Dr. Emmanuel Nakamura

Research Project

The Negativity of Second Nature and Market Dynamics

My research has three goals: (1) Based on Hegel’s Philosophy of subjective spirit and problematizing contemporary interpretations of Hegel’s concept of second nature, I want to show that this concept has not only the constructive dimension of the becoming of freedom but also a destructive one, i.e. by turning against a first nature or previously existing habits. (2) Reconstructing the systematic relation of central categories of Hegel’s Philosophy of World History, I intend to show that for him the concept of second nature in itself is insufficient to evaluate if a situation presents progress in the consciousness of freedom. As a simple identity between individual agency and collective norms, the ethical habit is only an elementary category, which needs to be grounded through the presentation of an “ethical universe” (a system of rights and social and political institutions). (3) Based on the negative meaning of the concept of second nature given by Critical Theory and by anthropological literature about forms of life of indigenous peoples in South America, I aim to show that the market is a clear example that the formation of a second nature does not immediately mean the formation of a situation with more freedom. My hypothesis is that in some cases we can conclude that it is not a matter of choice between a regulated or non-regulated market, but the simple non-existence of market relations sets up a situation with more freedom.