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 is a leap year starting on Sunday. ...

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. Eton College is a public school (that is, an independent, fee-paying secondary school) for boys in Eton, Berkshire near Windsor in England. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell (May 18, 1872 – February 2, 1970) was one of the most influential mathematicians, philosophers, and logicians 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. 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." In the early twentieth century, the logical positivists put forth what came to be known as the verifiability theory of meaning. ... Logic (from ancient Greek λόγος (logos), originally meaning the word, or what is spoken, but coming to mean thought or reason) is the study of arguments. ... 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. ...

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 skepticism. He may however simply have been attempting to report his experiences, in an honestly objective, empirical manner. A near-death experience (NDE) is the perception reported by a person who nearly died or who was clinically dead and revived. ...

At a party 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." Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966, New York City, USA) is a professional boxer. ... Naomi Campbell (born May 22, 1970) is an English supermodel and actress. ...

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.