SECOND NATURE

On Félix Ravaisson’s “Of Habit”

A SEMINAR FACILITATED BY PROF. DAVID MARNO

Ethics and morality are often framed in stark dichotomies: passive versus active, nature versus nurture, necessity versus freedom. But between these terms lies an often forgotten domain — the domain of habit. Habit can be treated as a loss of agency, a slide into automatism or addiction. Yet this need not be the case. Habit names a change that has become “second nature,” as Aristotle puts it: it is not a turning or decision, but a continuous transformation by which repeated action passes from effort into inclination, reshaping agency itself rather than redirecting it. Habit in this sense is a modification of being that is not opposed to freedom but makes certain forms of freedom possible. In these two meetings, we take up these questions through Félix Ravaisson’s 1838 essay “Of Habit,” an extraordinary text that seeks not merely to describe habit, but to give it an ontological foundation.

This is a two-session seminar open to full-time students, recent graduates (within 2 years of graduating), members of BINST Alumni Association, and faculty. RSVP is required. A copy of the reading will be provided to registered participants.

Required Reading: Félix Ravaisson’s essay “Of Habit” (~27 pgs)

Date: Tuesdays, April 14 and 21, 2026

Time: 6:00PM - 7:15PM

Location: Berkeley Institute (2134 Allston Way, 2nd floor)