Staying Alive - The Scenarios You must choose the option you think will give your self

ust choose the option you think will give your self the biggest chance
of surviving.
The aim of the game is to stay alive.
It's the teletransporter for me
There are three rounds. In each round, you will be presented with a scenario
and then offered two choices. The decisions you make determine whether I'll take a chance with the spacecraft
you stay alive or perish. You should always base your decisions on nothing
more than the desire to keep yourself in existence. Also, each scenario
should be taken at face value. The situation will be as described - there are
no "tricks" - and you do not need to worry about other 'what ifs'. Staying Alive - The Scenarios

At the end of the game you will discover if you have stayed alive or not, The teletransportation has taken place. Welcome to Mars!
although, being a philosophical game, the verdict won't be straightforward...
Round 2 - Silicon or Virus?
Staying Alive - The Scenarios
Life on Mars turns out not to be a bed of roses. In fact, two strange viruses
have evolved on the planet which are causing a lot of problems. The first
Round 1 - The Teletransporter Choice
destroys body parts. Fortunately, medical science is very advanced, which
means people can simply be given artificial limbs and organs as required.
You have been chosen to go on a very important mission to Mars. You have
You've been hit pretty hard by this virus and, in fact, almost your entire
no choice in this matter, you must go. But you can choose your means of
body is now made up of artificial parts.
transport.
However, there exists a second virus that attacks the brain. It is peculiarly
One method is teletransportation. You will step into a scanner here on earth
nasty in that it doesn't destroy the brain, rather it messes up the neural
that will destroy your brain and body, while recording the exact state of all
pathways, leading to a loss of memory and also a change in personality
your cells. This information will be transmitted to a replicator on Mars -
traits. One person who had the virus had been a successful author. Now he
taking three minutes to arrive - which will then create a brain and body
can't write a word, but he's become rather good at exotic dancing. It is
exactly like yours using entirely new materials. The person on Mars will
indeed an odd virus.
look like you, think like you, in fact be indistinguishable from you. He or
she will certainly feel as though they have merely fallen asleep on Earth and
Unfortunately, you have carelessly managed to catch the virus. Medics can
then woken up on Mars. This method is 100 per cent reliable.
get around the virus by replacing pieces of the brain with advanced forms of
silicon chip. In your case, they would have to do this to almost all of your
The other method of transport is space travel. This is very risky and there is
brain. But trials show that you can be sure that the result will be the total
50 per cent chance that the spacecraft will not complete the journey and you
preservation of your memories, personality, plans, beliefs and so on, and a
will die in transit. But if you do successfully take the spacecraft, then your
person as able to carry on living a normal life as is, well, normal.
body and brain won't at any stage have been destroyed.
The alternative is to succumb to the virus with its consequent loss of
memory and change in character.
You must make the choice which you think will give your self the biggest These facts are vital to the last choice you must make. You are very ill, but
chance of surviving. scientists have almost found a cure for the disease you have. Further, they
have also developed a technique to 'deep freeze' humans, enabling them to
be revived later with their memories and character intact. You have two
I'll take the silicon, thanks choices.
Let the virus do its worst
The first choice is to let the disease take its toll. Your body will die, but
your soul will live on. The second choice is to be deep frozen, then thawed
Staying Alive - The Scenarios and cured later. This will destroy your soul and only has a thirty per cent
chance of success; that is, there is a 70 per cent chance that the thawing and
You struck it lucky. The spacecraft arrived safely. Welcome to Mars! curing won't work.
Round 2 - Silicon or Virus? You must make the choice that you think will give your self the biggest
chance of surviving.

Staying Alive - The Scenarios Let my body die

Freeze me now
The operation was successful! What's more, a few years later, advances in
technology enabled scientists to perform a similar operation which gave you
back an organic brain and body, so now you're fully human again. Hurrah!
Staying Alive - The Scenarios
Round 3 - Die or Freeze?
