ipso facto

Definition of ipso facto

Etymology

From Latin ipso + facto.

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˈɪpsəʊ ˌfæktəʊ/

Adverb

ipso facto (not comparable)

1. By that very fact itself.
   
   * 1999 April, Bryan Caplan, "The Austrian Search for Realistic Foundations", in Southern Economic Journal, volume 65, number 4, page 833:
   For [Ludwig von] Mises or [Murray] Rothbard, it is simply confused to posit latent preferences; if two individuals fail to make an exchange, then this ipso facto demonstrates that at that moment at least one of them would not have benefited from the exchange.

Further reading

Ipso facto is a Latin phrase, directly translated as "by the fact itself," which means that a certain effect is a direct consequence of the action in question, instead of being brought about by a subsequent action such as the verdict of a tribunal. It is a term of art used in philosophy, law, and science. An example in law is money laundering: the act is ipso facto illegal because it is done as a cover for something else, so the act puts the actions of an individual in question. A common English idiom with a similar meaning is "in and of itself".

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

In religion

Ipso facto denotes the automatic character of the loss of membership of a religious body by someone guilty of a specified action. Within the Roman Catholic Church, the phrase latae sententiae is more commonly used than ipso facto with regard to ecclesiastical penalties such as excommunication. It indicates that the effect follows even if no verdict (in Latin, sententia) is pronounced by an ecclesiastical superior or tribunal.