The Philosophy of Secrecy: Towards a Historical Analysis of Cryptography, Privacy, and Information Organization

Abstract

The philosophical definition of privacy is conflated with the secrecy of individual life as guaranteed by the nation-state. We trace the origin of this conception of the nation-state as the guarantor of liberal privacy, and in parallel investigate the claim (by Schmitt) that the historical origin of the modern nation-state is given by the keeping of secrets. From these contradictory claims, we show how the phenomenon of state secrecy and the surveillance of citizens is inherent in the historical development of sovereignty. Finally, we demonstrate the centrality of the history of cryptography to the philosophy of history.