Oh dear, the virus did go to work on you. But the good news is it's now a
Strange as it may seem, it has been discovered that reincarnation of a sort few years later, and a cure has been found. What's more, your new
does actually occur. It seems that there is some immaterial part - call it a personality has had a chance to stabalise, even though it remains
soul - in all human beings. On death, it leaves the body and enters the body irrevocably changed and your old memories are lost forever.
of a new-born animal or human. It does not take memory with it, of course,
for if it did we'd have known this were true already! It is thought that it may Round 3 - Die or Freeze?
have some effect in determining one's character, but given the evidence for
the strong influence of genes and upbringing, this effect is thought to be
relatively small.

Even stranger than the fact of reincarnation, it seems that our souls die if
stored at below freezing point for longer than a week.
Staying Alive: Post-Mortem
Sorry! You're dead!
You chose:
Round 1: It's the teletransporter for me
Round 2: I'll take the silicon, thanks
Round 3: Let my body die
Here's the problem. There are basically three kinds of things that could be required
for the continued existence of your self. One is bodily continuity, which may
actually require only that parts of the body stay in existence (i.e., the brain).
Another is psychological continuity, which requires the continuance of your
consciousness - by which is meant your thoughts, ideas, memories, plans, beliefs,
and so on. The third possibility is the continued existence of some kind of
immaterial part of you, which might be called the soul. Of course, it may be the
case that a combination of one or more types of these continuity is required for you
to survive.
Your first two choices were consistent with the view that psychological continuity
is necessary for survival. In Round 1, you decided to have your body zapped and
rebuilt from scratch, and in Round 2 you decided to have your brain replaced by
synthetic parts. Both these choices give you psychological continuity. But your last
choice sees the end to your psychological continuity, since the continued existence
of the soul does not provide it. So you first ended bodily continuity and then you
ended psychological continuity.
Perhaps you made these choices because all along you thought that the continuity
of the soul is what counts? If so, there is still a puzzle. How could
teletransportation or replacing your organic body with synthetic parts ensure that
your soul continues to exist? After all, the teletransporter transmits information
about body states. Why would the soul follow this information? Given the lack of
reasons to suppose a soul would do this, you have been pronounced dead.
(Although technically speaking you haven't so much died as lost track of where
your soul has gone.) However, it is conceded that the autopsy is not absolutely
conclusive.
Note: The chart above shows the percentage of people who have surivived and
died playing this game.
DA – DA – NU
Staying Alive: Post-Mortem
Congratulations! You have survived!
You chose:
Round 1: It's the teletransporter for me
Round 2: I'll take the silicon, thanks
Round 3: Freeze me now
There are basically three kinds of things that could be required for the continued
existence of your self. One is bodily continuity, which may actually require only
that parts of the body stay in existence (i.e., the brain). Another is psychological
continuity, which requires the continuance of your consciousness - by which is
meant your thoughts, ideas, memories, plans, beliefs, and so on. The third
possibility is the continued existence of some kind of immaterial part of you,
which might be called the soul. Of course, it may be the case that a combination of
one or more types of these continuity is required for you to survive.
Your choices are consistent with the theory known as psychological reductionism.
On this view, all that is required for the continued existence of the self is
psychological continuity. Your three choices show that this is what you see as
central to your sense of self, not any attachment to a particular substance, be it
your body, brain or soul. However, some would say that you have not survived at
all, but fallen foul of a terrible error. In the teletransporter case, for example, was it
really you that travelled to Mars or is it more correct to say that a clone or copy of
you was made on Mars, while you were destroyed?
Note: The chart above shows the percentage of people who have surivived and
died playing this game.
DA – NU – DA
Staying Alive: Post-Mortem
Sorry! You're dead!
You chose:
Round 1: It's the teletransporter for me
Round 2: Let the virus do its worst
Round 3: Let my body die
Here's the problem. There are basically three kinds of things that could be required
for the continued existence of your self. One is bodily continuity, which may
actually require only that parts of the body stay in existence (i.e., the brain).
