Personal identity: animalism, spatial part theory, and the program view

The philosophy of personal identity has two popular theories on offer: animalism and spatial part theory. The program view is currently underrepresented in the literature, and few have defended the view. I analyze survival in some cases, and argue that the program view best accounts for those cases. I argue that we can survive in some cases in which animalism and spatial part theory are committed to rule that we cannot survive. The methodology of analyzing survival cases is traditional, as is the use of exotic science fiction. The program view explains the survival of persons in some cases in which competing theories of personal identity fail to explain survival. So, the program view should be considered more seriously as an explanatory theory in the philosophy of personal identity.