In this major book the acclaimed author of language truth. Essential readings for the nonbeliever, and more on. 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 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. Ayer s language, truth, and logic was the first systematic presentation in english of the doctrines of logical positivism. Topics include the elimination of metaphysics, the function of philosophy, the nature of philosophic analysis, etc. Still, ayer was a major 20th century philosopher and ive always been drawn to his work. If you are a beginning student in philosophy this is a must read. Language, truth and logic is a 1936 book about meaning by the philosopher alfred jules ayer. The beauty of this book is that it is clear, concise and straightforward. 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. 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. A delightful book i should like to have written it myself. 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.
Alfred jules ayers language, truth and logic, the major. Sir alfred ayer was born in 1910 and educated as kings scholar at klein and as a classical. Ayer s fame was established with the publication of his first book, language, truth and logic, in 1936. He is most wellknown for his books language, truth and logic, and the problem of knowledge. Alfred jules ayer stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. This work introduced logical positivism to the englishspeaking world in a clear, vigorous, and persuasive style. Ayer, language, truth and logic royal institute of. 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. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. This page does not contain language, truth and logic, but a short abridgement for private. 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. Other articles where language, truth, and logic is discussed. On language and logic full talk saul kripke and timothy williamson duration. Statements are either true by definition as in maths, or can be verified by direct experience. Ayer published his first book, language, truth and logic, in 1936. 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.
For that reason, unless you are a serious student of philosophy, theres not much point in reading language, truth, and logic, especially given that ayer s own principle of verification has been more or less completely replaced in the scientific community by poppers principle of falsification. We reject metaphysics and knowledge of a transcendent reality. 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. Language, truth and logic dover books on western philosophy. 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. The foundations of empirical knowledge work by ayer. In this work the great combative proclamations of language, truth, and logic were replaced by a quieter treatment of skepticism, in which ayer presented the various theories of knowledge that have been propounded by philosophers as responses to a radical skeptic who argues for the existence of gaps between, on the one hand, the belief in an. The book offers an interesting approach about the relation between language and truth and the expression of thought versus philosophical thinking and fact reporting that i consider worth reading. Author of language, truth and logic, the foundations of empirical knowledge, the problem of knowledge. This has led ayer to become the object of much criticism, one critic dubbing him as the man who hated knowledge. It is not the sort of book that would be written by a philosopher at 56 or even 36. 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.
Ayer, including language, truth and logic, and the portable atheist. Squashed philosophers ayer language, truth and logic. 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. At the time of its publication, it was understood to be the major thesis of logical positivism macdonald. Discover book depositorys huge selection of a j ayer books online. Ayer explains how the principle of verifiability may be applied to the problems of philosophy. 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. 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. 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.
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. You will also learn how to distinguish ideas that cannot be verified by experiencethose expressing religious. I suppose the most important of the defects was that nearly all of it was false. Language, truth and logic is an audacious book, written when ayer was 26. In the context of other nineteenthcentury philosophies of language. Ayer rejects the metaphysical thesis that philosophy can give us knowledge of a transcendent reality. Language, truth, and logic work by ayer britannica. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read language, truth and logic. Experience philosophy knowledge, theory of language and languages. In 1936 alfred jules ayer published a book named, language, truth, and logic. Full text of alfred ayer language, truth and logic see other formats. J ayer and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
Ayer language, truth and logic squashed philosophers. While a student at oxford university, ayer spent the academic. Like many of the claims in the book itself, this verdict is open to question. Full text of alfred ayer language, truth and logic. Its a fact that philosophy consists of more than just the analysis of statements. 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. Ayers thought is strikingly clear and his logic is incisive, dealing the metaphysical idols a mighty blow. 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. In order to understand the verification principle, one must. Ayer s philosophy and its greatness by ted honderich after he got his b.
Language, truth and logic is a brief and charmingly audacious effort to retire metaphysics and its related issues. 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. The surest way to end them is to establish beyond questionwhat should be the purpose and method of a philosophical inquiry. It not only surveys one of the most important areas of modern thought. In the first place, it is necessary to draw a distinction. Kant accused metaphysicians of ignoring the limits of understanding, we accuse them of disobeying the rules of significant. Hanfling shows in this introduction to ayer s work how he turned this philosophy into a. Language truth logic by ayer, first edition abebooks. Ayer, 9780486200101, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Language, truth and logic dover books on western philosophy ebook. Buy a cheap copy of language, truth and logic book by a. Ayer sets up specific tests by which you can easily evaluate statements of ideas.
1432 238 259 1279 620 1390 434 1094 1013 1572 1232 741 993 392 272 1080 571 319 986 830 214 1385 77 1581 1138 1079 936 1357 1356 268 626 1256 1219 512 853 458 1259 718 1196 549 1164 964 939