 The distinction is particularly important to keep in mind in light of the fact that there are ongoing debates about what capacity is—debates that occur at various theoretical levels. At the first and most abstract level, we may be interested in clarifying our concept or theory of decision-making capacity. To do this we may ask what exactly it is that we are trying to do when we sort people into competent and incompetent. Asking such foundational questions may help us get clearer about the work we need a concept or theory of capacity to do. Closely related to debates about concept/theory are debates about standards. At this level we ask: what sorts of things should someone who has capacity in our defined sense be able to do? What specific abilities are the right ones to consider in light of the work the concept does? The most commonly accepted standards are outlined in  §4  below. As we will see, some theorists believe that this list of standards is incomplete, in the sense that someone could satisfy these standards and yet fail to satisfy our basic concept of capacity. Finally, there are specific tests or instruments developed to determine whether or not (and to what extent) a particular individual satisfies the standards (Buchanan &amp; Brock 1989). Confusion enters in because both empirical and normative claims can and do occur at all of these levels. Suppose, for example, that you examine A using a particular instrument, and then declare on that basis that A has the capacity to make decision X. And suppose I reject your claim, i.e., I refuse to give normative force to your descriptive claim. There may be several different reasons for this. I may doubt that you used the instrument properly. Or I may doubt that the instrument, even when used properly, is a good measure of whether someone meets the appropriate standards. Finally, I may simply think that the operative theory or concept underlying the standards is incomplete—that to truly determine capacity in a way that would license the normative conclusions, we need to consider more than just the articulated standards.