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: Posts by Mark D. White

  • On Mark Bittman, the soda ban, and “making people think twice” about their decisions

    Mark D. White It is no surprise that The New York Times columnist Mark Bittman laments the judicial rejection of New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's ban on large sodas. Unfortunately he resorts to slander when addressing its opponents: The argument that preventing us from buying 32 ounces of liquid candy in one container somehow…

  • State judge rejects Bloomberg’s ban on large sodas

    Mark D. White Earlier today, a state judge overturned New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's ban on large sodas, citing their arbitary nature, copious loopholes, and uneven consequences. Of more significant concern are the ethical ramifications of such a ban, as I describe in The Manipulation of Choice–we can only hope that this played a role…

  • Cass Sunstein on paternalism in The New York Review of Books

    Mark D. White In the latest issue of The New York Review of Books, law professor and former OIRA chief Cass Sunstein reviews Bowdoin philosophy professor Sarah Conly's recent book Against Autonomy: Justifying Coercive Paternalism. I have not yet read Conly's book; while I am very interested in what Conly says, I am even more interested in what…

  • David Brooks and Downton Abbey on Big Data

    Mark D. White Ever since Nate Silver pulled a Babe Ruth 527 times on election night, the virtues of "big data" have been hailed widely in the press. But David Brooks strikes a cautionary note in today's New York Times, correctly noting that data by itself cannot solve problems and making the point that qualitative…

  • Ronald Dworkin, RIP

    Mark D. White I am profoundly saddened to report that pre-eminent legal and political philosopher Ronald Dworkin has died today in England. He was 81. Aside from Immanuel Kant, no thinker has been more influential on my writing, and my classes devoted to his work have been some of my most enjoyable to teach. It…

  • The Illusion of Mathyness

    Mark D. White Kevin Drum at Mother Jones recently highlighted a new paper by Kimmo Eriksson (Mälardalen University and Stockholm University) published in Judgment and Decision Making titled "The Nonsense Math Effect" (7/6, November 2012). Here's the abstract: Mathematics is a fundamental tool of research. Although potentially applicable in every discipline, the amount of training…

  • James M. Buchanan, R.I.P.

    Mark D. White I just received word that Nobel laureate James M. Buchanan has passed away. I was just talking to David Levy at the ASSA meetings in San Diego about him, and hoped to meet him this summer. The loss to the profession cannot be overestimated, and my thoughts go out to his family, friends,…

  • More on judges, politics, and ideology

    Mark D. White Adam Liptak has a "Sidebar" in today's New York Times titled "'Politicians in Robes? Not Exactly, but…" discussing judges' voting records and the politics of the president who nominated them, citing data that finds a clear link and accusing judges of deciding cases based on "ideology." My comment is below: Of course judges are…

  • Uganda and anti-gay law: This (again) is why you don’t put basic human rights to a vote.

    Mark D. White My stomach turns at the news that Uganda is set to pass a law that imposes life sentences and sometimes the death sentence for homosexual acts: KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda's anti-gay bill will be passed before the end of 2012 despite international criticism of the draft legislation, the speaker of the…

  • Have economists ignored clinical depression?

    Mark D. White A recent issue of Science (October 5, 2012) is a special issue on depression, and senior editor Peter Stern's introduction lays out the reason for it (emphasis mine): Depression is a devastating disease. It affects not only the directly afflicted but also the people around them, their families, and their closest relations.…