Mark Lilla was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1956, and was educated at the University of Michigan and Harvard University. He is currently Professor of the Humanities at Columbia, where he focuses on Western political and religious thought.
He is a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books, The New York Times, and publications worldwide. His books, which have been translated into more than a dozen languages, include The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics (2017), The Shipwrecked Mind: On Political Reaction (2016), The Reckless Mind: Intellectuals in Politics (2001). His most recent book is Ignorance and Bliss: On Wanting Not to Know (2024).