The Swapping of the Mind

The Swapper:

Before the article: The blog has fallen quite a bit behind. I just moved and haven't been able to write recently. The plan is to return to the semi-regular schedule I had before. See the first article on the Swapper here.

Beyond all games I've played this year and last (short of the Talos Principle), The Swapper most commits itself questions of a philosophical nature. But this always leads to an issue, a conundrum: Does it properly address philosophy, while not allowing it to overshadow or detract from gameplay?

For instance, a developer could knit with their philosophical inclination a thin veil, applying only the shallowest of knowledge, the names everyone already knows, the symbolism they acquired, or the details known only by perusing a Wikipedia page on the topic. If it seems as if there are a variety of the most popular philosophical jargon spread indiscriminately through, like darts thrown without thought against a wall, or raisins clumped together in cake (by an inexperience cook) the author demonstrates their ignorance.

Or perhaps a developer constructs a thin, brittle shell of composed of academic knowledge, but without understanding. They might have read the right books, studied the correct courses, but failed to transform the information they absorbed. Inadvertently, the references employed might emphasize the writers lack of subtly, an inability to imagine genuine uses for the topic.
Both of these techniques may be wielded as an aegis to shelter behind, but falter as storytelling devices. If the author fails to communicate their intent through either technique, the player sees the plot as obscure or obvious. A bewildering mystery or a boring repetition of a previous invention. This is not to claim philosophy (and its common companion, mythology) need be unambiguous. Well crafted, a philosophical game can leave space for debate among the players. But if all possible answers fail to validate the experience, it can only be called unsatisfactory.

Returning to the The Swapper, what detail of philosophical debate can one expect from a four hour game, where discussion should acceded primary importance to gameplay?

An examination of both philosophical detail and its interaction with the plot requires observing four points of review; the philosophy of the Mind, the Triumvirate, the Watchers, and the ending (and beginning). All these topics are unavoidably composed of spoilers.

A quick review of the situation before we begin. Far in the future, humanity has exhausted Earth's resources and sent vast space stations into distant regions to supply it. The stations conduct research and collect material to return to struggling Earth. The player first encounters the protagonist as they are forced into a escape pod, which crash lands on the planet Chori V. Traveling over the surface, the protagonist is able to access a teleporter in a base on the planet and uses it to travel to Theseus Station. There is only one person alive, though there were hundreds before the Event. The Station is full of giant rocks, which the data logs (and the lone survivor) call Watchers. The scientists of Theseus invented, before their untimely demise, a device which can both clone the user, and swap their Mind into any other being. The protagonist uses this swapper gun to travel around the station and overcome obstacles.
The philosophy of The Swapper is an excellent attempt at a thought experiment: What if you obtained a device which could transfer the Mind of yourself into another body? The philosophical paradox of the Mind has troubled philosophers for centuries. By mind, philosophers mean that part of you, which refer to as the you. The thing reading these words and thinking about them. Though this article won't delve deeply into the quandary, a basic introduction seems reasonable. Two main positions about the Mind have emerged and they can be summed up as follows. Is the Mind a separate, nonphysical entity? Or is the mind only the brain, the body? The former is Dualism (humanity is composed of two substances), a belief which corresponds to the belief in a soul and free will. The latter position is called Monism, and related to the belief that everything is matter, materialism (Monism can also refer to the belief that everything is composed of one substance). The first was popularized by Descartes (and is often called Cartesian Dualism), while Spinoza and Hegel were Monism's strongest supporters. Many people today are dismissive of those who subscribe to the belief they disbelieve, but for anyone interested in pursuing the topic further, accepting either theory requires accepting results which seem both absurd and terrifying. This is not a solved problem except for the narrow minded.

It's admirable for The Swapper to attempt a story, which imparts philosophical knowledge without trying to convince anyone, and for this reason, it seems unlikely anyone will find their opinion altered by the experience. Yet, the game strongly implies Dualism is the correct answer. In its most basic form, how can one answer: What is the swapper swapping, without answering “the soul”? If it is not swapping a non-physical entity, it must be swapping a physical “thing” composed of matter; an atom, a chemical composition, an entire brain. If swapping transfers a physical component, the scientists aboard the station should have been able to measure the difference (possibly by a simple test, like weighing the subjects before and after), and prove their theory.
But this conversation isn't as lifeless as the Station itself. Along the way the protagonist encounters a companion. At first there seemed to be multiple survivors on the station, for I was aware of a few, different, ongoing conversations. Additionally, the voice often seemed to be speaking to a third party. Compounding this error was the dark aesthetic of The Swapper, people are wearing spacesuits, and subtitles used different names for a reason which will be explained. But overtime it became clear, all the speakers shared the same voice, and in the end the protagonists discovers there are three people in one body (the Triumvirate). Apparently, a Scavenger had found the station already in decay (after the Event). Two of the original scientists of the station had used the swapper to place their Minds into two brains in jars before the catastrophe. They convinced the Scavenger to absorb them into her body. Dennett, one of the two Minds, argues that the soul, and even choice, are illusions. The Mind is only the brain, which is composed of matter, and matter is predetermined by the laws of the Universe. The other brain, Chalmers, defends Dualism, citing her own situation as proof, one body, three minds. But, as already stated, there is no clear answer by the author on who is correct. An examination of the Watchers and the Ending is necessary to develop the idea, and judge its effectiveness.

That's a topic though for Monday.


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The Talos Principle - Part II





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