Intrinsic

We explain what something intrinsic is, the origin of the term and examples of its use. Furthermore, its meaning in medicine, philosophy and economics.

intrinsic
The intrinsic is what is immanent or inseparable from a thing or situation.

What is something intrinsic?

With the adjective intrinsic we normally refer to everything that is characteristic or essential of somethingthat is, what is immanent or inseparable from a thing or situation. The use of this word in Spanish comes from the incorporation (as a cultism) of the Latin adverb intrinsicuswhich meant “inside” or “inwardly.” Its opposite concept is extrinsic, which is foreign or optional, which is not typical of a thing.

Something intrinsic is a substantial part of that which contains it, that is, its nature makes it specific to something. It can be said, for example, that “the presence of water is intrinsic of our planet”, given that it is the only one in the solar system that has said liquid. Or that “the search for salvation is an intrinsic feature of most religions,” meaning that in almost all of them the promise of salvation occupies a central place.

The adjectives immanent or inherent, as well as proper, essential, characteristic, essential or connatural, are synonyms of intrinsic.

Other uses of the term “intrinsic”

In more specialized contexts, the term intrinsic can refer to more specific and specific things, as in the following cases:

  • in medicineintrinsic refers to the tissues that are part of an organ or a specific part of the body, and therefore belong exclusively to it. For example, the intrinsic musculature of the heart is that which constitutes the cardiac muscles.
  • In philosophythere is talk of intrinsic name to refer to the way of being of an object or entity with regard to its nature and not its relationships with other objects or entities.
  • In economicsis known as intrinsic value either core value at the market price of a good or asset, determined by its nature and its components, tangible or intangible. Sometimes, this value can differ from the legal value of the asset, as happened in the past with many coins, made from valuable metals (such as copper), whose nominal value (the value it represents in the economic system, let's say, a cent of dollar) was lower than its intrinsic value (that is, the cost of the copper from which it is made), which caused that instead of using them as a piece of exchange, they were used as raw material to obtain marketable copper.
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References

  • “Intrinsic” on Wikipedia.
  • “Intrinsic value” on Wikipedia.
  • “Intrinsic” in the Language Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy.
  • “Etymology of Intrinsic” in the Online Spanish Etymological Dictionary.
  • “Intrinsic” in the Medical Dictionary of the Clínica Universidad de Navarra (Spain).