Paul Thagard, PhD, is a philosopher, cognitive scientist, and author of many interdisciplinary books. He is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Waterloo and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Cognitive Science Society, and the Association for Psychological Science. The Canada Council awarded him a Molson Prize (2007) and a Killam Prize (2013). His book, Dreams, Jokes, and Songs: How Brains Build Consciousness, was published by Oxford University Press in July, 2025. Another book on AI will be publisehd by MIT Press: AI Boom or Doom? Philosophy and Psychology of the New Artificial Intelligence.
His previous book, Falsehoods Fly: Why Misinformation Spreads and How to Stop It, was published by Columbia University Press in February, 2024.
In 2022, Columbia University Press published Balance: How It Works and What It Means.
In 2021, MIT Press published Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart?
Paul Thagard’s Treatise on Mind and Society was published by Oxford University Press in 2019.
This page updated October 7, 2025.
Paul Thagard 