Paul Kurtz 311092 224396191 2008-07-08T17:47:52Z 78.86.10.32 /* Bibliography */ {{Infobox Person |name = Paul Kurtz |image = Kurtz-1-.color.jpg |image_size = 190px |caption = |birth_name = |birth_date = {{birth date|1925|12|21}} |birth_place = [[Newark, New Jersey]], [[United States]] {{flagicon|US}} |death_date = |death_place = |death_cause = |resting_place = |resting_place_coordinates = |residence = |nationality = |other_names = |known_for = [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]]<br/>[[Council for Secular Humanism]] |education = |alma_mater = [[New York University]]<br/>[[Columbia University]] |employer = |occupation = |home_town = |title = |salary = |networth = |height = |weight = |term = |predecessor = |successor = |party = |boards = |religion = |spouse = |partner = |children = |parents = |relatives = |signature = |website = |footnotes = }} '''Paul Kurtz''' (born [[December 21]], [[1925]] in [[Newark, New Jersey]]) is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the [[State University of New York at Buffalo]], but is best known for his prominent role in the [[United States]] [[Scientific skepticism|skeptical]] community. He is founder and 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]], the [[Center for Inquiry]] and [[Prometheus Books]]. He is editor in chief of ''[[Free Inquiry]]'' magazine, a publication of the Council for Secular Humanism. He was co-president of the [[International Humanist and Ethical Union]] (IHEU). He is a Fellow of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]], and Humanist Laureate and president of the International Academy of Humanism. As a member of the [[American Humanist Association]], he contributed to the writing of [[Humanist Manifesto II]]. The [[asteroid]] ''(6629) Kurtz'' was named in his honor. ==Early years== Kurtz received his [[bachelor's degree]] from [[New York University]], and the [[Master's degree]] and [[Doctor of Philosophy]] degree from [[Columbia University]]. Kurtz was [[Left-wing politics|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 camp|Dachau]] [[Nazi concentration camps|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. ==Secular humanism== Kurtz was largely responsible for the secularization of humanism.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} Before Kurtz embraced the term "[[secular humanism]]," which had received wide publicity through fundamentalist Christians in the 1980s, humanism was more widely perceived as a religion (or a [[pseudoreligion]]) that did not include the supernatural. This can be seen in the first article of the original [[Humanist Manifesto]] which refers to "Religious Humanists" and by Charles and Clara Potter's influential 1930 book ''[[Humanism: A New Religion]]''. Kurtz used the publicity generated by fundamentalist preachers to grow the membership of the [[Council for Secular Humanism]], as well as strip the religious aspects found in the earlier humanist movement. In 1999 Kurtz was given the International Humanist Award by the [[IHEU]]. Kurtz is the publisher of over 650 articles or reviews and has authored and edited over 40 books. Kurtz believes that the nonreligious members of the community should take a positive view on life. [[Religious skepticism]], according to Paul Kurtz, is only one aspect of the secular humanistic outlook. Kurtz coined the term [[eupraxsophy]] (originally ''eupraxophy'') to refer to philosophies or lifestances such as secular humanism and Confucianism that do not rely on belief in the transcendent or supernatural. A ''eupraxsophy'' is a [[irreligion|nonreligious]] lifestance or [[worldview]] emphasizing the importance of living an [[ethical]] and exuberant life, and relying on [[rational]] methods such as [[logic]], [[observation]] and [[science]] (rather than [[faith]], [[mysticism]] or [[revelation]]) toward that end. The word is based on the Greek words for "good practice and wisdom." Eupraxsophies, like religions, are cosmic in their outlook, but eschew the supernatural component of religion, avoiding the "transcendental temptation," as Kurtz puts it. ==Critique of the paranormal==<!-- This section is linked from [[Schizophrenia]] --> Another aspect in Kurtz’s legacy is his critique of the [[paranormal]]. In 1976 CSICOP started ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'', its official journal. Like [[Martin Gardner]], [[Carl Sagan]], [[Isaac Asimov]] and others, Kurtz has popularized [[scientific skepticism]] and [[critical thinking]] about claims of the paranormal. Kurtz wrote: <blockquote>[An] explanation for the persistence of the paranormal, I submit, is due to the transcendental temptation. In my book by that name, I present the thesis that paranormal and religious phenomena have similar functions in human experience; they are expressions of a tendency to accept [[magical thinking]]. This temptation has such profound roots within human experience and culture that it constantly reasserts itself.