Paul Thagard (born September 28, 1950) is a Canadian philosopher who specializes in philosophy, cognitive science, and the philosophy of science. Thagard is currently a professor of Philosophy at the University of Waterloo, with cross appointment to Psychology and Computer Science. He is the director of the Cognitive Science Program. Thagard is a prolific writer, and has contributed to research in analogy and creativity, inference, cognition in the history of science, and the role of emotion in cognition.In 2013 he was awarded the Izaak Walton Killam Award for his contribution to the field of engineering.