An intriguing article indeed, as always, Ella. There is a philosophical question here, as ytou say, the question of identity. It is like Theseus' ship, wherein every bit of wood over time has been replaced. Is it the same ship?

The question of the soul is different. Some of your readers need to read some basic philosophy texts: the soul, as defined, is the human intellect,:consciousness as it seeks to understand, to know, and exercise wisdom. Thomas Aquinas, for instance, had a solid argument as to why it survives death in the Summa theologica, First part, question 75. No magic involved. Was he right? Would teleporting a human be able to test his theory? I am not sure. How would we know, anymore than we know now whether humans have imperishable souls?

Personally, I think ther question of survival after death is not an either/or proposition. It is more complex than that.