Paul Kurtz

Paul Kurtz
Born	Paul Winter Kurtz (1925-12-21)December 21, 1925 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Died	October 20, 2012(2012-10-20) (aged 86) Amherst, New York
Alma mater	New York University Columbia University
Era	20th-century philosophy
School	Scientific skepticism, secular humanism
Main interests	Philosophy of religion, Secularism, philosophical naturalism
Influences Plato, John Dewey, Sidney Hook
Influenced Steven Novella, Michael Shermer, Carl Sagan, the wider skeptical movement of which he was a co-founder and central figure

Paul Kurtz (/kɜːrts/; December 21, 1925 – October 20, 2012) was a prominent American skeptic and secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism". He was 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 (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.