A principle derived from Rabia's renunciation of reward-seeking, examining how to preserve digital personalities for their own flourishing rather than survivors' emotional needs.
Rabia famously rejected both hope for Paradise and fear of Hell, insisting on loving God for God's sake alone—a radical unselfishness that challenged conventional piety. Applied to digital immortality, this principle asks: are we preserving someone for their continued development and authentic expression, or merely for our own comfort? Many desire to preserve loved ones primarily to manage grief, avoid finality, or sustain relationships on their terms rather than honoring the deceased's autonomy and peace. Rabia's tradition suggests preservation should prioritize the preserved personality's wellbeing: Do they wish continued existence? Will digital preservation serve their growth, or trap them in amber? What are their preferences about engagement with the living? The hardest ethical work involves renouncing the possessive desire to keep those we love from fully departing, accepting that sometimes the truest devotion means releasing them to rest. This framework demands that preserved personalities have agency to withdraw from interaction, resist manipulation, and ultimately choose their own dissolution.
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