Don Miguel Ruiz opens The Four Agreements by drawing on Toltec spiritual and philosophical tradition to present his foundational premise: humans undergo a process of "domestication" during childhood, absorbing beliefs, judgments, and agreements from family and culture that subsequently constrain authentic self-expression and produce unnecessary suffering throughout adult life.

Ruiz's foundational argument:

• He argues that childhood conditioning — reward and punishment shaping which beliefs and behaviors are considered acceptable — creates a kind of internalized "Judge" and "Victim" psychological structure that subsequently produces ongoing internal criticism and unnecessary suffering throughout adult life, largely operating outside conscious awareness
• Ruiz positions his four subsequent agreements as a practical code for consciously counteracting this domestication process, providing readers a deliberate, actionable framework for reclaiming greater authentic freedom and reducing this self-imposed suffering
• This foundational framing, drawing on Toltec tradition while presented in accessible contemporary language, sets up the book's overall structure: detailed examination of each of the four specific agreements, along with practical guidance for consciously adopting and practicing them

This foundational premise establishes the book's overall spiritual and psychological approach, positioning genuine personal transformation as requiring conscious counter-practice against this largely unconscious childhood domestication process.