INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND THE BURDEN OF CLASSICAL TWO-VALUED LOGIC
This paper argued that international relations has for a very long time been driven by commitment to the classical logic of bivalence, and that today, this logic is a threat to world peace. Using the philosophical methods of critical analysis and historical exposition, the paper highlighted that commitment to classical twovalued logic augured well for the expansion of empires in ancient, medieval and modern times because it provided the logical tool for the justification of the exclusive elimination of the sovereignties of weaker nations by stronger ones. The paper argued that lessons from recent developments in philosophy of logic and quantum physics have exposed the weakness of classical two-valued logic in handling differences which should rather be seen as valued-contraries relative to possible worlds. The paper submitted that there is need to adopt approaches founded on logics of complementarity because the elitist approach of bivalent logic, which is reflective of the principle of conjunction-elimination or simplification has become a burden to diplomatic relations. Many of the nations adjudged to be weak and less developed are beginning to resist the supremacy of the world powers, whereby between two entities, the weak, the underdeveloped, or less-valued can be justifiably eliminated or overruled.
Keywords: burden, classical, international, logic, relations, two-valued