The idea of liberty is closely associated with the concept of freedom, although freedom may be slightly broader in its meaning. Compared with freedom, liberty carries clearer associations with the social and political world, and this entry addresses that social and political meaning of freedom and liberty.

Thus, we are not concerned with the issue of free will versus determinism. If we lack free will in the sense that we have no choices and that all human behavior is causally determined by the laws of physics since the beginning of time, then our discussion of liberty and freedom lacks significance. Nor does this entry consider restrictions on behavior and choices that result from the laws of nature in the ordinary sense of the term. No human ...