Daemon Directions

The word “daemon” has a fascinating history. Its origin is in ancient Greek civilization, where it defined a divine and/or supernatural being, who resided in a realm somewhere between humans and the gods. A daemon was often consulted, with the expectation it would provide guidance that would steer one's actions in an appropriate direction. It became perceived as an inner spirit or voice that could be regarded roughly as similar to one's conscience.

A prominent citizen of ancient Greece who claimed that his behavior was influenced by his inner daemon was Socrates (5^th century BCE). His daemon, however, was unique, in that it only spoke to him by warning him what not to do. In this sense, his daemon was strictly a negative teacher, since it never told him what to do.

Socrates claimed that this inner voice had been crucial to his perceptions and behavior, because it steered him away from making mistakes, but left open what he should do in a given situation. That choice was up to him. Thus, he was free to do what appeared to him to be positive action. For example, in a given situation, he might have several options to select. Which one is wisest to choose? Since his daemon steered him away from unwise behavior, it left him open to various potentially wise choices—but they would be his, not some godlike choice. Socrates felt that this “negative” daemon gave him the freedom to pursue wisdom on his own, and thus to benefit and grow from the process.

I find this possibility very promising, because I believe at any moment we each have an abundance of alternative actions we may choose from. In each case we select one, hoping it is a good choice, but we rarely have the opportunity to pause and consider what other options we might have had and what might have transpired, if we'd selected a different one. We just move on. If, however, I had the confidence that some inner voice had urged me to avoid stupid or harmful choices, I could move forward with some confidence that the choice I did make was at least not foolish. Thus, I’d be much freer to explore more positive alternatives… on my own. Thus, I can learn and grow on my own. 

A basic concept of existentialism is that each of us is a free and responsible agent, and that we can determine our own development and growth through acts of our will. If we had Socrates' negative daemon guiding us, we would be given that ability to develop and grow, because we would be making our choices as a free agent, and thus could benefit from what we accomplish on our own. If instead we had an inner voice that commanded us—that always chose for us—we’d be more like an obedient automaton, who just followed orders and rarely had the opportunity to think and grow.

Hannah Arendt's main conclusion from the trial of Adolph Eichmann (who was tried for Nazi war crimes for running a concentration camp that exterminated countless Jews) was that he was not really an evil person—he simply complied with the Holocaust, without pausing to think about what he was doing. He was an unreflective automaton. Thus, non-thinking, she maintained, can lead to one taking immoral actions and can be more harmful than evil.

Socrates' actions, which he claimed were influenced by his daemon, became a threat to the civic order in ancient Athens, since Athenians had constructed a belief system that was cozy and comfortable for most of them. Their society conformed to the established doctrine of the gods controlling and making choices for everyone—punishing them if they disobeyed and rewarding them if they complied. Athenians at that time had a built a society that did not require them to think all that much; just behave and follow orders. Socrates—guided by his daemon—challenged that dogma and exposed it as false. He menaced their belief system. They put him on trial and sentenced him to die.

Socrates was a prophet—not in the sense of predicting future events—but by speaking truth as an inspired teacher; motivated by that inner daemon. Prophets speak truth to power, and since those in power often act untruthfully, prophets are frequently unpopular with rulers. Throughout history prophets have met their demise because they spoke up. Besides Socrates, others who come to mind are Jesus and Martin Luther King, Jr. Many Jewish biblical prophets were either killed or banished.

So I try to cultivate my own daemon—with the objective of having it steer me from stupid choices. To me that means pretty much the same thing as encouraging a moral conscience that warns me away from immoral conduct, while leaving open to me various positive alternatives which I can pause to examine, before selecting one. That scrutinizing process can help me become more aware of the various other possibilities open to me at any given moment; to choose carefully, and take more responsibility for my behavior. The ancient Greek philosophers still have relevance today.