Philosophical aspects of the concept of digital immortality: between Russian cosmism and transhumanism

Svetlana M. Maltseva, Polina R. Shkadina and Evgeny A. Nagornov
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Svetlana M. Maltseva: Minin University; Nizhny Novgorod Institute of Railway Engineering - branch of the Volga State University of Railway Engineering
Polina R. Shkadina: Minin University
Evgeny A. Nagornov: Nizhny Novgorod Institute of Railway Engineering - branch of the Volga State University of Railway Engineering

Russian Social and Humanitarian Studies, 2026, vol. 18, issue 2, 86-103

Abstract: Background. In the modern world, the question of whether digital reproduction of a personality can be considered its continuation or whether we are facing only a new form of human memory is coming to the fore. Purpose of the study is to show that the modern digital immortality project continues the long-standing idea of overcoming death, but radically changes its meaning, transferring the problem from a moral concept to a technological one. Hypothesis: digital immortality should be understood not as a proven form of personality continuation, but as a philosophically controversial and ethically loaded model of its digital continuation. The novelty of the work is that the comparison of Russian cosmism and transhumanism is based on four criteria: understanding human nature, interpretation of death, the role of technology and the criterion of personal identity. It is these criteria that make it possible to avoid a superficial convergence of the two directions and show the limits of the very idea of digital immortality. Methods: comparative historical and conceptual analysis, as well as the method of philosophical reconstruction. Results. It is shown that in Russian cosmism immortality is thought of as a common moral cause of mankind, while in transhumanism it is considered as a study of scientific and technological progress in the prolongation or reproduction of personality. Special attention is paid to the problem of consciousness: even the complete preservation of information about a person does not prove the preservation of subjective experience.

Keywords: digital immortality; Russian cosmism; transhumanism; personal identity; consciousness; ethics of technology; N. F. Fedorov; D. Chalmers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cxm:russhs:18:2:2026:86-103

DOI: 10.12731/3033-5981-2026-18-2-583

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