Uploaded September 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
If you find yourself torn between rationality and spirituality, science and mysticism, facts and belief; The Lectern's inaugural 8-week course will offer you a new lens through which to reflect on these dilemmas. Click here to enroll: lectern.teachable.com/p/einstein-and-spinoza-s-god1
In this episode, John Vervaeke and Harvard professor Charles Stang explore the concept of the 'daimon’', stemming from Stang's book One 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.
Resources:
Center for the Study of World Religions: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/
Theosis, the CSWR’s new publication: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/theosis-cswr-annual-publication-2023-2024
The Transcendence and Transformation Initiative at the CSWR: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/research-programming/transcendence-transformation
Notes:
0:00 Introduction: Welcome to the Lectern
2:30 Charles Stang, Background, Framework
5:30 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. patreon.com/johnvervaeke
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. vervaekefoundation.org
Join Awaken to Meaning to explore practices that enhance your virtues and foster deeper connections with reality and relationships. awakentomeaning.com
John Vervaeke:
johnvervaeke.com
twitter.com/vervaeke_john
youtube.com/@johnvervaeke
patreon.com/johnvervaeke
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)
If you find yourself torn between rationality and spirituality, science and mysticism, facts and belief; The Lectern's inaugural 8-week course will offer you a new lens through which to reflect on these dilemmas. Click here to enroll: lectern.teachable.com/p/einstein-and-spinoza-s-god1
In this episode, John Vervaeke and Harvard professor Charles Stang explore the concept of the 'daimon’', stemming from Stang's book One 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.
Resources:
Center for the Study of World Religions: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/
Theosis, the CSWR’s new publication: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/theosis-cswr-annual-publication-2023-2024
The Transcendence and Transformation Initiative at the CSWR: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/research-programming/transcendence-transformation
Notes:
0:00 Introduction: Welcome to the Lectern
2:30 Charles Stang, Background, Framework
5:30 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. patreon.com/johnvervaeke
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. vervaekefoundation.org
Join Awaken to Meaning to explore practices that enhance your virtues and foster deeper connections with reality and relationships. awakentomeaning.com
John Vervaeke:
johnvervaeke.com
twitter.com/vervaeke_john
youtube.com/@johnvervaeke
patreon.com/johnvervaeke
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)
