Mark Ralkowski
Mark Ralkowski
Professor of Honors and Philosophy, Philosophy Honor Society Advisor
Core Faculty
Contact:
Email:
Mark Ralkowski
Office Phone:
(202) 994-7290
Dr. Ralkowski has written extensively on Socrates, Plato, Heidegger, and a wide variety of issues in the philosophy of humor. He is currently working on a journal article about Louis C.K. and the ethics and aesthetics of humor, and a new book about Heidegger, phenomenology, and humor studies.
PHIL 4198.80 W 3:30-6:00
Books
Plato’s Trial of Athens (Bloomsbury, 2018)
Heidegger's Platonism (Continuum, 2009)
Edited Books
Paideia and Performance, coedited with Heather Reid and Henry Curcio (Parnassos Press, May 2023)
Dave Chappelle and Philosophy (Open Court, Summer 2021)
Gymnastics, Athletics, and Agon in Plato, co-edited with Heather Reid and Coleen Zoller (Parnassos Press, October 2020)
Plato at Syracuse, co-edited with Heather Reid (February, 2019)
Louis C.K. and Philosophy (Open Court, 2016)
Curb Your Enthusiasm and Philosophy (Open Court, 2012)
Time and Death: Heidegger's Analysis of Finitude. Forward by Hubert Dreyfus (Ashgate, 2005)
Articles, chapters, discussions
Review article on William J. Prior’s Socrates. Ancient Philosophy (forthcoming 2027).
“Humor and the Unknown Known: What Can Heidegger Contribute to the Philosophy of Humor?” Philosophy of Humor Yearbook (July 2026).
“On Becoming More Like Democritus: Just Say No to Capital.” Philosophy of Humor Yearbook (July 2026).
"Larry David, Philosopher King," The New York Times, April 2024.
“Hannah Gadsby as Philosopher: Is Comedy Really Such a Good Thing?”, in The Palgrave Handbook of Popular Culture as Philosophy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022).
“Plato and the Navy: Thalassocracy, Aretē, and the Corruption of Desire,” in Virtue in Plato and Aristotle (Parnassos Press, 2022)
Review article on Sara Ahbel-Rappe’s Socratic Ignorance and Platonic Knowledge in the Dialogues of Plato, Ancient Philosophy, Spring 2021, pp. 1-9.
"You Can’t Cancel Dave Chappelle," in Dave Chappelle and Philosophy (Open Court, 2021)
"A Contest Between Two Lives: Plato's Existential Drama," in Gymnastics, Athletics, and Agon in Plato (Parnassos Press, October 2020)
“Being-toward-death”, in 50 Concepts for a Critical Phenomenology (Northwestern University Press, 2019)
"On Being a Dead Person Who Hasn't Died Yet: The Meditations of Louis C.K.," in Louis C.K. and Philosophy (Open Court, forthcoming)
Review article on Francisco Gonzalez’s Heidegger and Plato: A Question of Dialogue, Ancient Philosophy, Fall 2013, pp. 446-453.
“On Becoming What We Are: Heidegger’s Philosophy of Education,” Encyclopedia of Educational Theory and Philosophy (SAGE 2014)
“The Politics of Impiety: Why Was Socrates Prosecuted by the Athenian Democracy?”, Bloomsbury Companion to Socrates, January 2013.
Review article on Robin Waterfield’s Why Socrates Died, Ancient Philosophy, Fall 2011, pp. 392-404.
“Deep Inside You Know You Are Him” in Curb Your Enthusiasm and Philosophy (Open Court, August 2012)
“Is Stephen Colbert America’s Socrates?,” in Stephen Colbert and Philosophy (Open Court, 2009)
“Was Plato a Platonist?” Ancient Philosophy, Fall 2007.
“The Place of Doctrines in Platonic Philosophy,” The Journal of Practical Philosophy, 8(2), Autumn 2007.
B.A. Philosophy, Santa Clara University
M.A. Philosophy, Boston College
Ph.D. Philosophy, University of New Mexico