A.J. Ayer: A LifeA. J. Ayer (1910-1989) was a man of startling complexity: an exceptionally rigorous and penetrating philosopher, he was also a dedicated hedonist and seducer. He traveled in the most glamorous social circles, yet his friends found him oddly remote. Internationally acclaimed author Ben Rogers brings the brilliant, strangely vulnerable author of the classic Language, Truth, and Logic to vivid life, along with the Oxford intellectual world where he met Isaiah Berlin, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and many other great thinkers and writers of the era. Colorful, intimate, and often poignant, this is a powerful biography of a provocative and unforgettable man whose ideas changed the landscape of Western thought. "Beautifully written, sympathetic, and sensitive ... [a] balanced and rounded picture of a very complicated man." -- Simon Blackburn, The New Republic "A readable and well-researched account of the life and career of a remarkable figure." -- Lynwood Abram, Houston Chronicle "A.J. Ayer lived a fascinating life and in Rogers he has found an ideal biographer....." -- Frank McLynn, The New Statesman "Rogers succeeds in capturing the spirit of a philosophical maverick who many loved to hate." -- Kirkus Reviews "Exceptionally good ... A.J. Ayer weaves the philosophical, public, and private strands of Ayer's life together most skillfully." -- The Economist |
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A.J. AYER: A Life
User Review - Jane Doe - KirkusA sympathetic treatment of one of the 20th century's best-known British philosophers.When the chips are down it might be as tempting to criticize a philosopher who failed in his bold attempts to ... Read full review
A. J. Ayer: a life
User Review - Not Available - Book VerdictFor those who picture philosophers as otherworldly creatures with no lives of their own outside of the classroom, this biography will come as a pleasant surprise. Ayer (1910-89) lived an exciting ... Read full review
Contents
Teachers Bankers Merchants Wives | 8 |
Schooldays | 22 |
Apprentice | 37 |
Student | 51 |
Homecoming | 62 |
Marriage among the Scientists | 78 |
Apostle | 97 |
Language Truth and Logic or the Philosophy of Nonsense | 107 |
Professor | 206 |
The London Freddie Ayer | 226 |
All Change | 244 |
Oxford New York Toulon | 262 |
Benthamite Saint | 278 |
Central Questions | 298 |
Retirement | 318 |
Old Age | 334 |
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Common terms and phrases
A.J. Ayer admitted American Archive argued argument Austin Ayer found Ayer wrote Ayer's became believed boys Cambridge Carnap Christ Church Citroen College Cummingses Cyril Connolly Dee Ayer described dinner Dorus E.E. Cummings early Essays Eton experience fact father feeling Freddie and Renee Freddie's French friends gave Gilbert Ryle girlfriend Gully Hume Ibid intellectual Isaiah Berlin Jocelyn Rickards Jules Julian Language later least lectures lived logical positivism London looked married metaphysics mind moral Neurath never Nick October offered organised Oxford Paris party perhaps Peter Strawson Philip Toynbee philosophy played political problem propositions recalled remembered Richard Wollheim Russell Russell's Ryle Schlick seems sense sense-data spent Stuart Hampshire summer talk Ted Honderich theory things thought took Toynbee Tractatus Truth and Logic undergraduate Valerie Vanessa Vienna Circle wanted Wendy Wittgenstein writing York young
References to this book
The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World Alister E. McGrath No preview available - 2004 |
Bibliographic information
| Title | A.J. Ayer: A Life |
| Author | Ben Rogers |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Grove Press, 2002 |
| ISBN | 0802138691, 9780802138699 |
| Length | 402 pages |
| Subjects | › Biography & Autobiography / Philosophers |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |