[Philo]

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Thanks for the answers, it's clearer now. But the theory is still horribly confused and not at all stated clearly. To summarize:

1. "We" are identical to our biology (nihilism).
2. Persistence of an organism depends on whether its biological functions are sustained.
3. Therefore, our mental life has nothing to do with our persistence

The argument of Animalism basically begs the question by denying the existence of separate thing called "mental life" or identity, reducing everything to biology. It's also ill defined by not defining organism properly. Is it the majority of cells (how does that work for a fat person undergoing liposuction?) Is it certain cells?

Basically, animalism as a theory does not exist because it doesn't define itself.

So the only thing the "brain transplant" scenario shows is "organism" in animalism is poorly defined. It certainly doesn't refute it.

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I've only stated the central theses of animalism. I haven't given a full explication of the view nor have I given any reasons for believing it.

Thus I don't see how you can conclude from my post that animalism begs the question, since I've told you nothing about what arguments have been advanced in its favor, or that the theory doesn't really exist because it doesn't define itself, since I haven't given you a full explication of the theory.

Animalism doesn't deny the existence of the mental lives of human beings, it simply denies that the mental lives of human beings figure into the persistence conditions of human beings.

Animalism defers to biological science when defining what is essential to preserving the life of a biological organism.

Your last suggestion is interesting, because some animalists distinguish between whole-brain transplants, which include transplantation of the brain stem, and cerebrum-only transplants, which do not. Since the brain stem controls respiration, heartbeat, blood pressure, and digestion, and is also vital to basic attention, auditory and visual reflexes, and consciousness, the neurological functions of the brain stem are considered essential to sustaining the life of an animal.

The central theses of animalism are thus consistent with the "brain transplant intuition" (roughly, the intuition that I go where my brain goes), at least in the case of whole-brain transplants.