Towards a postmortal society of virtualised ancestors? : The Virtual Deceased Person and the preservation of the social bond
| Autor: | Joshua Hurtado Hurtado |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Department of Economics and Management, Process Studies on Sustainable Economy, Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS) |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2023 |
| Předmět: |
Health (social science)
030504 nursing media_common.quotation_subject Religious studies Futures Studies Social bond Immortality Genealogy 03 medical and health sciences Philosophy 030502 gerontology 5141 Sociology Sociology 5200 Other social sciences 0305 other medical science Social effects media_common Ancestor |
| Popis: | Research about digital immortality has grown in recent years, predominantly focusing on either the social effects of forms of digital immortalisation or on the available technologies. Few studies, however, adopt a clear sociological focus that remains attentive to the ontological dimension of digital immortality. Adopting a future-oriented perspective, this article contributes to the sociological study of digital immortality by introducing the concept of the Virtual Deceased Person (VDP), a speculative artefact that convincingly simulates the mannerisms and character traits of a deceased person, allowing them to operate as social actors posthumously and preserve the human social bond. The article draws on anthropological and microsocial theory to characterise the VDP as a persona of the dead given agency and embodiment by future thanatechnologies. By positioning the concept within the digital immortality discourse and expanding the scope of the social bond to the study of digital immortality, I portray the VDP as a manifestation of posthumous personhood, arguing that it might facilitate preserving the social bond between the living and the dead throughout its creation process and its reintegration into the world of the living. I further discuss its implications for the emergence of a postmortal society of socially active, virtualised ancestors. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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