Firstness

Firstness is the concept that one of the hominids on the Originary Scene must have issued the sign first, to be in turn imitated by the others.

Characteristics

Firstness derives from Adam Katz's modification of the Originary Scene under the assumption that one of the members of the group must have issued the sign first, to be in turn imitated by the others. In any human activity, someone goes first, and it matters who goes first. It becomes useful for breaking up lazy invocations of some “we,” which presuppose spontaneous group action. Firstness is a way of speaking about responsibility, of “stepping into the breach.”

Firstness is also a way of breaking up assumptions about the unity of consciousness and intentionality because the one who goes first can’t really be quite sure what he’s done until others follow and complete the event. Charles Sanders Peirce’s notion of an experiential “firstness” linked to iconic signs, which are grasped immediately and intuitively, is related to this concept, and the two uses of the term are connected insofar as in both cases “firstness” isn’t “actual” until we have a second and third.