Mark Lilla is a philosopher, essayist, and professor of the humanities at Columbia University. His research focuses on intellectual history, with a particular focus on Western political and religious thought. A frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books, the New Republic, and the New York Times, Professor Lilla is best known for his books The Reckless Mind: Intellectuals in Politics and The Stillborn God: Religion, Politics, and the Modern West. He has taught at New York University and University of Chicago. Professor Lilla has received fellowships and grants from the Institute for Advanced Study, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Leo Strauss Award from the American Political Science Association, and the Prix de Rome.