The Self Across the Gap of Death: Some Christian Constructions of Continued Identity from Athenagoras to Ratzinger and Their Relevance to Digital Reconstitutions

Abstract

The difficulty of continuity of identity across the gap of death is a well-known problem in Christian eschatology. This article looks at three ways in which this has been addressed by Christian theologians: Relational Material Identity, Natural Numerical Identity, and Supernaturally Established Permanence. These three approaches are then abstracted and applied to the problem of the continuity of a game-body across a gap of non-existence presented either by in-game death or by program termination. Pointing out difficulties in Relational Material Identity, a tentative model of Natural Numerical Identity is seen as possible, while the Supernaturally Established Permanence, in this case rooted in the mind of the player, is seen as the most plausible means of guaranteeing continuity for a game body across gaps of non-existence.