McKenzie Wark, during the chapter “Adventures in Third Nature” of the book “New Geographies #9” uses her own family vacation as a sociological observation study to address the distantiation between humanity and nature. Everything built that shapes the natural environment and promotes comfort for mankind is part of the so-called “second nature”, like the own existence of the urban environment. But the author states that the desire for comfort has extrapolated to the natural environment per se, and creates the aforementioned distantiation. As an example, a RV (recreational vehicle) is described as an enclosure created and powered by natural materials whose main purpose is to provide humans a non-natural comfort while in nature.
In a similar manner, Wark suggests that, in order to “overcome the shortcomings of second nature”, society created a “third nature”. Those basically refer to predominantly information systems. Drawing a parallel, humanity has initiated the transition to congregate in settlements for about six thousand years now. Those settlements evolved into cities, with its buildings as the cores of this defined “second nature”. However, those buildings were short limited in height until the last century. With other “second nature” advents, like the reinforced concrete and elevators, it was finally achievable to build high-rises structures, but without the development of “third nature” technologies such as the internet and telecommunications, those may have never reached its potential and extent as we see today.
The author claims that second and third nature artificially modifies the natural environment to human’s convenience and at the same time shapes our activities into a capitalist function. To be surrounded by nature, it was ingrained in society to, for example, buy or pay for second natured elements such as vehicles, roads and campsites while organizing the transfer through third natured features like internet and GPS, that generates profit by personal data share for the big tech companies.
In conclusion, Wark’s framework of first, second, and third nature offers a philosophical approach on how to examine humanity’s evolving relationship with the environment. It reveals how each layer builds upon the previous one, reflecting our attempts to control, enhance, and ultimately abstract the world around us. However, this progression also emphasizes the distantiation from the original “first nature” (or, nature itself) as infrastructural and technological systems increasingly mediate our interactions with the natural world. While the conveniences of second and third nature have soothed human life, they also generate questions about ecology, management, and the commodification of both the natural and digital realms. Aiming for a more sustainable future, the challenge lies in finding balance: achieving innovation while remaining mindful of the ecosystems and values that form the foundation of our existence.
KEYWORS
SECOND NATURE: encompasses all physical constructions designed to make human life more comfortable.
THIRD NATURE: non-physical layer that consistently overlays second nature, enhancing our experiences by providing increased access to information.
CAPITALIST FUNCTION: even when contemplating nature, we are consuming and generating economic value to the capitalist structures that creates and support second and third nature.
