A. J. Ayer Quotes
Alfred Jules Ayer was a British philosopher and the most prominent representative of logical positivism in the English-speaking world. Having spent time with the Vienna Circle while still in his early twenties, he returned to Oxford and published Language, Truth and Logic at twenty-six, an uncompromising defense of the verification principle and an emotivist analysis of ethics that became one of the most widely read philosophy books of the century. The quotes below are attributed to A. J. Ayer, organized by topic.
Browse A. J. Ayer by topic
A. J. Ayer on God
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“I suddenly stopped and looked out at the sea and thought, my God , how beautiful this is … for 26 years I had never really looked at it before.”
On his greater appreciation of the scenery of the world, after his near-death experience, as quoted in "Did atheist philosopher see God when he 'died'?" by William Cash, in National Post (3 March 2001). -
“I saw a Divine Being . I'm afraid I'm going to have to revise all my various books and opinions .”
A statement he made soon after recovering from his near-death experience , as reported by Dr. Jeremy George, in "Did atheist philosopher see God when he 'died'?" by William Cash, in National Post (3 March 2001) .
A. J. Ayer on Knowledge
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“The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge (1940).”
I am using the word " perceive ". I am using it here in such a way that to say of an object that it is perceived does not entail saying that it exists in any sense at all. And this is a perfectly correct and familiar usage of the word. If there is thought to be a difficulty here, it is perhaps because there is also a correct and familiar usage of the word "perceive", in which to say of an object t -
“I see philosophy as a fairly abstract activity, as concerned mainly with the analysis of criticism and concepts, and of course most usefully of scientific concepts.”
As quoted in Profile of Sir Alfred Ayer (June 1971) by Euro-Television, quoted in A.J. Ayer: A Life (1999), p. 2. -
“Philosophy in the Twentieth Century (1982) p. 133.”
There never comes a point where a theory can be said to be true . The most that one can claim for any theory is that it has shared the successes of all its rivals and that it has passed at least one test which they have failed.
A. J. Ayer on Life
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“There is philosophy , which is about conceptual analysis — about the meaning of what we say — and there is all of this … all of life .”
Emphasizing his views on philosophy as something abstract and separate from normal life to Isaiah Berlin , in the early 1930s, as quoted in A.J. Ayer: A Life (1999) by Ben Rogers, p. 2. -
“It seems that I have spent my entire time trying to make life more rational and that it was all wasted effort.”
As quoted in The Observer (17 August 1986).
A. J. Ayer on Mind
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“I am using the word " perceive ". I am using it here in such a way that to say of an object that it is perceived does not entail saying that it exists in any sense at all. And this is a perfectly correct and familiar usage of the word. If there is thought to be a difficulty here, it is perhaps because there is also a correct and familiar usage of the word "perceive", in which to say of an object that it is perceived does carry the implication that it exists.”
The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge (1940).
A. J. Ayer on Truth
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Attributed to A. J. Ayer:
“No statement which refers to a reality transcending the limits of all possible sense-experience can have any literal significance.”
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Attributed to A. J. Ayer:
“The presence of an ethical symbol in a proposition adds nothing to its factual content.”
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Attributed to A. J. Ayer:
“I tend to think that art expresses what cannot be put into theoretical form.”
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Attributed to A. J. Ayer:
“It is silly, as well as presumptuous, for any one philosopher to claim that he is bringing the pursuit of truth to its conclusion.”
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“There never comes a point where a theory can be said to be true . The most that one can claim for any theory is that it has shared the successes of all its rivals and that it has passed at least one test which they have failed.”
Philosophy in the Twentieth Century (1982) p. 133.
A. J. Ayer on Virtue
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Attributed to A. J. Ayer:
“There are no moral truths, but only moral attitudes.”
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“No moral system can rest solely on authority .”
Humanist Outlook (1968), p. 4.