Lectern Dialogues: Concept of Daimon in Pre-Platonic and Platonic Thought | Charles Stang

62 snips

Sep 27, 2024

Charles Stang, a Harvard professor specializing in ancient wisdom, dives deep into the concept of 'daimon' in this engaging conversation. He and John Vervaeke discuss the daimon's historical significance and its evolution within Socratic and Platonic thought. They explore how personal experiences intertwine with ancient philosophies, emphasizing the daimon's role as a guiding force in human consciousness. The dialogue also touches on modern implications, linking cognitive science, creativity, and the self amid today's technological landscape. Prepare for a thought-provoking journey through knowledge and spirituality!

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Vervaeke's Encounter with Hermes

John Vervaeke discusses his personal experience of encountering a numinous figure during IFS therapy.
This figure, identifying as Hermes, provided pivotal insights and redirected Vervaeke's path.

INSIGHT

Understanding the Daimon

The term "daimon" has a broad meaning in ancient Greek, from gods to lesser divine entities.
Socrates' daimonion was unique, only speaking to dissuade him, which he saw as divine guidance.

INSIGHT

Socrates' Daimonion: More Than Conscience

Socrates' daimonion is not simply his conscience, as some reductive interpretations suggest.
It represents another agent guiding him, not merely a moral compass.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In this episode, John Vervaeke and Harvard professor Charles Stang explore the concept of the 'daimon’', stemming from Stang's book Our Divine Double. John and Charles discuss semi-autonomous entities in psychological and philosophical contexts, linking ancient wisdom and modern cognitive science. Key topics include Socratic 'daimonion', Platonic thought, phenomenology of visionary encounters, and cultural ontology. They emphasize the embodied, embedded, enacted, and extended nature of cognition, highlighting the relevance of understanding these phenomena amid emerging technologies like AGI and virtual realities. The episode calls for Socratic self-awareness to navigate these transformative potentials and risks.

Charles Stang is a Professor of Theology at Harvard Divinity School and Director of the Center for the Study of World Religions. His research focuses on ancient Mediterranean religions, Neoplatonism, and contemporary philosophy and spirituality. His research and teaching focus on the history of Christianity in the context of the ancient Mediterranean world, especially Eastern varieties of Christianity. More specifically, his interests include: the development of asceticism, monasticism, and mysticism in Christianity; ancient philosophy, especially Neoplatonism; the Syriac Christian tradition, especially the spread of the East Syrian tradition along the Silk Road; other philosophical and religious movements of the ancient Mediterranean, including Gnosticism, Hermeticism, and Manichaeism; and modern continental philosophy and theology, especially as they intersect with the study of religion.

Notes:

(0:00) Introduction: Welcome to the Lectern
(2:30) Charles Stang, Background, Framework
(4:45) John’s Experience and Dialogue with Hermes (IFS)
(7:45) IFS (Internal Family Systems) - a psychotherapy model that focuses on dialoguing with various parts of the self
(10:00) Platonic Tradition and Daimonology
(15:00) Socrates and the Concept of Daimonion in Plato's Apology
(20:40) Real-Life Accounts of Felt Presence
(28:00) Socrates' Complex Relationship with the Imaginal
(33:00) Socrates' Authority vs. Rational Argument
(41:30) Corbin's Notion of the Imaginal
(46:30) Daimonology and Angelology - Encounters with the Higher Self
(49:00) The Role of Hermes in Personal Encounters
(54:30) Lucid Dreaming and Cognitive Science
(1:03:30) The Interplay of Subjective and Objective Realities
(01:12:00) Concluding Thoughts and Future Directions

---

Connect with a community dedicated to self-discovery and purpose, and gain deeper insights by joining our Patreon.

The Vervaeke Foundation is committed to advancing the scientific pursuit of wisdom and creating a significant impact on the world. Become a part of our mission.

Join Awaken to Meaning to explore practices that enhance your virtues and foster deeper connections with reality and relationships.

John Vervaeke: Website | Twitter | YouTube | Patreon

Ideas, People, and Works Mentioned in this Episode

Plato, Apology
Plato, Republic
Charles Stang, Our Divine Double
John Geiger, The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible
Henry Corbin, The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism
Henry Corbin, Alone with the Alone: Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn 'Arabi'
Gregory Shaw, Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplationism of Iamblichus
Socrates
Socratic philosophy
Daimonion (Divine sign)
David Gordon White, Daemons Are Forever: Contacts and Exchanges in the Eurasian Pandemonium
Porphyry, Life of Plotinus
Daimonology
Paul VanderKlay
Christopher Mastropietro
Carl Jung
Theurgy
Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Quotes:

"Socrates’ daimonion was unique in that it only ever told him ‘no,’ which highlights its role as a dissuading force rather than a guiding one." — Charles Stang (13:30)

“One of the things that seems to be a requirement for rationality is a metacognitive ability, ability to step back and reflect, and know, become aware of your cognition so that you can redirect it. In fact, that seems to be an essential feature. If you don't have that, if your attention and intelligence couldn't ever do this reflective thing, then it's hard to know how you could ever be rational in the, in the way we seem to indicate like noticing bias or noticing fallacy or noticing misdirection.” — John Vervaeke (39:40)