Going back at least to the writings of John Stuart Mill and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, people have argued for and against maintaining a state of nature. Is there an inherent virtue in leaving alone a naturally occurring condition, or does the human species thrive when we find ways to improve our circumstances? This volume probes whether -nature- and -the natural- are capable of guiding moral deliberations in policy making.

Drawing on philosophy, religion, and political science, this book examines three questions central to debates over the idea of -nature- in human action. Conceptually,...