IF we grant that teleportation is possible and on the other side comes out someone with your exact DNA, memories, etc, couldn't it be possible for the consciousness to be transmited?
Known Space shows that the teleporter does indeed kill the original and make a copy at the destination. If I recall right it either was revealed in an accident/malfunction where the original wasnt killed. Or more likely some criminal was using it to be in 2 places at once to commit some crime. The Puppeteers confirm this and that there is no soul or afterlife. Which makes their casual use of the teleporter all the more baffling considering their intense fear of death or injury.
TNG though played very loosy goosy with the teleporters.
Funny I have read Ringworld (All 4 novels) several times and don't recall that.
IF the teleporter did kill you then the puppeteers wouldn't use it, they even refuse to travel in subspace (IIRC that's the name for FTL) and that's not guaranteed to kill you.
But I'll bite:
Lets say it does kill YOU and on the other side an exat duplicate is created that somehow has all of your memories, exact DNA and personality...
If you cut a tree in the forest and the tree doesn't fall and shows no signs of ever being cut... Did you REALLY cut the tree?
I don't even need the Soul to defeat that argument.
Furthermore, like I've said before: How the fuck would ANYONE be able to demonstrate the YOU on the exit cabin (Or pad in the Puppeteers case) is but a duplicate and not really YOU?
Again, it has ALL of your memories, personality, quirks and all and your exact DNA, scars, etc. How does anyone demonstrate it's not really YOU but YOUp?
The lore says so! Well in the first novel the lore didn't account for stuff and Ringworld was unstable. Something some Physics students made very clear to Niven and gave him the math, he came up with a solution that was incorporated in Ringworld 2: The Ringworld Engineers.
I remain unconvinced that the transporters kill you and create a duplicate. And IF the Puppeteers "demonstrated" there's no soul or afterlife... Well thats one way less anyone could have to demonstrate it's not you.
So, how is it demonstrated (beyond the say so of the lying sacks of shit of the Puppeteers) that it is so?
And the Puppeteers ARE lying sacks of shit as demonstrated once and again in the novels. Manipulative, lying sacks of shit.