A. J. Ayer Quotes on Mind
Alfred Jules Ayer was a British philosopher and the most prominent representative of logical positivism in the English-speaking world. This page collects quotes attributed to A. J. Ayer on the topic of mind, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
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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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“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). -
“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). -
“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).