International Plato Society 4th Asia 2024 Regional Meeting "Plato and Gods"_Program (original) (raw)

The Daimon in the Myth of Er (Resp. 10 617E-620E) In Book 2 of Republic Socrates critiques traditional theology by asserting that “god is altogether simple and true in deed and word, and neither changes himself nor deceives others (382E-383A)”, absolving divinity of responsibility for human evil. While Socrates’ discussion remains primarily negative, the myth of Er in Book 10 offers a complementary perspective. This myth elucidates the soul’s journey after death and its selection of a future life for embodiment, attributing sole responsibility to the soul. Consistently with Socrates’ theological critique, divinity is absolved of accountability for human suffering: theos is anaitios (Resp. 10 617E). No daimon casts the lot but the soul chooses its own daimon. Moreover, the daimon is later depicted as apoplērōtēs, fulfilling the soul’s choice for embodied existence. This paper endeavors to elucidate these references and explores the role of Er’s daimon in human life, tackling the question of how the daimon can be held unaccountable while fulfilling the soul’s choice. Initially, it examines daimons’ functions in Symposium, Phaedo, and Apology, highlighting their intermediary role between gods and humans, facilitating communication, harmonizing cosmic realms, and guiding souls through them—all elements that differentiate them from gods. Notably, individuals deemed “daimonic” possess privileged insight, exemplified by Socrates in Apology, who attributes his moral guidance to a lifelong internal daimonic influence restraining him from acting on certain thoughts. The paper contends that in the myth of Er, the daimon assumes a dual role: guiding souls through the afterlife while also binding them to their chosen destinies in embodied existence by restraining them from acting otherwise—an interference which absolves the daimon of accountability. But unlike Socrates’ daimon in Apology, which merely restrains from evil and is, so to speak, idiosyncratic (see Resp. 6 496C), Er’s daimon prevents all actions contrary to the chosen life, thus facilitating the enactment of the soul’s fate, whether virtuous or malevolent. The myth not only underscores the separation of divinity from human evil but also portrays the daimons as exclusive demi-divine entities accompanying souls inexorably toward their chosen paths, sealing their fates beyond escape.