Próba ogólnego opisu zjawiska opętania i jego filozoficznej interpretacji
A philosophical interpretation of the phenomenon of demonic possession of human beings

Summary/Abstract: The phenomenon of human beings possessed by demons is discussed in the article. Demonic possession, taken as an empirical fact, enables not only for scientific and theological inquiry but also for philosophical speculation. There are two basic stages to this discussion: a description of the phenomenon and a philosophical interpretation of it. The first stage consists in an outline of the main interpretive trends to the issue of demonic possession; reductionist and anti-reductionist viewpoints are distinguished and described. The second step focuses on the anti-reductionist interpretation and relies on a more particular presentation of the issues related to the phenomenon in question. These issues can be grouped into five topics: the existence and nature of the spirit, the soul and God; the means and the extent of the spirit’s influence over human beings, the union of the soul as well as the spirit (angelic) with the body, the existence and kinds of evil, the existence of free will in mankind. The article ends with some concluding remarks concerning the matter of demonic possession of human beings.

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