The full expression of our ultra-social human nature is so highly contingent and delicate that it leads some to argue that it should not be regarded as our nature at all — that the nature of a being is really how it is inclined to behave “naturally” without requiring a set of special conditions. But there is no “natural” setting in which the human experience can occur. For other animals the factors needed to flourish are all provided by nature. In stark contrast, the conditions and tools essential for humankind to realize its potential do not exist in nature. To create a flourishing environment humankind has had to conceptualize and construct things which have never existed. Only though our invention of technology, culture, and institutions has humankind provided itself with the crucial elements needed to flourish.