Freedom

Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" if it can change and is not constrained in its present state. Physicists and chemists use the word in this sense. Philosophy and religion sometimes associate freedom with free will, as distinct from predestination. In modern liberal nations, freedom is considered a right, especially freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press. Charles Taylor makes a distinction between "positive freedom" and "negative freedom". Academic freedomArtistic freedomIntellectual freedomScientific freedomEconomic freedomFreedom of religionPolitical freedomCivil liberties and Liberty In political discourse, political freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy, and a distinction is made between countries that are free and dictatorships. In the area of civil rights, a strong distinction is made between freedom and slavery and there is conflict between people who think all races, religions, genders, and social classes should be equally free and people who think freedom is the exclusive right of certain groups. Frequently discussed are freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of choice, and freedom of speech. Sometimes the terms "freedom" and "liberty" tend to be used interchangeably. Sometimes subtle distinctions are made between "freedom" and "liberty" John Stuart Mill, for example, differentiated liberty from freedom in that freedom is primarily, if not exclusively, the ability to do as one wills and what one has the power to do, whereas liberty concerns the absence of arbitrary restraints and takes into account the rights of all involved. As such, the exercise of liberty is subject to capability and limited by the rights of others. Isaiah Berlin made a distinction between "positive" freedom and "negative" freedom in his seminal 1958 lecture "Two concepts of liberty".