 Two philosophers (Sachs, 2011; Silvers, 2011) have questioned the utility of the concept of “moral status.” Sachs argues that claims about moral status are unnecessary and confusing, because the debate is really about the specific attributes needed to justify or ground specific rights. Silvers offers an even harsher critique. She charges that proponents of both psychologically and biologically based criteria (see  Sec. 4,  Sec. 5, below) neglect gradations in relevant characteristics and overlook the potential to display or develop those characteristics, resulting in unwarranted exclusion. As an alternative, Silvers proposes an account of justice that, avoiding prior assumptions about capacity, seeks to include as many beings as possible within a scheme of social cooperation.