You can control a Demon by knowing its True Name, but why?

Question

The power of True Names over demons is unbelievable:

• A Lamashtu demon can drain you of your blood in under 5 seconds, blend into shadows, and travel at the speed of darkness. Yet it will crumple like a wet napkin, if only you know its True Name.

• Your average Glabrezu is 18 feet tall, 4000 pounds of muscle and claw, and yet more cunning and skilled in the secret ways than most men. It stands no chance against the power of the True Name.

• The Nabassu have the strength of a hundred men, they spread plague by their mere passing, their very visage so terrible men have been known to die of fright upon seeing them. See their strength; see how easily you fall to their muscle and skill. They, too, are helpless to resist the power of their True Name.

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Why does reciting a creature's T̸̊ͬ̃͟ř̡̓ͪͥ͌ͦ̀͘ú̷̧̇ͮ̐̒͝e̓ͮ͐̽͐̽͋͆͏ ́Ņ̵̵͋̒̐̊̽â̓ͪ̈̈́mͦ͐̅ẽ̂̐͗̑ͪ͐̕͜҉ in the ur-language of Adamic grant such power over them? Answers will be judged based on plausibility. Specifically, given that demons are probably at least as smart as humans, why would they just have such a vulnerability? I'd prefer a solution involving as little magic as possible, ideally none.

Answer 1

Demons are a mythological concept, so let's speak in terms of mythology. Knowing somethings name means to be able to identify it, put your finger on it. Demons in mythology represent real forms of thought and emotion, certain psychological states, available to humans.

To be possessed with a demon or to see demons means to be subdued to certain mental conditions, certain thought processes, emotions, viewpoints, or, in other words, complexes. Such a subjugation is only possible until you can't fully identify the hidden posession of your persona by these complexes.

Usually demons mean hardship complexes in contrast to wellness complexes. However, there are also turnaround demons which may show as being kind, but their actions are evil. The complexes are the main target to be dealt with in all flavors of psychoterapy schools.

"Know your enemy", "Your worst enemy is yourself", "Your fear walks before you" - and such - all these formulations simply point to the fact that from time to time our psyche locks itself into certain states (glitches) where it experiences hardship. Identifying (naming) these states unwinds their hidden influence and "sheds light" on them (another popular concept in mythology btw). This is exactly what all of the psychoterapy schools do today, by their somewhat different approaches.

UPDATE: actually, the whole "demonology" can be seen as an attempt of psychoterapy and corresponding classification library. The main approach of it, evidently being the externalization of the experience and reframing through a controlled fiction, where the patient must pass the character arc and receive a rebirth (cure the complex).

The ability to "give names to all things" that is mentioned in the Old Testament is the ability for the abstraction that human mind is capable of controlling and using to its means. By giving name to something, we abstract from it, abstract from the direct experience and thus, gain distance from it, gaining control over it.

Further reading: Mythology, Myth and Mind, History of God

Answer 2

Demons keep their names and other details from people and other demons so that they can not know their weaknesses. Saying the name of the demon is admitting that you know one of their secrets, and if you know one you could also know the rest. Naturally the demon will not want to tell others secrets about him. So he agrees to sign a contract with you in exchange for your silence. He won't try and kill you because if you know his weakness then you could have planned for his attack like Batman plans for Superman turning to the dark side. There is no way he'll attack you unless he knows for certain that you can't kill him.

Answer 3

One reason I can think of is the nature of the true name. Whether it's a demon, a table or a person, the true name is called a true name, because it's not something you just call someone. It's a representation of everything that person or thing is, and everything that makes up that person or thing. A true name is like a definition of that person or thing's complete character. Therefore, if you recite/know the true name of a demon, basically, you know it's full character, including strengths and weaknesses, so you'd be able to defeat it.

Another possible reason is that the demon itself just internally breaks down when it hears it true name. Because it knows that the true name is a definition of what it is, and what kind of being it is. So when it hears the name, it just breaks down, hearing how truly horrible it must be. I guess it's similar to someone shouting at you all your imperfections and mistakes and the things you hate about yourself all in one shot. Magnified like a thousand fold.

Answer 4

Because for a demon, True Names are not names at all. They're passwords. Saying a True Name grants admin access to that demon.

This works if the demons are not natural creatures. Perhaps the Devil created demons for a purpose, perhaps it was some higher power. Demons were created as tools to torture and corrupt humanity. They exist for a defined infernal purpose - they are like computer programs running on server of creation. Or perhaps they are more like viruses.

Either way, like any program, the original creators need a way to control them. So the demonic gods below assigned every demon with a unique password - a random set of characters in some strange tongue - the use of which allows complete overwrite control. Saying the True Name can act as a kill switch, or can modify the demon purposes. They couldn't take the risk if the demons ever being used against them, after all.

Even if the demons have evolved to become very advanced programs, they can't overcome their own root access code.

However, in their Luciferian pride, the Hell Gods didn't even consider that the mortals might be capable of deriving their demonic passwords. Either by trial and error, or exploiting design weaknesses. So, clever mortals are capable of subverting demonic programming, like occult version of a white hat hacker.