A. J. Ayer
| Sir A. J. Ayer | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Alfred Jules Ayer 29 October 1910 London, England |
| Died | 27 June 1989 (aged 78) London, England |
| Education | Eton College |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
| Era | 20th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School |
Analytic philosophy Logical positivism |
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Main interests
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Language · Epistemology Ethics · Meaning · Science |
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Notable ideas
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Verification principle Emotivist ethics |
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Influences
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Influenced
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Sir Alfred Jules "Freddie" Ayer (/ɛər/; 29 October 1910 – 27 June 1989), usually cited as A. J. Ayer, was a British philosopher known for his promotion of logical positivism, particularly in his books Language, Truth, and Logic (1936) and The Problem of Knowledge (1956).
He was educated at Eton College and Oxford University, after which he studied the philosophy of logical positivism at the University of Vienna. From 1933 to 1940 he lectured on philosophy at Christ Church, Oxford.
During the Second World War Ayer was a Special Operations Executive and MI6 agent.
He was Grote Professor of the Philosophy of Mind and Logic at University College London from 1946 until 1959, after which he returned to Oxford to become Wykeham Professor of Logic at New College. He was president of the Aristotelian Society from 1951 to 1952 and knighted in 1970.
Ayer was born in St John's Wood, in north west London, to a wealthy family from continental Europe. His mother, Reine Citroën, was from the Dutch-Jewish family who founded the Citroën car company in France. His father, Jules Ayer, was a Swiss Calvinist financier who worked for the Rothschild family.
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