Transcendence, transcendent, or transcendental may refer to:
Mathematics
* Transcendental number, a number that is not the root of any polynomial with rational coefficients
* Algebraic element or transcendental element, an element of a field exten ...
References
{{reflist
External links
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on intrinsic and extrinsic propertiesThe Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on intrinsic and extrinsic value
Concepts in metaphysics
Ontology