Freedom and Morality and other Essays

by Alfred Jules Ayer

This is a representative collection of the work of the late A.J. Ayer, one of the most influential contemporary philosophers. It includes his Whidden lectures on freedom and morality, which were presented at McMaster University in 1983, a previously unpublished essay on J.L. Mackie's Theory
of Causal Priority, and seven other essays which cover such topics as references and identity, the causal theory of perception, the prisoner's paradox, self-evidence and certainty, and the history of the Vienna Circle.

Genres: Philosophy, Essays, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

In 1910, Sir Alfred Jules Ayer was born in London into a wealthy family. His father was a Swiss Calvinist and his mother was of Dutch-Jewish ancestry. Ayer attended Eton College and studied philosophy and Greek at Oxford University. From 1946 to 1959, he taught philosophy at University College London. He then became Wykeham Professor of Logic at the University of Oxford. Ayer was knighted in 1970. Included among his many works are The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge (1940), The Problem of Knowledge (1956), The Origins of Pragmatism (1968), Metaphysics and Common Sense (1969), Bertrand Russell (1972) and Hume (1980), about philosopher David Hume. Later in life, Ayer frequently identified himself as an atheist and became active in humanist causes. He was the first vice president of the British Humanist Association and served as its president from 1965 to 1970. He was an Honorary Associate of the Rationalist Press Association from 1947 until his death. He was also an honorary member of the Bertrand Russell. In 1988, Ayer had a near-death experience in the United States after choking on salmon and subsequently losing consciousness. He wrote of his experience in “That Undiscovered Country” (New Humanist, May 1989): “My recent experiences have slightly weakened my conviction that my genuine death, which is due fairly soon, will be the end of me, though I continue to hope that it will be. They have not weakened my conviction that there is no god. I trust that my remaining an atheist will allay the anxieties of my fellow supporters of the British Humanist Association, the Rationalist Press Association and the South Place Ethical Society.” He died shortly after at age 78 in London. D. 1989.

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._J._Ayer

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ayer/

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~uctytho/AyerbyT...

http://badassphilosophers.tumblr.com/...

http://www.informationphilosopher.com...

Reviews

[Andrew Noselli · Rating 3 out of 5]

It appears from recent articles in the New York Times regarding emerging companies like NeuralNet, that the external appearance of private date is becoming a reality. While I don't find myself rushing to re-read Gilbert Ryle's The Concept of Mind as yet, I did find A.J. Ayer's recapitulation of Wittgenstein's idea regarding private language vs. public action could warrant taking up by the justices of the Supreme Court, as they will be most assuredly exerting themselves in this direction. There is even an emerging call to define what exactly is the nature of our personal sensory and neural data and can it be marketed on a privatized basis or whether such extra-physical data belongs to the individual and, as such, merits being enshrined in Bill of Rights and possibly the American Constitution but this time on a global scale. Three stars.