Treaties - Philosophical Concept | Alexandria
Treaties: agreements between distinct entities, cloaked in parchment and sealed with intent, binding nations, tribes, and corporations in webs of obligation – or are they? Perhaps the true mystery lies not in their formation, but in their fragmented execution and the endless interpretations spun from their clauses.
The earliest glimmer of what we recognize as treaties can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia, circa 3100 BC, through cuneiform tablets detailing border agreements and alliances between city-states. A particularly significant example is the Treaty of Kadesh (c. 1274 BC) between the Egyptian Empire and the Hittite Empire, a landmark accord addressing regional peace and mutual defense whose translated tablets survive to this day. These early agreements served as rudimentary blueprints for international relations, emerging from eras rife with imperial ambition and the constant struggle for power, exemplifying humanity's first gestures towards mutually assured survival rather than total domination. Treaties and international law have shaped the history and philosophy of argumentation by the great thinkers, and icons of history like Hugo grotius have argued about the morality of intervention and the conditions when it would be justified, using reason and rational thinking.
Over centuries, the concept of treaties evolved, influenced by Roman law, medieval canon law, and the rise of nation-states. The Peace of Westphalia (1648), a collection of treaties ending the Thirty Years War, is often cited as a pivotal moment, establishing the basis for modern state sovereignty and treaty-based international law. The impact of this event can be seen in the development of normative ethics and political philosophy and ethics. Treaties became more complex, addressing issues ranging from trade and territorial boundaries to human rights and environmental protection. The sheer volume of treaties inked throughout history gives rise to unanswered questions: How many secret pacts lie hidden in national archives? What unforeseen consequences have these agreements unleashed, inadvertently shaping the course of civilizations? Does the seemingly rational design of a valid argument in a treaty guarantee a moral or just outcome? These documents are, after all, crafted by fallible humans subject to cognitive bias, fairness bias, moral disengagement, and various other forms of irrationality.
Today, treaties remain central to international relations, a tangible testament to our aspiration for cooperation in a world defined by both interconnectedness and division. Yet their true legacy extends far beyond formal agreements, serving as both frameworks for collaboration and battlegrounds for competing interpretations, always shadowed by the question of when and how a treaty may be legitimately superseded. The modern reinterpretation of treaties is happening in the context of challenges in digital technology, and new fields like AI and ethics are emerging. As we grapple with increasingly complex global challenges, from climate change to artificial intelligence, are existing treaty frameworks sufficient or are we in need of a new, more ethically grounded, approach to international agreements, one which addresses the limitations of human rationality and moral reasoning?