http://www.englishforums.com/English/GeneralEnglishVocabularyIdiom-Questions/Forum29.htmHelp with defining words and idioms, and new words and idioms that you've learntenXMOD (Build: 3616.28671)http://www.englishforums.com/English/FreedomVsLiberty/hzhkv/post.htm#675840Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:09:47 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:675840Anonymous0http://www.englishforums.com/English/FreedomVsLiberty/hzhkv/post.htm#675840http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-675840.xmlDear Palinkasocsi, In a great deal of contemporary English writing, the two terms are used synonymously -- the writer doesn't necessarily distinguish an apparent difference between the two terms. Even dictionary definitions, as you noted, overlap considerably. However, correctly or incorrectly, I believe that there is a difference between the two terms, but that distinction doesn't lie on the fault line you propose. As an alternative, please consider the following example: In the 1860's southern U.S. states, slaves were given their freedom (no longer bound to servitude). With that 'right' restored, some former slaves took advantage of their new liberty and headed West to live as they chose. In this context, I...http://www.englishforums.com/English/FreedomVsLiberty/hzhkv/post.htm#611432Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:56:07 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:611432Palinkasocsi1http://www.englishforums.com/English/FreedomVsLiberty/hzhkv/post.htm#611432http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-611432.xmlThank you very much for your help, Avangi! Best, Palinkasocsihttp://www.englishforums.com/English/FreedomVsLiberty/hzhkv/post.htm#611417Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:56:07 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:611417Avangi2http://www.englishforums.com/English/FreedomVsLiberty/hzhkv/post.htm#611417http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-611417.xmlThere's been so much written about these concepts you'll have a hard time pinning them down. They're often used interchangeably. When you look in most dictionaries you'll probably see several useages listed for both of them. The "won by force" useage falls more often to "freedom" than to liberty. The "inate" useage falls more often to liberty. People who feel passionately about the concepts also tend to feel passionately about the definitions. Jefferson lists liberty as a God-given right in the US Declaration of Independence. But that doesn't mean it can't be taken away and won back by force. I agree with you that a claim that one term is more general than the other is useless without...http://www.englishforums.com/English/FreedomVsLiberty/hzhkv/post.htmThu, 26 Mar 2009 04:56:07 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:611409Palinkasocsi3http://www.englishforums.com/English/FreedomVsLiberty/hzhkv/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-611409.xmlDear Friends, From earlier discussions I know a lot about the relation between freedom vs. liberty ; I still have two questions, though: 1. The dictionaries I use consider 'freedom' to be more general than 'liberty'. They fail, however, to explicate in what sense. 2. Somewhere I have heard that one of them (not sure which one) implies a state which is won by force , while the other is innate . Is that true? Thanks a lot. Palinkasocsi