事物的本来状态，旨在与“人为”的意义相区别。哲学意义上的“自然”的概念，与常识性的“自然界”的概念不同。在日常语义中，“自然界”指人与社会之外的物质世界，这一领域是不受人为干扰的。但从哲学层面来看，人与社会也有其“自然”状态。在政治哲学领域，“自然”特指百姓在不受行政教化干预的情况下自己而然的状态。道家主张，君主治理国家应遵循、顺应百姓的“自然”状态。

The term refers to the primordial state of things, unaffected by the various meanings imposed on it by man. The concept of naturalness in philosophy is different from that of nature in the ordinary sense. In daily language, the term refers to the physical world, which is independent of human interference, as opposed to human society. In philosophy, there is also a natural state of man and society. In political philosophy, "naturalness" specifically applies to the natural state enjoyed by ordinary people free from the intervention of government supervision and moral edification. Daoism holds that in governance a monarch should conform to the natural state of the people.

引例 Citations：

◎道法自然。（《老子·二十五章》）

道以自然为法则。

Dao takes naturalness as its law. (Laozi)

◎天地任自然，无为无造，万物自相治理。（王弼《老子注》）

天地听任万物之自然，不施为造作，而让万物自己相互治理。

Heaven and earth allow everything to follow their natural course without imposing any interference so that all things interact and govern themselves. (Wang Bi: Annotations on Laozi)

（推荐：教育部 国家语委 供稿：北京外国语大学 外语教学与研究出版社）