Mark D. White

Writer, editor, teacher

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about

I’m a professor in the Department of Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY, where I teach courses in philosophy, economics, and law, and the author/editor/co-editor of several books.

Category: Military

  • “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” officially ends

    Mark D. White As this New York Times article celebrates, the U.S. military's "don't ask don't tell" policy is officially over. Military personnel who are gay or lesbian no longer have to suppress their identity and compromise their cherished virtue of honesty to serve their country. (H/T: Erica Greider.)

  • “A voice that could command a god”: Captain America and the Stoics

    This week I've been reading Nancy Sherman's book Stoic Warriors: The Ancient Philosophy behind the Military Mind, which not only looks at how Stoicism can apply to the modern military (and how much military codes and standards dervie from Stoic thought), but also provides a nice introduction to Stoicism itself, combatting common (and often) mistaken ideas…

  • One more step toward repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT)

    Mark D. White As I'm sure you already know, the U.S. Senate voted today to end the ban on open homosexuals in the military. I hope the president signs this bill and ends seventeen years of forcing gay and lesbian Americans who wish only to serve their country to either lie about or conceal an essential…

  • Study Dismisses Concerns about Gays in Military, But Should It Matter?

    Mark D. White Today's news about a new study showing most military personnel do not oppose open service of gays and lesbians leads to mixed feelings. On the one hand, it should speak against those who argue that open homosexuals in the military will reduce morale, especially given the reported correlation between those who have…

  • Federal judge orders injunction against “don’t ask don’t tell” policy

    Mark D. White This afternoon, U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips ordered a worldwide injunction against the Clinton-era "don't ask don't tell" policy in the United States military, under which homosexual servicemen and women must keep silent about their sexual orientation. As I wrote earlier, this demeans our proud men and women serving their country, both…

  • An unintentional survey of the ethics of gays in the military in the WSJ

    Mark D. White In today's Wall Street Journal, Bret Stephens has a piece arguing why the GOP should let "Don't Ask Don't Tell" (DADT) lapse in the 2011 Defense Bill, and in it he happens to cover the three mainstream approaches to ethics: consequentialism (DADT forces the expulsion or rejection of qualified, eager men and…

  • Military virtues, and gays in the military (WSJ letters)

    Mark D. White Really two separate topics here, both inspired by recent articles in the Wall Street Journal regarding the issue of gays in the U.S. armed forces. 1. The Journal is printing one of my recent letters to the editor tomorrow (Thursday, February 11) under the heading "All Society Could Use Some Military Virtues": In Bret Stephens's…