 The conception of ‘free and equal persons’ is also open to multiple specifications (see the entry on  liberalism).  The basic idea behind the ‘free’ qualifier is to limit discussion to individuals who have the requisite psychological abilities to govern their lives in accordance with their values or plan of life. Children and, arguably, adults with severe cognitive disabilities do not count as free in this sense, and so the tension between (1) and (2) does not arise for them as straightforwardly. The ‘equal’ qualifier is meant to convey that free persons are moral equals, and no person has a natural right to govern others.