Amherst skeptic Paul Kurtz has died

AMHERST, NY (WIVB) - Popular Amherst philosopher Paul Kurtz has died.  He was 86 years old..

Kurtz was a secular humanist, even called the father of the movement, and was known to debunk paranormal events, psychics and astrologers.

He devoted his life to fighting prejudice against people who reject belief in a god and promoting a non-religious stance in life

He founded The Center For Inquiry and a magazine, The Skeptical Inquirer, which focused on science and reason to examine the unexplained including UFOs and medical cures.

Kurtz was a World War II veteran, one of those who liberated the Dachau Concentration Camp. He taught philosophy at several colleges after earning a doctorate in philosophy at Columbia University.