I first heard about Dr. Paul Kurtz back in the 1990s from my then Ph.D. advisor, Michael Ruse. Michael had just published one of his books with Prometheus Books and stated how impressed he was that such a relatively obscure publishing house from 1969 had grown to produce such high quality works. Michael had also told me that many serious academics were seeking out and were intent on publishing with Prometheus. I can also remember how captivated I was when first learning about this American philosopher, Paul Kurtz, who named a publishing company after a Greek mythological Titan who stole fire from the gods to give to humans. I remember thinking then that this was a philosopher I would very much like to meet.

I owe a lot to Paul Kurtz. He opened my eyes to the nuances of humanism. And he demonstrated to me that a philosopher can be more than simply an ivory tower academic. Paul has greatly helped to change the way the world understands secular philosophy and he has paved the way for an entire movement.