In the World: Henri Lefebvre and the Liturgical Production of Natural Space
In the World: Henri Lefebvre and the Liturgical Production of Natural Space
This chapter, echoing philosopher Henri Lefebvre, argues that all human contact with ecological nature occasions crisis when we imagine it as untouched, pure, or raw. Human presence is then seen as poison—and growing populations and increased consumption make the poison exponentially more potent. This ideal type—which Lefebvre and others sometimes call “first nature,”—should not be abandoned, but we ought also to acknowledge that even in its recognition, first nature is domesticated “second nature.” Too often the language of second nature buries first nature, trivializing human dependence on very real ecological systems and boasting of human industry. For these reasons, the language of “natural space” is preferable to the nominal form, “nature,” as the former designates complex, interdependent, socially produced spaces characterized by creative fecundity.
Keywords: first nature, second nature, Henri Lefebvre, natural space
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