ABSTRACT
This chapter examines criteria that are used to expand the scope of moral community to other entities besides human beings, and make some crucial and helpful conceptual distinctions. The proposed moral status is inserted—almost as a matter of fact—into the ensuing debate about which actions are permitted or prohibited. Concentrating on the moral status of just one entity in purified thought experiments may give valuable knowledge. The role of the moral status of an entity in practical considerations should not be overestimated. Intuitive convictions are likewise controlled against the already existing general moral theories or against other areas of human knowledge. Throughout history, human beings have generally been held to be the first and surest candidates for moral status. The idea that no other entities besides human beings belong to moral community has been so common in Western moral philosophy that the possibility of direct obligations toward other entities—animals first and foremost—is barely ever.
