• Show Full List - Cosmos
• Show Full List - Consciousness
• Show Full List - God

Robert Lawrence Kuhn

 

For Robert Lawrence Kuhn, Closer To Truth is a lifelong passion. With a doctorate in brain science and the author or editor of more than 25 books, Dr. Kuhn is a public intellectual who speaks and writes frequently. His article "Science as Democratizer," featured in American Scientist magazine, argues how the scientific way of thinking can influence global society; and "Why This Universe: A Taxonomy of Possible Explanations," featured in Skeptic Magazine, presents a universally exhaustive set of "ultimate reality generators."

Dr. Kuhn's books include Closer To Truth: Challenging Current Belief; Closer To Truth: Science, Meaning and the Future; Made In China: Voices From the New Revolution; Dealmaker; The Library of Investment Banking; Handbook for Creative and Innovative Managers; Frontiers in Creative and Innovative Management; New Directions in Creative and Innovative Management; and The Firm Bond: Linking Mission and Meaning in Business and Religion.Five of his books have been translated into Chinese, including two editions of Closer To Truth. His article "Does God Exist?", based on critical thinking, appeared in prominent publications in China.

Dr. Kuhn is recognized as an international investment banker and expert on China. Since 1989 he has been advising the Chinese government on economic policy, mergers and acquisitions, science and technology, media and culture, and international communications. He is Senior Advisor to Citigroup and was president and co-owner of The Geneva Companies, the leading mergers and acquisitions firm for middle market businesses, which he sold to Citigroup in 2001. Dr. Kuhn appears on CNBC / Bloomberg, writes commentaries in BusinessWeek, and has a featured column in Chief Executive magazine ("Uncommon Wisdom").

Dr. Kuhn is the author of The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin, a high-profile, 720 page biography of China's long-time leader -- based on special access and exclusive interviews - that Random House published worldwide in 2005 (English, Korean, Japanese). The Chinese edition was the number one bestselling book in China in 2005 with sales of over one million and substantial publicity. Dr. Kuhn has been featured on the front page of Chinese newspapers and as the cover story of Chinese magazines. His book is recognized as the first time that a biography of a living Chinese leader has been published on the Chinese mainland, and stories of its success in China have run in the international press.

Dr. Kuhn's current writings on China focus on its economic, social and political development, and on the philosophies and policies of President Hu Jintao and China's new political leadership. Since 2005, Dr. Kuhn has visited 22 provinces and 40 cities in China meeting leaders in government and business. He was said to be the first foreigner to lecture, in China and internationally, on President Hu's "Scientific Development Perspective," which seeks integrated solutions to complex economic, environmental, social and political problems. His forthcoming book on China's reform and opening up is entitled How China's Leaders Think: The Inside Story of China's 30 Years Reform and What It Means for the Future of the World (working title), Dr. Kuhn is Senior International Advisor of Global People magazine, published by People's Daily.

Dr. Kuhn was the creator and executive producer of the first documentary series, co-produced with China Central Television (CCTV), on China's economic reform produced for both Chinese and American audiences. The eight-part Chinese-language series, Capital Wave, was broadcast nationwide in China on CCTV in 1999. The English-language documentary, In Search of China, is a ninety-minute PBS special that gives fresh understanding of the new China through intimate access and character-driven stories (2000). The Washington Post awarded In Search of China its "Pick of the Week." Dr. Kuhn was also executive producer of Khachaturian, which was awarded Best Documentary at the Hollywood Film Festival in 2003.

Dr. Kuhn holds an A.B. in human biology from Johns Hopkins University (1964, Phi Beta Kappa); a Ph.D. in anatomy / brain research from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA Brain Research Institute, 1968); and an M.S. in management from the MIT Sloan School of Management (Sloan Fellows program, 1980). He taught psychology at MIT and was adjunct full professor of business and financial strategy at New York University (NYU Stern School of Business, 1981-1989). He is Senior Fellow at the IC2 Institute of the University of Texas at Austin (1983- ); a trustee of Claremont Graduate University; and serves on the Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Dr. Kuhn is chairman of The Kuhn Foundation, which he founded and funded to disseminate new knowledge and understanding in science and philosophy, support cultural endeavors, and promote good relations between America and China. He is vice chairman of the new Beijing Institute for Frontier Science and on the editorial board of Frontier Science journal. Dr. Kuhn initiated a high-level conference between the AAAS and the Chinese Association for Science and Technology on "Scientific Ethics, Responsibility and Freedom" (2007).

The new production of Closer To Truth, scheduled for premiere release in mid/late 2008 and consisting of over 200 episodes for broadcast and web, will be structured in three series: Consciousness (brain, mind, free will, personal identity, alien intelligence, parapsychology), Cosmos (cosmology, fundamental physics, philosophy of cosmology and physics, emergence, science and religion), and God (philosophy of religion, philosophical theology, critical thinking). Featured are over 125 of the world's leading scientists, philosophers, scholars and thinkers.

Aritlces

Why This Universe: Toward a Taxonomy of Possible Explanations
Skeptic: Volume 13, Number 2, 2007. All possible ways, manners and reasons the universe might exist -- outlined, organized, described and referenced in four sections: One Universe Models; Multiple Universe Models; Nonphysical Causes; Illusions.

Cosmos, Consciousness, God
Chief Executive: June 2008. How the Big Questions of existence can affect business. Public fascination with cosmos, consciousness and God is growing, and top management should know what’s happening.

Science as Democratizer
American Scientist: Volume 91, September-October 2003. How science and critical thinking can engender democracy around the world.  An argument for how science can strengthen democracy and promote public participation in the political process.