Ayer, A. J. (1910-1989), a British philosopher, acquired an early reputation with his book Language, Truth and Logic (1936). This book introduced the philosophy known as logical positivism onto the British philosophical scene, see Positivism (Logical positivism) . It ranks among the most influential books on philosophy of the 1900’s.
Ayer’s other important philosophical works include The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge (1940), The Problem of Knowledge (1956), The Central Questions of Philosophy (1973), and Philosophy in the Twentieth Century (1982). Ayer also wrote studies of philosophers, notably Wittgenstein: The Man and his Philosophy (1981), Voltaire (1986), and Thomas Paine (1988). Ayer wrote two volumes of autobiography, Part of My Life: The Memoirs of a Philosopher (1977) and More of My Life (1984).
Alfred Jules Ayer was born on Oct. 29, 1910, in London. He studied at Eton College from 1923 to 1929 and at Oxford University, where he earned a B.A. degree in 1932 and an M.A. degree in 1936. He was Grote Professor of the Philosophy of the Mind and Logic from 1946 to 1959 at London University. Ayer held the position of Wykeham Professor of Logic at Oxford University from 1959 until 1978. He was knighted in 1970. He died on June 27, 1989.
