Sapience

Sapience is the ability of a creature to think and reason for itself. The term is used to describe races who are capable of higher brain functions and moral judgments, as opposed to animals or other creatures who act on feral instinct. On most worlds, sapient races form governments and are treated with respect and inalienable rights by others, whereas non-sapient races are generally called monsters and no one bats an eye if they are slaughtered by adventurers.