Another is psychological continuity, which requires the continuance of your
consciousness - by which is meant your thoughts, ideas, memories, plans, beliefs,
and so on. The third possibility is the continued existence of some kind of
immaterial part of you, which might be called the soul. Of course, it may be the
case that a combination of one or more types of these continuity is required for you
to survive.
Your problem is that your set of choices ends at least two types of continuity. By
taking the teletransporter you end bodily continuity, since the body on Mars is a
replica of yours, not the self same body. The virus destroys psychological
continuity.
Perhaps you were willing to sacrifice these continuities because all along you
thought that it was the soul that counted? If so, there is still a puzzle. How could
teletransportation or replacing your organic body with synthetic parts ensure that
your soul continues to exist? After all, the teletransporter transmits information
about body states. Why would the soul follow this information? Given the lack of
reasons to suppose a soul would do this, you have been pronounced dead.
(Although technically speaking you haven't so much died as lost track of where
your soul has gone.) However, it is conceded that the autopsy is not absolutely
conclusive.
Note: The chart above shows the percentage of people who have surivived and
died playing this game.
DA – NU – NU
Staying Alive: Post-Mortem
Sorry! You're dead!
You chose:
Round 1: It's the teletransporter for me
Round 2: Let the virus do its worst
Round 3: Freeze me now
Here's the problem. There are basically three kinds of things that could be required
for the continued existence of your self. One is bodily continuity, which may
actually require only that parts of the body stay in existence (i.e., the brain).
Another is psychological continuity, which requires the continuance of your
consciousness - by which is meant your thoughts, ideas, memories, plans, beliefs,
and so on. The third possibility is the continued existence of some kind of
immaterial part of you, which might be called the soul. Of course, it may be the
case that a combination of one or more types of these continuity is required for you
to survive.
Your problem is that your set of choices ends all three types of continuity. By
taking the teletransporter you end bodily continuity, since the body on Mars is a
replica of yours, not the self same body. The virus destroys psychological
continuity. And freezing destroys the soul. So all three of the things that might be
required for personal identity are destroyed. So surely you must be dead.
Note: The chart above shows the percentage of people who have surivived and
died playing this game.
NU – DA – DA
Staying Alive: Post-Mortem
Congratulations! You have survived!
You chose:
Round 1: I'll take a chance with the spacecraft
Round 2: I'll take the silicon, thanks
Round 3: Let my body die
However, although you have survived, at least one of your choices seems a little
problematic.
There are basically three kinds of things that could be required for the continued
existence of your self. One is bodily continuity, which may actually require only
that parts of the body stay in existence (i.e., the brain). Another is psychological
continuity, which requires the continuance of your consciousness - by which is
meant your thoughts, ideas, memories, plans, beliefs, and so on. The third
possibility is the continued existence of some kind of immaterial part of you,
which might be called the soul. Of course, it may be the case that a combination of
one or more types of these continuity is required for you to survive.
Your choices are just about consistent with the view that the continuity of the soul
is essential for personal survival. Your first choice showed a desire to keep your
physical body alive. Your second choice, in contrast, showed a willingness to have
your body replaced by synthetic parts to preserve your psychological continuity.
Your last choice showed a willingness to jettison your physical body and end
psychological continuity in order to save your soul.
There is something troubling about these choices. First, the tracking of the soul
seems a bit erratic. In the first choice, it followed the physical body, but on the
second it followed psychological continuity. So it seems there is no reliable way of
deciding where the soul goes - does it follow the body or psychological continuity?
Secondly, the soul seems rather an empty self. It is a self that needs no thoughts,
beliefs or memories to exist. It is rather a kind of immaterial home for thoughts,
emotions, beliefs and so on. Do you really think the self is such a thing?
Note: The chart above shows the percentage of people who have surivived and
died playing this game.
NU – DA – NU
Staying Alive: Post-Mortem
Congratulations! You have survived!
You chose:
Round 1: I'll take a chance with the spacecraft
Round 2: I'll take the silicon, thanks
Round 3: Freeze me now
However, although you have survived, you seem to have taken an unnecessary
risk.
