Paul Kurtz, 86, a philosopher whose advocacy of reason ahead of faith helped define contemporary secular humanism, died Saturday at home in Amherst, N.Y., of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Mr. Kurtz taught philosophy at the University at Buffalo, part of the State University of New York, from 1965 until his retirement in 1991. But his wider influence came as founder in 1969 of Prometheus Books, a publisher of books and magazines devoted to fact-based, rather than faith-based, solutions to human problems. In more than 40 books and hundreds of articles, he promoted an ethical system outside of religion.
