Burke's third clause in his definition of man, "Separated from his natural condition by instruments of his own making," when viewed in light of contemporary technological advances offers scholars an interesting point of analysis. When reading this essay, I was struck by use of the phrase "second nature" in describing the third clause. He writes, "The implements of hunting and husbandry, with corresponding implements of war, make for a set of habits that become a kind of 'second nature,' as a special set of expectations, shaped by custom, comes to seem 'natural.'" (13) When I read that phrase I thought of the recent move to "Second Life" that academics have made, and I began to wonder what Burke would think of this virtual environment. Would he be bothered by the fact that many people feel more natural communicating, using symbols, in their second life as opposed to their first life? Is Second Life another example of the Helhaven he later refers to? While I'm not trying to disparage Second Life with this post, I'm curious if Burke would see value in it. Second Life does offer a whole new world of symbol using, or should I say virtual symbol using. In addition, if we look to Burke's final addition to his definition, "rotten with perfection," could one say that users in Second Life create their avatars in such a way that perfects what may be lacking in the users' first life embodiments? I realize these are a number of questions, but can we speculate on how Burke would translate/modify his definition of man to fit the virtual man?