Part of
Socrates' spirituality is his experience of a
divine presence within himself. This daimon, as he called it, would warn
him if he was undertaking something inappropriate, and remain silent if he
pursued the good.
Part of
Socrates' spirituality is his experience of a
divine presence within himself. This daimon, as he called it, would warn
him if he was undertaking something inappropriate, and remain silent if he
pursued the good.
Furthermore, Socrates implies that daimons are
the children of divine and human parents, (i.e.
demigods). Thus, they are midway between the mortal and divine. One
interesting aside to all this is that subsequent Christian society came to
view all such spirits as evil ("demon" is derived from the Greek word, "daimon").
In classical Greece, however, daimons could be beneficial as is the case
with the one Socrates has been gifted with since
a child. An oracle can also refer to a person,
place, or thing.