In this paper, I aim to explore part of a debate within neo-Aristotelian naturalism that questions the possibility of reconciling the theses that (i) the agent is the source of normativity and (ii) moral goodness is related to facts about human nature. Considering a literature that rethinks first nature no longer as a set of needs or impulses in some way devoid of rationality, we will try to show how it is possible to understand such a reality as a set of inclinations which, in the intertwining with the faculties of human beings, influences action. In doing this, the case of the inclination to self-preservation will serve as a paradigmatic example to understand how the first nature can place normative constraints on practical reason, orienting the agent towards the development of its nature.
