Alfred Jules Ayer (October 29, 1910 - June 27, 1989), better known as simply A. J. Ayer (and called Freddie by friends), was a British philosopher. He helped to popularise logical positivism in English-speaking countries in his books Language, Truth and Logic (1936) and The Problem of Knowledge (1956). October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 63 days remaining. ... 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... June 27 is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 187 days remaining. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Logical positivism (later referred to as logical empiricism) holds that philosophy should aspire to the same sort of rigor as science. ... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

He was educated at Eton College, and served in the British military during World War II. In some ways he was the philosophical successor to Bertrand Russell, although he gained fame more for adapting ideas of others than for true originality. The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a public school (that is, an independent, fee-charging secondary school) for boys. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air. ... Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM (18 May 1872–2 February 1970) was an influential mathematician, philosopher, and logician of the modern age, working mostly in the 20th century. ...

He is perhaps best known for his verification principle, an attempt at creating a process for determining whether a sentence has any logical meaning. In 1972-73 Ayer gave the Gifford Lectures at St. Andrews University, later published as The Central Questions of Philosophy. In the early twentieth century, the logical positivists put forth what came to be known as the verifiability theory of meaning. ... Logic (from Classical Greek λόγος (logos), originally meaning the word, or what is spoken, but coming to mean thought or reason) is most often said to be the study of arguments, although the exact definition of logic is a matter of controversy amongst philosophers (see below). ... The Gifford Lectures are lectures established by the will of Adam Lord Gifford (d. ... University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews was founded between 1410-1413 and is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the United Kingdom. ...

At several periods he taught or lectured in the United States, including serving as a visiting professor at Bard College in the fall of 1987, when he taught classes on "Moore and Russell" and "Ryle and Austin." At a party that same year Ayer, then 77, encountered Mike Tyson harassing Naomi Campbell and demanded Tyson stop. Tyson said "Do you know who the fuck I am? I'm the heavyweight champion of the world." Ayer replied "And I am the former Wykeham Professor of Logic!. We are both pre-eminent in our field; I suggest that we talk about this like rational men." Bard College, founded in 1860, is a four-year, small liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, on a 600 acre (2. ... Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966, New York City, USA) is a former professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion and is considered by some to be one of greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. ... Naomi Campbell on the cover of Vogue magazine. ...

Shortly before his death in 1989 he received publicity after having an unusual near-death experience, which to some suggested that he had moved away from his lifelong and famous religious scepticism. He may however simply have been attempting to report his experiences, in an honestly objective, empirical manner. Ascent in the Empyrean (Hieronymous Bosch) A near-death experience (NDE) is the perception reported by a person who nearly died or who was clinically dead and revived. ... Skepticism (Commonwealth spelling: Scepticism) can mean: Philosophical skepticism - a philosophical position in which people choose to critically examine whether the knowledge and perceptions that they have are actually true, and whether or not one can ever be said to have absolutely true knowledge; or Scientific skepticism - a scientific, or practical...

See also: a priori knowledge A priori is a Latin phrase meaning from the former or less literally before experience. In much of the modern Western tradition, the term a priori is considered to mean propositional knowledge that can be had without, or prior to, experience. ...

Further reading

• Ben Rogers, A.J. Ayer: A Life, Grove Press, 2001. [first chapter]