Re: [xmca] second nature

Hi,

In Marx' Ökonomische-Philosophische Manuskripte - 1844, you can read
how Marx talks about 'double stimulation'

As far as I remember Ivan Pavlov writes about 'second nature' when he
writes about 'the second signal system'

can it be something for you?

  - hope so

Leif
Sweden

2007-10-12 kl. 05.12 skrev Andy Blunden:

> Anyone have an answer to this one?
>
> I sometimes use the term "second nature" to mean the world of
> artefacts, in contrast to the "first nature" the world of things
> existing before and outside human civilisation. I am interested in
> where this usage comes from.
> According to the Oxford English Dictionary Online, the use of "second
> nature" to mean habits and other aspects of the human character which
> are developed during our life through participation in activity dates
> back to Aristotle, but they record no-one using the term in the way I
> use it. I see that Hegel only used the expression in the sense of
> acquired habits. Max Stirner appears to be the one, much to my
> surprise, who started referring to culture as a "second Nature" but
> who knows what "culture" meant to the author of "The Ego and his Own"?
> Marx in the 1844 manuscripts goes so far as to refer to human needs
> which are "second nature" and it would seem consistent with his idea
> that he should ascribe "second nature" to the objectification of those
> new human needs in the world of artefacts. I do not feel I am
> "betraying" Marx in using the term in that way, but so far as I can
> see Marx and Engels never use it that way themselves.
>
> Any ideas on who first called the world of material culture our
> "second nature" (as opposed to civilised habits)? Was it one of those
> American Pragmatists or Benjamin Franklin or someone?
>
> Andy
>
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Received on Fri Oct 12 05:19 PDT 2007