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 is a pleasure to teach about a philosopher that has so affected the scholarly discourse and also comments widely in the popular press, particularly the New York Review of Books, where he often commented at length on important Supreme Court decisions. As a professor, it's so rare for the philosopher at the center of a course regularly apply the theories you're teaching; as a professor, scholar, and fan, I will greatly miss his timely insight, but his work will continue to enrich my life and my work for years to come.

Rest in peace, sir—today you trump us all.