<ref>[http://www.csicop.org/si/2001-07/kurtz.html Quarter Century of Skeptical Inquiry, Paul Kurtz (Skeptical Inquirer July 2001)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref></blockquote> In ''The Transcendental Temptation'', Kurtz analyzes how provable are the claims of [[Jesus]], [[Moses]], [[Muhammad]] as well as the founders of religions on American soil such as [[Joseph Smith, Jr.|Joseph Smith]] and [[Ellen White]]. He also evaluates the antics of the most famous modern [[psychic]]s and what he believes are the fruitless researches of [[Parapsychology|parapsychologists]]. ''The Transcendental Temptation'' is considered among Kurtz's most influential writings.<ref>[http://www.csicop.org/list/listarchive/msg00214.html Paul Kurtz to Receive Award From Univ. of Buffalo<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> On 19 April 2007 Kurtz appeared on [[Penn & Teller]]'s television show [[Bullshit!]] arguing that [[exorcism]] and [[Satanism|Satanic cult]]s are "hype and paranoia."<ref name="PandT">{{cite news |url = http://www.sho.com/site/ptbs/prevepisodes.do?episodeid=s5/exorcism |title = on 5, Episode 5: Exorcism |work = [[Bullshit!]] |publisher = Showtime.com |date = 19 April 2007 |accessdate = 2007-05-22}}</ref> ==Bibliography== * ''[[The Transcendental Temptation: A Critique of Religion and the Paranormal]]'', 1986 ISBN 0-87975-645-4 * ''A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology'' (Paul Kurtz, editor), 1985, [[Prometheus Books]], ISBN 0-87975-300-5 * ''Forbidden Fruit: The Ethics of Humanism'', 1988, [[Prometheus Books]], ISBN 0-87975-455-5 * ''The New Skepticism: Inquiry and Reliable Knowledge'', 1992, Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-766-3 * ''The Courage to Become'', 1997, Praeger/Greenwood, ISBN 0-275-96016-1 * ''Living Without Religion: Eupraxophy'' ISBN 0-87975-929-1 * ''In Defense of Secular Humanism'' ISBN 0-87975-228-9 * ''Challenges to the Enlightenment: In Defense of Reason and Science'' by Paul Kurtz, ''et al'', 1994 ISBN 0-87975-869-4 * ''Skepticism and Humanism: The New Paradigm'', 2001 ISBN 0-7658-0051-9 * ''Science and Religion'' by Paul Kurtz, ''et al'', 2003 ISBN 1-59102-064-6 * ''Affirmations: Joyful And Creative Exuberance'', 2004 ISBN 1-59102-265-7 * ''What Is Secular Humanism?'', 2006 ISBN 1-59102-499-4 ==See also== *[[Center for Inquiry]] *[[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] *[[Council for Secular Humanism]] *[[Critical thinking]] *[[Eupraxsophy]] * ''[[Free Inquiry]]'' (magazine) *[[Humanist Manifesto II]] *[[Prometheus Books]] *[[Secular Humanism]] *[[Scientific skepticism]] ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=main&page=kurtz Paul Kurtz page] at the Council for Secular Humanism site *[http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/19/arts/television/19SKEP.html?ex=3D102549597=3&ei=3D1&en=3D8fc63718a4160f01 A Vigorous Skeptic of Everything but Fact] ''The New York Times'', June 19, 2002 (requires registration) *[http://www.rationalistinternational.net/conferences/2000/citation.htm Citation of Rationalist International Award 2000] to Paul Kurtz *[http://cura.free.fr/xv/14starbb.html A critical 1981 article about Kurtz and CSICOP] by a former colleague and CSICOP board member *[http://www.freethoughtassociation.org/minutes/2002/Jun12-2002.htm What is Secular Humanism?], speech by Paul Kurtz to the [[Freethought Association]] *[http://www.humanismtoday.org/vol6/kurtz.pdf In Defense of Eupraxophy] by Paul Kurtz, ''Humanism Today'' Vol 6, 1991. *[http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=kurtz_24_6 Eupraxsophy Revisited] by Paul Kurtz, republished from ''Free Inquiry Magazine'', Vol 24, Num 6, June/July 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtz, Paul}} [[Category:Atheist philosophers]] [[Category:Atheist thinkers and activists]] [[Category:American atheists]] [[Category:American humanists]] [[Category:American skeptics]] [[Category:American philosophers]] [[Category:People from Newark, New Jersey]] [[Category:People from Buffalo, New York]] [[Category:Columbia University alumni]] [[Category:New York University alumni]] [[Category:University at Buffalo faculty]] [[Category:American military personnel of World War II]] [[Category:1925 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Anti-cult organizations and individuals]] [[de:Paul Kurtz]] [[es:Paul Kurtz]] [[fr:Paul Kurtz]] [[pl:Paul Kurtz]] [[pt:Paul Kurtz]] [[fi:Paul Kurtz]] [[sv:Paul Kurtz]]