I think that if you look at the actual epistemic content of this kind of demonology, it just cashes out to not committing the fundamental attribution error:
There are bad systems of behavior and thought that don’t reflect the intrinsic badness of the individuals who express them, but rather broader social dynamics. There’s selection pressure for social dynamics that justify, defend, and propagate themselves, so sometimes it can be intuitive to anthropomorphize them. A powerful agent for evil that can control otherwise good people’s actions sounds like a demon.
I think that if you look at the actual epistemic content of this kind of demonology, it just cashes out to not committing the fundamental attribution error:
There are bad systems of behavior and thought that don’t reflect the intrinsic badness of the individuals who express them, but rather broader social dynamics. There’s selection pressure for social dynamics that justify, defend, and propagate themselves, so sometimes it can be intuitive to anthropomorphize them. A powerful agent for evil that can control otherwise good people’s actions sounds like a demon.