Why a "Digital Soul" Cannot Exist Without a Source: A Critique of Substrate-Independence Theories
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper offers a fundamental critique of "substrate-independence" theories concerning the "digital soul" and "uploaded consciousness." It argues that these theories often simplify the issue by reducing consciousness primarily to an informational pattern while underemphasizing the continuous existential conditions required for it—namely energy, data, fundamental laws, and control. The paper proposes an alternative framework called "existential source-dependence" and shows that consciousness is neither a self-sufficient pattern nor merely dependent on a particular type of matter, but rather a source-dependent process. The implications of this critique for the problem of personal identity and the reconstruction thought experiment are examined.
Author: Akbarzadeh, Alireza
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7221972973
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