Commitment via Oaths and Vows

Binding the Future

The future evolves in unpredictable ways and this clashes with a fundamental human urge to create certainty in personal and social matters.

The question is: how can a person reliably commit, that is to say bind their self, to an unknown future?

Commitments about the future may be made using a promise or pledge that is presented as an assurance of what may be expected. Similar terms include: my word, my bond, my undertaking, my guarantee, my warranty. All these notions create an obligation—but one that is not always met.

So: what more can be done?

Then....

In the past, two powerful notions developed that are no longer much in use: 
the Oath and the Vow.

These used «a solemn swearing» to invoke a higher sacred power as a witness and enforcer of human intention.

The Oath is an external quasi-legal commitment, still used in courts of justice for witnesses ("I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth"), jury members and interpreters. In the past, it included a curse ("may the Gods strike me dead"), and in Courts today perjury remains an instant serious crime.

The Vow is an internal devotional commitment, in which a promise is made directly to a deity or sacred entity, often in exchange for a favour or to facilitate some event.
Examples Closed:

A person in a desperate need or seriously ill may vow to dedicate themselves to a life of charitable works if by some miracle they are rescued or cured.

In the The Mahabharata, Bhishma renounces his claim as the Crown-Prince of Hastinapur and makes a vow of celibacy to ensure he will not produce competing heirs to the throne.

Oaths and Vows worked because they took a person out of a mundane state and moved them into a sacred sphere. The relevant intention moved from being a preferred desire to becoming a necessary and unavoidable obligation. Others also believed that any breach would lead to eternal damnation or worse, which enabled safe dependency and cooperation in the community.

...and Now

Mechanisms of confidence and trust have shifted.

  • Secularization has meant that there is little fear of divine retribution, and taking oaths in Courts has become just a formality.

  • Institutions that previously administered oaths, like the Church and State, have been shown to be untrustworthy and hypocritical so often that skepticism has replaced belief.

  • Contracts binding under the law have replaced moral bonds created by vows and oaths, and judicial rulings provide for remedies if the contract is broken.

  • Ethical values of authenticity and personal growth have become part of modern culture and vows like "till death do us part" seem to be counter-productive rather than the basis of freedom and character.

Originally posted: 20-May-2026.