ABSTRACT
According to mainstream Christian orthodoxy, demons are immaterial beings that are believed to interact occasionally with this physical world. But how can an immaterial demon interact with a material world? Traditionally, it is assumed that demons possess extraordinary magical powers with which to interact with, and so manipulate, physical objects. This strikes me as an unnecessary ad hoc maneuver since we have not considered that demons may never interact in this way. I propose a demonology that is consonant with their being purely immaterial creatures and yet does not rely on supposing that demons have magical powers. I believe we can explain their interaction with the world in terms of their basic ability to cognitively interact with embodied souls. My argument is based on the supposition that it is reasonable to say that demons can commerce with fellow souls, and that they actually never do interact with the physical world apart from their exploitation of human beings as proxies. Consequently, that demons only interact with this world through their cognitive interaction with human beings is the most natural and best explanation of how they are able to interact with the world.
