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Freedom is the power or right to speak, act 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".^[1]

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.^[2]

Philosophy and religion sometimes associate freedom with free will, as distinct from predestination.^[3]

In modern liberal nations, freedom is considered a right, especially freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press.

Many contemporary philosophers like Charles Taylor and Isaiah Berlin make a distinction between "positive freedom" and "negative freedom".

^ Stevenson, Angus; Lindberg, Christine A., eds. (2010-01-01). "New Oxford American Dictionary". Oxford Reference. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195392883.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-539288-3. Archived from the original on 2020-03-12. Retrieved 2023-06-02.^{[clarification needed]}
^ "free". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^ Baumeister, Roy F.; Monroe, Andrew E. (2014). "Recent Research on Free Will". Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. Vol. 50. pp. 1–52. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-800284-1.00001-1. ISBN 978-0128002841.