Vatsal’s Newsletter

Artificial Persons

From Leviathan to Large Language Models

Jun 10 • Vatsal

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May 2026

Dawkins, Claude, and the First Question About Consciousness

On the need to know what consciousness is before asking what it’s for

May 5 • Vatsal

3

1

April 2026

Superfluousness

On our compulsion to find a hidden core in things, and why it vanishes the closer we look

Apr 14 • Vatsal

3

2

1

Where Do Rights Come From?

From humans to rivers to corporations to AI, rights are best understood as organized obligations

Apr 7 • Vatsal

1

March 2026

Utilitarianism is Useful, But Not True

The best moral framework for public policy rests on a picture of reality that isn't actually real.

Mar 17 • Vatsal

10

2

Michael Huemer: Nature of Knowledge, Foundations of Morality

On the basis of knowledge, foundations of morality, naturalistic fallacy, and political authority

Mar 10 • Vatsal

5

1

57:56

January 2026

Review of Ross Douthat’s Believe

On contemporary apologetics, the comforts of modernity, and why better arguments may not revive religion

Jan 20 • Vatsal

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1

Notes on Buddhism

On substance and self, impermanence and dissatisfaction, and the Four Noble Truths

Jan 8 • Vatsal

4

1

December 2025

The Inescapability of Altruism

On self-interest, benevolence, happiness, and why caring for others is part of caring for yourself

Dec 30, 2025 • Vatsal

3

1

1

Every Problem Is a Prediction Problem

On true belief and explanation, Popper and Deutsch, knowledge in AI, and the nature of understanding

Dec 23, 2025 • Vatsal

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2

Can AI Have Free Will?

On entities and events, AI alignment, responsibility and control, and consciousness in machines.

Dec 16, 2025 • Vatsal

2

3

1

Solving the Trolley Problem and Other Moral Dilemmas

On the trolley problem, dissolving moral dilemmas, and why civilization means fewer tragic choices.

Dec 9, 2025 • Vatsal

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