moral agency
Capacity for ethics
Moral agency is the capacity to make choices that can be judged as right or wrong.
A moral agent understands the difference between good and bad conduct, can deliberate about options, and bears responsibility for decisions.
Children develop moral agency gradually; animals and machines are generally denied it.
The court questioned whether the defendant had sufficient moral agency to be held accountable.
Control over one's fate
- free willAutonomous choice capacity
- volitionCapacity for choice
- self-governanceIndependent management of affairs
- rational choiceLogically optimal decision
self-direction · deliberation · intentionality · practical reason · executive function
State of being answerable
- culpabilityDeserving blame for wrongdoing
- blameworthinessDeserving moral condemnation
- answerabilityObligation to explain oneself
- liabilityLegal or financial obligation
guilt · praise · censure · judgment · consequences · desert · imputation · reproach
Entity with reason
- dignityInnate personal worth
- sentienceCapacity for subjective experience
- consciousnessState of sentient awareness
- human rightsInalienable personal freedoms
Internal moral sense
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
- right and wrongEthical distinction
- valuesPrinciples held worthwhile
self-determination
Control over one's fate
- free willAutonomous choice capacity
- volitionCapacity for choice
- self-governanceIndependent management of affairs
rational choice · self-direction · deliberation · intentionality · practical reason · executive function
responsibility
State of being answerable
- culpabilityDeserving blame for wrongdoing
- blameworthinessDeserving moral condemnation
- answerabilityObligation to explain oneself
liability · guilt · praise · censure · judgment · consequences · desert · imputation · reproach · commendation
rational being
Entity with reason
- dignityInnate personal worth
- sentienceCapacity for subjective experience
- consciousnessState of sentient awareness
human rights · personhood · sapience · individual · self-awareness
conscience
Internal moral sense
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
- right and wrongEthical distinction
- moralityethics, right and wrong, conscience, ethical principles, ethical standards
- freedomfreedom of choice, freedom of will, free will, expression, speech
- ethicsdeontology, dignity, sanctity of life, utilitarianism, consequentialism
- feminismfeminism, feminist theory, gender equality, women's rights, feminist novels
- AI ethicsalgorithmic bias, robot rights, AI rights, human oversight, explainability
- autonomyfreedom, self-rule, independence, self-determination, free will
moral agencyinstinct
Innate behavioral tendency
reflex · determinism · automaticity · involuntary action · automatism
agent, agency, moral, immoral, morality, morals, agents, mores, morally