Digital Souls

[Stokes addresses] the exploitation of dead people's memories in the form of big data, where numerous e-commerce giants work in tandem with social media platforms ... Stokes leaves us here with a call to action. We must wrestle control from these corporations. We must restore dignity to the dearly departed. * Berfrois * Eloquently written, choc-a-bloc with piquant stories of tech history, and combined with the penetrating philosophical analysis we have come to associate with the author, Digital Souls is a rigorous and yet accessible mediation on the perennial question of personal identity as it intersects with our evolving cyber self-personifications. It is a rare feat, but there is enough history of philosophy in these pages to satisfy scholars without losing non-academic readers. In sum, the smart move would be to put away your Smartphones for an hour or three to digest this wise and entertaining reflection on how new-technologies of the self are molding our understanding of personal immortality and alas, what it means to be a self. * Gordon Marino, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, St. Olaf College, USA * Digital Souls is a little gem of applied philosophy, and Stokes' erudition is undiminished by the lightness and accessibility with which he presents it. Scholars and general readers alike will have their assumptions constructively disrupted by this book, and it's certainly been a long time since I was this enjoyably provoked. * Elaine Kasket, author of All the Ghosts in the Machine * Online technologies have allowed us to extend ourselves ever further in space, time and memory. But have they thereby allowed us to 'cheat death'? Digital Souls is a seminal investigation of this possibility and the ethical quandaries it raises for all who live in a digitalized social world. * Michael Cholbi, Professor of Philosophy, University of Edinburgh, UK * This is a fascinating exploration of how online sites and resources represent, and, in some ways, transform death. The book is written in a lively and accessible style. It helps us to understand our attitudes toward death in a new and illuminating way. Highly recommended! * John Martin Fischer, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Riverside, USA *