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: Stoicism

  • Cap calls out Tony’s self-deprecation in Captain America/Iron Man #2

    Captain America is in a weird spot these days, and it has nothing to do with the Red Skull or Hydra. (At least, not that we know.) Since Ta-Nehisi Coates' run on Captain America ended in July 2020, the Sentinel of Liberty has been without an ongoing monthly title. (UPDATE: This changes in April, as…

  • How does lack of desire compare to its satisfaction?

    Mark D. White A fascinating article in the latest issue of Utilitas (23/4, December 2011) by Toby Handfield (Monash University) titled "Absent Desires" takes up the issue of absent desire in relation to satisfied and frustrated desire, arguing that having absent desires is incommensurable with having satisfied desires: What difference does it make to matters…

  • “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…