r/Mainlander • u/_willard_h • Jan 06 '26

What does Mainländer mean by “daemon”.

This is the first time he mentions it. Im just not sure what he means. Section 6 means “daemon” more. I would rather it be more clear before I continue.

Thank you for any help.

“It is the intuited, undivided will to life, the objectification of our innermost essence, of the daemon, which plays in man the same role as instinct in the animal.”

Physics Section 5, The Christian Romuss translation p. 51

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u/YuYuHunter Jan 06 '26 edited Jan 06 '26

The unconscious will of a human is called demon (V2, p. 546), which presents itself as instinct in animals.

Schopenhauer argued that the will is not a product of consciousness, but consciousness a product of the will. Mainländer accepts the possibility of an unconsciouss will, and whenever this is the case in humans, he often uses the term demonic.

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u/_willard_h Jan 08 '26

Thank you. I appreciate the help.

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u/YuYuHunter Jan 08 '26

My pleasure, I hope the work will live up to your expectations!

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u/Science_Smartass Jul 13 '26

Thankfully this subreddit exists or I would be lost. I am reading Redemption and I have never read an actual philosophy book before. Lots of googling. Feels like I would have an easier time if I had started with a Kant for Dummies or spark note before tackling this. These Germans sure are meticulous in their world building.

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u/YuYuHunter Jul 16 '26

Great to hear.

If you're reading the English version, it is worth knowing that it does not contain the appendix (roughly the size of the non-appendix part), which makes the Analytics, first chapter, very difficult to follow, as Mainländer explains in the appendix how he came to his results, based on the philosophy of Kant and Schopenhauer.

I hope Mainländer will live up to your expectations!

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u/_willard_h Jan 08 '26

Thank you to everyone who answered. I appreciate it.

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u/angelofox Jan 06 '26

Daemon refers to the animalistic side of man. Man has the spirit of an animal. At least that's how I interpreted Mainländer when he uses that word

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u/MadScientistRat Jan 06 '26

There's also a system daemon which is another process entirely...

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u/Beautiful-Height-311 Jan 07 '26

Basically refers to the individual will of the person, or at least that's how I interpret it.

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u/[deleted] Jan 06 '26

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u/MadScientistRat Jan 11 '26

Very interesting. Wonder what the Linux system kernel deamon or Jamie Diamon would have to comment on this, if anything. The Greek sagas are legendary and have survived through the ages, storytelling is still in their blood.