Alfred Jules Ayer

Wykeham Professor of Logic, New College, Oxford

The Central Questions of Philosophy

In his series of lectures, Ayer begins with a dismissal of metaphysics, particularly British neo-Hegelian thinkers, and puts forward a systematic view of pragmatic philosophy. He provides an illuminating overview on varied topics including the nature of philosophy, characters of scientific explanation, elements of logic, and claims of theology. Influenced by Wittgenstein and the Vienna Circle, he touches on the philosophy of language. He does not shy away from verification and falsification, contentious issues of the time.

Biography

Alfred Jules Ayer was born on 29 October 1910 in London. A philosopher, his first book, Language, Truth and Logic (1936), endorsed and popularised the ideas of logical positivism. He began teaching at Oxford in 1932, was elected Fellow of Wadham College in 1944, and named Dean in 1945. Thereafter, Ayer was Professor and Dean of the Arts Faculty at University College, London. In 1959, he returned to Oxford as Wykeham Professor of Logic and Fellow of New College until 1978, retiring in 1983 as Fellow of Wolfson College.

Fellow of the British Academy in 1952 and knighted in 1970, he received honorary degrees from Brussels, Trent University, Bard College, and Durham, among others. During the Second World War, he served as an officer in the Welsh Guards. Important works include The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge (1940), The Problem of Knowledge (1956), The Origins of Pragmatism (1968), Russell and Moore: The Analytical Heritage (1971), and Wittgenstein (1985). His autobiography was published in two volumes: Part of My Life (1977) and More of My Life (1984).

Published/Archival Resources

Published as The Central Questions of Philosophy.