There are basically three kinds of things that could be required for the continued
existence of your self. One is bodily continuity, which may actually require only
that parts of the body stay in existence (i.e., the brain). Another is psychological
continuity, which requires the continuance of your consciousness - by which is
meant your thoughts, ideas, memories, plans, beliefs, and so on. The third
possibility is the continued existence of some kind of immaterial part of you,
which might be called the soul. Of course, it may be the case that a combination of
one or more types of these continuity is required for you to survive.
Your choices are consistent with the theory known as psychological reductionism.
On this view, all that is required for the continued existence of the self is
psychological continuity. Your three choices show that this is what you see as
central to your sense of self, not any attachment to a particular substance, be it
your body, brain or soul.
But there is a tension. In allowing your brain and body to be replaced by synthetic
parts, you seemed to be accepting that psychological continuity is what matters,
not bodily continuity. But if this is the case, why did you risk the spacecraft instead
of taking the teletransporter? You ended up allowing your body to be replaced
anyway, so why did you decide to risk everything on the spacecraft instead of just
giving up your original body there and then?
Note: The chart above shows the percentage of people who have surivived and
died playing this game.

NU – NU – DA
Staying Alive: Post-Mortem
Congratulations! You have survived!
You chose:
Round 1: I'll take a chance with the spacecraft
Round 2: Let the virus do its worse
Round 3: Let my body die
However, although you have survived, at least one of your choices seems a little
problematic.
There are basically three kinds of things that could be required for the continued
existence of your self. One is bodily continuity, which may actually require only
that parts of the body stay in existence (i.e., the brain). Another is psychological
continuity, which requires the continuance of your consciousness - by which is
meant your thoughts, ideas, memories, plans, beliefs, and so on. The third
possibility is the continued existence of some kind of immaterial part of you,
which might be called the soul. Of course, it may be the case that a combination of
one or more types of these continuity is required for you to survive.
Your choices are consistent with the view that the continuity of the soul is essential
for personal survival. Your first two choices showed a desire to keep your physical
body alive. Yet your last choice showed a willingness to jettison this physical body
in order to save your soul. So presumably, you only valued the continued existence
of your body because you thought it housed the soul.
However, some would find your choices problematic. First, why does the soul
seem to require an attachment to the body rather than to psychological continuity?
After all, the body is ultimately dispensable. Second, the soul seems rather an
empty self. It is a self that needs no thoughts, beliefs or memories to exist. It is
rather a kind of immaterial home for thoughts, emotions, beliefs and so on. Do you
really think the self is such a thing?
Note: The chart above shows the percentage of people who have surivived and
died playing this game.
NU – NU – NU
Staying Alive: Post-Mortem
Congratulations! You have survived!
You chose:
Round 1: I'll take a chance with the spacecraft
Round 2: Let the virus do its worst
Round 3: Freeze me now
There are basically three kinds of things that could be required for the continued
existence of your self. One is bodily continuity, which may actually require only
that parts of the body stay in existence (i.e., the brain). Another is psychological
continuity, which requires the continuance of your consciousness - by which is
meant your thoughts, ideas, memories, plans, beliefs, and so on. The third
possibility is the continued existence of some kind of immaterial part of you,
which might be called the soul. Of course, it may be the case that a combination of
one or more types of these continuity is required for you to survive.
Your choices are consistent with the view that bodily continuity is necessary for
personal survival. You risk death on the spacecraft, allow your mind to be messed
around with by the virus and allow your soul to be destroyed so that your body (or
at least your brain in a body) can have a chance of staying in existence. And it
does.
But is this survival of you? Is it enough for your body to continue to exist if your
personality, wishes, beliefs, desires and memories do not? Remember, opting to
suffer the consequences of the virus means that now you have no memories of the
person you were when you stepped into the teletransporter. So is the self really no
more than a particular animal body? Many think it is just a particular kind of
animal, but many others think that without some kind of psychological continuity,
the self cannot survive as a body alone.
Note: The chart above shows the percentage of people who have surivived and
died playing this game.