In thought experiments, philosophers and scientists occasionally imagine entities with special abilities as a way to pose thought experiment or highlight apparent paradoxes.
For instance, when William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) came up with the Maxwell's demon to highlight the implications of James Clerk Maxwell statistical interpretation of thermodynamics, he used the term in analogy to daemons in Greek mythology, supernatural beings as unseen forces of nature.
[1][2][3] There are other creatures which feature in thought experiments about philosophy.
One such creature is a utility monster, a creature which derives much more utility (such as enjoyment) from resources than other beings, and hence under a strict utilitarian system would have more or all of the available resources directed to it.
[10] Philosophical zombies are similar to Searle's Demon, above.