View source for Ipso facto

{{Short description|Latin phrase used in many sciences}}
{{other uses|Ipso Facto (disambiguation)}}
{{Italic title}}
'''{{lang|la|Ipso facto}}''' is a [[Latin]] phrase, directly translated as "by the fact itself",<ref>{{cite book|last=Dominik|first=William J.|title=Words & Ideas|year=2006|publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci|location=Wauconda, Ill.|isbn=0-86516-485-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EUlrPKNQiTMC&q=%22ipso+facto%22+latin+phrases&pg=PA163|page=163}}</ref> which means that a specific [[phenomenon]] is a ''direct'' [[Causality|consequence]], a resultant ''effect'', of the action in question, instead of being brought about by a previous action. (Contrast this with the expressions ''"by itself"'' or ''"[[wikt:per se#Adverb|per se]]"''.) It is a [[term of art]] used in [[philosophy]], [[law]], and [[science]].

Aside from its technical uses, it occurs frequently in literature, particularly in scholarly addenda:  e.g., "Faustus had signed his life away, and was, {{lang|la|ipso facto}}, incapable of repentance" (from [[Christopher Marlowe]], ''[[The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus]]'') or "These prejudices are rooted in the idea that every tramp {{lang|la|ipso facto}} is a blackguard" (from [[George Orwell]], ''[[Down and Out in Paris and London]]'').

==In Catholic canon law==
{{main|Latae sententiae}}
{{lang|la|Ipso facto}} denotes the automatic character of the loss of membership in a religious body by someone guilty of a specified action.<ref>{{cite web|title=dismissal ipso facto|url=http://saints.sqpn.com/ncd02747.htm|publisher=New Catholic Dictionary|access-date=18 February 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120718022301/http://saints.sqpn.com/ncd02747.htm|archive-date=18 July 2012}}</ref> Within the [[canon law (Catholic Church)|canon law]] of the [[Catholic Church]], the phrase {{lang|la|[[latae sententiae]]}} is more commonly used than {{lang|la|ipso facto}} with regard to [[ecclesiastical]] penalties such as [[excommunication (Catholic Church)|excommunication]]. It indicates that the effect follows even if no verdict (in Latin, {{lang|la|sententia}}) is pronounced by an ecclesiastical superior or tribunal.

==See also==
* [[List of Latin phrases]]
* {{lang|la|[[Eo ipso]]}}
* [[Q.E.D.]]
* [[List of Latin phrases (E)#ergo]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Wiktionary-inline|ipso facto}}
<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wordz.pl?keyword=ipso|title = William Whitaker's Words}}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wordz.pl?keyword=facto|title=William Whitaker's Words}}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wordz.pl?keyword=per|title = William Whitaker's Words}}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wordz.pl?keyword=se|title=William Whitaker's Words}}</ref>


{{DEFAULTSORT:Ipso facto}}
[[Category:Catholic Church legal terminology]]
[[Category:Latin legal terminology]]
[[Category:Latin philosophical phrases]]
[[Category:Latin logical phrases]]
[[Category:Latin words and phrases]]
[[Category:Legal reasoning]]


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