Laurien Wüst: The second nature of technology: On Benjamins distinction between first and second technology
Thursday | June 19, 2025 | 11:15-12:00
Goethe and Schiller Archive, Jenaer Straße 1, 99423 Weimar
Abstract:
Opposed to a dualistic separation of nature and culture, contemporary philosophy has rediscovered the concept of second nature. This concept expresses not only the insight in the constitutive role of naturalization, be it in the formation of the subject (habits) or of the social (institutions). It also serves as a critical concept by emphasizing second nature as a source of new forms of social domination that demands strategies of de-automatization of our social practices. What is lacking in the philosophical debate on second nature, however, is the question of the role of technical automation. The talk addresses this neglect through a distinction made in Walter Benjamin’s artwork-essay, where he differentiates a „first technology“, allied with “magic” (Magie) from a „second technology“, associated with play (Spiel) and experimentation. The talk pursues the question of how Benjamin’s distinction can offer a new perspective on second nature as a critical concept.