Paul Kurtz, who received his B.A. at NYU and his M.A. and Ph.D. at Columbia and was a Professor of Philosophy at SUNY-Buffalo, died last Saturday. Kurtz will be remembered as a fierce promoter of humanism and skepticism. For specific details on his life, see: NY Times obituary: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/nyregion/paul-kurtz-humanist-and-philosopher-dead-at-86.html Washington Post: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/nyregion/paul-kurtz-humanist-and-philosopher-dead-at-86.html As remembered by colleague Herb Silverman in Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/remembering-paul-kurtz/2012/10/23/4d4dbdb0-1d19-11e2-9cd5-b55c38388962_blog.html A 2002 NY Times article on Kurtz's work against the popular promotion of the paranormal: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/19/arts/vigorous-skeptic-everything-but-fact-his-target-paranormal-tv-film.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
Wikipedia is also a decent source for background on Kurtz; see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kurtz An interesting concept that Kurtz promoted is described in the Wikipedia entry; quoting: |Eupraxsophy | |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 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. Although critical of supernatural religion, | he has attempted to develop affirmative ethical values of naturalistic humanism.[20] -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=21332 or send a blank email to leave-21332-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
