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Moral Agents & PatientsSomeone is a moral agent who can recognise moral right from moral wrong and tries to behave morally right. Most human adults are moral agents.
The antithesis of a moral agent is a moral patient, someone we do not expect to be morally responsible for their actions. Human infants and mentally impaired people are moral patients. We can respect their rights but we do not expect them to live up to any moral responsibility like moral agents. And, even though they can cause calamity to others, we do not accuse them of moral wrong, but give them moral consideration and protect them from suffering by moral or legal laws. Arguing for animal rights you might well hold that animals are moral patients.
For more about moral agents and moral patients see Moral Autonomy.
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