Paul Kurtz: Difference between revisions

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'''Paul Kurtz''' (born [[February 12]], [[1926]] in [[Newark, New Jersey]]) is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the [[University at Buffalo]] ([[SUNY]]), but is best known for his prominent role in the American [[skeptic|skeptical]] community. In particular, Kurtz is founder and chairman of the [[Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]] ([[CSICOP]]), the [[Council for Secular Humanism]], the [[Center for Inquiry]] and [[Prometheus Books]], and editor-in-chief of [[Free Inquiry Magazine]], the official organ of the [[Council for Secular Humanism]].

He founder and chairman of the [[Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]] ([[CSICOP]]), the [[Council for Secular Humanism]], the [[Center for Inquiry]] and [[Prometheus Books]].

He was editor-in-chief of [[Free Inquiry Magazine]], the official organ of the [[Council for Secular Humanism]]. He is a former Co-President of the [[International Humanist and Ethical Union]] ([[IHEU]]). BA, [[New York University]]; MA and PhD, [[Columbia University]]. He is a Fellow of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]], and Humanist Laureate and President of the [[International Academy of Humanism]]. A former member of the [[American Humanist Association]], he contributed to the writing of [[Humanist Manifesto II]]. There is an asteroid named in his honor called ''(6629) Kurtz''.

He received his Bachelor's degree from [[New York University]], and the

MA and PhD degrees from from[[Columbia University]]. Kurtz was left-wing in his youth, but says that serving in the [[US Army]] in [[WWII]] 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 [[Germany]] by force and refused to return to the [[Soviet Union]] at the end of the war.

after they were liberated, and became disillusioned

with [[Communism]] when he encountered Russian slave laborers

who had been taken to [[Germany]] by force and refused to

return to the [[Soviet Union]] at the end of the war.

Paul Kurtz has published over 650 articles or reviews and authored or edited over 40 books.