But at 26 you can still convince yourself that your position is right even as all of the great philosophers of history are wrong or at least mislead and mistaken. Ayer is best remembered for language, truth and logic 1936, which introduced british and american readers to the logical positivism of the vienna circle. In order to understand the verification principle, one must. Sir alfred ayer was born in 1910 and educated as kings scholar at klein and as a classical. Ayer s work of logical positivism, language, truth, and logic, and examines in particular the criticisms of three main positions in ethics which he views as. Ayer s language, truth, and logic was the first systematic presentation in english of the doctrines of logical positivism. Ayer is a mid20thcentury exponent of the angloamerican analytical tradition in philosophy including the work of bertrand russell and others which seeks to reduce the discipline to applications of logic. Bertrand russellfirst published in 1936, this first fulllength presentation in english of the logical positivism of carnap, neurath, and others has gone through many printings to become a classic of thought and communication. Language, truth and logic dover books on western philosophy. If you are a beginning student in philosophy this is a must read. It is not the sort of book that would be written by a philosopher at 56 or even 36. Ayer, language, truth and logic royal institute of.
Ayer 19101989 was only 24 when he wrote the book that made his philosophical name, language, truth, and logic hereafter. Kant accused metaphysicians of ignoring the limits of understanding, we accuse them of disobeying the rules of significant. Language, truth and logic is a 1936 book about meaning by the philosopher alfred jules ayer. Essential readings for the nonbeliever, and more on. Ayer, 9780486200101, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. This has led ayer to become the object of much criticism, one critic dubbing him as the man who hated knowledge. Language truth logic by ayer, first edition abebooks passion for books. Ayer, was an english philosopher known for his promotion of logical positivism, particularly in his books language, truth, and logic 1936 and the problem of knowledge 1956. He is most wellknown for his books language, truth and logic, and the problem of knowledge. Language, truth, and logic important papers and a book, the foundations of empirical knowledge 1940, he wrestled with critics who doubted that all meaningful discourse could be analyzed in terms of sense experience. Ayer, including language, truth and logic, and the portable atheist. Its an important work in the field of epistemology, but not particularly readable. Ayer s 1956 book, the problem of knowledge, deals with philosophy and knowledge, skepticism and certainty, perception and sensedata, memory, and ones knowledge of other minds. This work introduced logical positivism to the englishspeaking world in a clear, vigorous, and persuasive style.
We reject metaphysics and knowledge of a transcendent reality. On language and logic full talk saul kripke and timothy williamson duration. Ayer sets up specific tests by which you can easily evaluate statements of ideas. Language, truth and logic by ayer, alfred jules and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Other articles where language, truth, and logic is discussed. Topics include the elimination of metaphysics, the function of philosophy, the nature of philosophic analysis, etc. Ayer was asked for an evaluation of his youthful language, truth and logic ltl, he replied. This page does not contain language, truth and logic, but a short abridgement for private. Language, truth and logic in mathematics jaakko hintikka springer being in every sense a young mans book, it was written with more passion than most philosophers allow themselves to show, at any rate in their published work, and while this probably helped to secure it a larger audience than it might have had otherwise, i think now that much of its argument would have. Hanfling shows in this introduction to ayer s work how he turned this philosophy into a. While a student at oxford university, ayer spent the academic. The beauty of this book is that it is clear, concise and straightforward.
Squashed philosophers ayer language, truth and logic. The foundations of empirical knowledge work by ayer. Ayer if you cant prove something, it is literally senseless so argues ayer in this irreverent and electrifying book. Full text of alfred ayer language, truth and logic see other formats. I believe that we are going back to theosophy in terms of cycles of movements and this one is a key book in that region of thought. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Language, truth, and logic work by ayer britannica. Language, truth and logic is a 1936 book about meaning by the philosopher alfred jules ayer, in which the author defines, explains, and argues for the verification principle of logical positivism, sometimes referred to as the criterion of significance or criterion of meaning. Its explanation of the role of intuition in establishing knowledge is clumsy. Language, truth and logic 1936 the foundations of empirical knowledge 1940 philosophical essays 1954 the problem of knowledge 1956 the concept of a person and other essays 1963 the origins of pragmatism 1968 metaphysics and common. In it he put forward what were understood to be the major theses of logical positivism, and so established himself as the leading english representative of the movement, viennese in origin. Alfred jules ayer stanford encyclopedia of philosophy.
Ayer rejects the metaphysical thesis that philosophy can give us knowledge of a transcendent reality. Discover book depositorys huge selection of a j ayer books online. J ayer and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Still, ayer was a major 20th century philosopher and ive always been drawn to his work. You will also learn how to distinguish ideas that cannot be verified by experiencethose expressing religious. At the time of its publication, it was understood to be the major thesis of logical positivism macdonald. Ayers thought is strikingly clear and his logic is incisive, dealing the metaphysical idols a mighty blow.
Its a fact that philosophy consists of more than just the analysis of statements. In 1936 alfred jules ayer published a book named, language, truth, and logic. Language truth logic by ayer, first edition abebooks. Buy a cheap copy of language, truth and logic book by a. In the first place, it is necessary to draw a distinction. Aj freddie ayer, 1936 language, truth and logic the principles of logic and mathematics are true simply because we never allow them to be anything else. Language, truth and logic is an audacious book, written when ayer was 26. Like many of the claims in the book itself, this verdict is open to question. It not only surveys one of the most important areas of modern thought. Full text of alfred ayer language, truth and logic.
Ayer s fame was established with the publication of his first book, language, truth and logic, in 1936. In this major book the acclaimed author of language truth and logic tackles one of the central issues of philosophy how can we be sure we know anything by setting out all the sceptics arguments and trying to counter then one by one. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Language, truth and logic is a brief and charmingly audacious effort to retire metaphysics and its related issues. It brought him a success out of all proportion to its sales of just over 1,000 copies 64 years later, the book still sells 2,000 a year in britain. In the context of other nineteenthcentury philosophies of language. Ayer s book language, truth and logic introduction this essay will consist in an exposition and criticism of the verification principle, as expounded by a.
In this major book the acclaimed author of language truth. Ayer s philosophy and its greatness by ted honderich after he got his b. Nevertheless, i have now reread the book a number of times and find his insights into analytic philosophy invaluable, especially for a good understanding of logical empiricism. Statements are either true by definition as in maths, or can be verified by direct experience. Alfred jules ayers language, truth and logic, the major. I suppose the most important of the defects was that nearly all of it was false. Language, truth and logic is a lovely thing, and he had the good fortune to see it reprinted throughout.
Ayer 19101989 was only 24 when he wrote the book that made his philosophical name, language, truth, and logic hereafter ltl, published in 1936. A delightful book i should like to have written it myself. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read language, truth and logic. Ayer explains how the principle of verifiability may be applied to the problems of philosophy. It can be thought of as a recapitulation and refinement of, and an addition to, some central points made earlier in language, truth, and logic.
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