First and Second Nature

Abstract

As a variation on Ananta Kumar Giri’s proposed theme of “roots and routes”, this chapter explores the conceptual couple of first and second nature. Here first nature refers to the natural historical and evolutionary origin of the current version of the human species, Homo sapiens sapiens, and second nature to the characteristically human sociocultural world. The argument is unfolded in three parts. In the first, the phylogeny of the human species is traced back to its microbiological and cognitive forms. Employing the concept of weak naturalism, the second part explores the enabling yet fraught relation between nature and the sociocultural world, the focus being particularly on the inherent ambivalence of the sociocultural world due to being caught between natural determination and sociocultural creativity. The final part engages with Ananta Kumar Giri’s poser by reflecting on his assumptions and central concepts.