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Paul Kurtz
Photo: RobertoTenore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons16

Paul Kurtz

American philosopher (1925–2012)

Paul Kurtz (December 21, 1925 – October 20, 2012) was an American scientific skeptic, philosopher and secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism".2

From Wikipedia’s article on Paul Kurtz (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Dec 21, 1925, died Oct 20, 2012.1

About

He was a professor emeritus of philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, having previously also taught at Vassar, Trinity, and Union colleges, and the New School for Social Research.

Kurtz founded the publishing house Prometheus Books in 1969. He was also the founder and past chairman of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI, formerly the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, CSICOP), the Council for Secular Humanism, and the Center for Inquiry. He was editor in chief of Free Inquiry magazine, a publication of the Council for Secular Humanism.

He was co-chair of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) from 1986 to 1994. He was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Humanist Laureate, president of the International Academy of Humanism and Honorary Associate of Rationalist International. As a member of the American Humanist Association, he contributed to the writing of Humanist Manifesto II. He was an editor of The Humanist, 1967–78.

Kurtz published over 800 articles or reviews and authored and edited over 50 books. Many of his books have been translated into over 60 languages.

From Wikipedia’s article on Paul Kurtz, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedColumbia University3
  • Date not recordedNew York University3

Kurtz was born in Newark, New Jersey, into a secular Jewish family, the son of Sara Lasser and Martin Kurtz. Kurtz received his bachelor's degree from New York University, and then a master's degree and Doctor of Philosophy degree from Columbia University. Kurtz was left-wing in his youth, but has said that serving in the United States Army in World War II taught him the dangers of ideology. He saw the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps after they were liberated, and became disillusioned with Communism when he encountered Russian slave laborers who had been taken to Nazi Germany by force but refused to return to the Soviet Union at the end of the war. He was a professor at Trinity College (Connecticut) which was an Episcopal college.

From Wikipedia’s article on Paul Kurtz (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: writer, philosopher.9

  • Date not recordedWorked at University at Buffalo4
  • Date not recordedFounded Council for Secular Humanism5
  • Date not recordedFounded Committee for Skeptical Inquiry6
  • Date not recordedFounded Prometheus Books7
  • Date not recordedFounded Center for Inquiry8

Personal life

  • BornDec 21, 1925, Newark10
  • DiedOct 20, 2012, Amherst11
  • CitizenshipUnited States12

Kurtz was married twice and had four children; his first marriage ended in divorce. His second wife was Claudine Vial (died 2019).

Kurtz died in Amherst, New York, on October 20, 2012, aged 86.

From Wikipedia’s article on Paul Kurtz (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

  • Date not recordedFellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry13

Sources

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