Second Nature: The No-gap Theory between the Mind and the World

The aim of this paper is to discuss McDowell’s concept of second nature and how the philosopher tries to formulate a theory negating the gap between the mind and the world. This concept will be understood as emerging from three basic concepts, self-activity, Bildung, and hexis, and governed by his view of language. However, this paper does not focus on his view of language, but on the conception of second nature and how important it is in his philosophical endeavor to break the philosophical tradition of the mind-world dichotomy. After an initial presentation of his thought and the scope of his goal, a brief presentation of the critique he received follows with the aim to better understand his conceptual formulation. The significance of the philosophical problem McDowell addresses is stressed in this paper attempting to provide the grounds for reimagining a philosophical view of the world without the epistemological gap between the mind and the world.