When did Ayer write freedom and necessity?

When did Ayer write freedom and necessity?

1946
In “Freedom and Necessity” (1946), A.J. Ayer (1910–89) maintained that “to say that I could have acted otherwise is to say that I should have acted otherwise if I had so chosen.” The ability to do otherwise means only that, if the past had been different,…

What is knowledge according to Ayer?

According to Ayer, knowing is having the right to be sure; and in his The Problem of Knowledge, he maintains that we have the right to be sure in cases of self-evidence, truths directly warranted by experience, and when we have valid deductions based claims which we have the right to be sure about.

Was Ayer in the Vienna Circle?

Having secured a fellowship at the college of Christ Church, Ayer spent part of 1933 in Vienna, where he attended meetings of the Vienna Circle, a group of mostly German and Austrian philosophers and scientists who were just then beginning to attract the attention of philosophers in England and the United States.

Who is Ayer in philosophy?

Sir Alfred Jules “Freddie” Ayer FBA (/ɛər/; 29 October 1910 – 27 June 1989), usually cited as A. J. Ayer, was an English philosopher known for his promotion of logical positivism, particularly in his books Language, Truth, and Logic (1936) and The Problem of Knowledge (1956).

How does Ayer define freedom?

Compatibilists believe that freedom is possible even if all events are the result of natural law and/or chance. Ayer discusses and objects to one brand of compatibilism that asserts that freedom is the consciousness of necessity. This view says that we are free when we come to accept our destiny.

Was Ayer an empiricist?

Although Ayer’s views changed considerably after the 1930s, becoming more moderate and increasingly subtle, he remained loyal to empiricism, convinced that all knowledge of the world derives from sense experience and that nothing in experience justifies a belief in God or in any other extravagant metaphysical entity.

Was Ayer a determinist?

Having denied the existence of any causal necessity it was open to Ayer to be a compatibilist: determinism could be true (all action could be caused), but one could still accept that this left it open as to whether the agent could have done otherwise, given that the existence of the cause did not necessitate the action …

What kind of books did a.j.ayer write?

Ayer wrote two books on the philosopher Bertrand Russell, Russell and Moore: The Analytic Heritage (1971) and Russell (1972). He also wrote an introductory book on the philosophy of David Hume and a short biography of Voltaire.

Who is the author of the book Jane Eyre?

Jane Eyre at Wikisource. Jane Eyre /ɛər/ (originally published as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography) is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë, published under the pen name “Currer Bell”, on 16 October 1847, by Smith, Elder & Co. of London, England.

How old was Sir a.j.ayer when he died?

Sir A. J. Ayer FBA Born Alfred Jules Ayer ( 1910-10-29) 29 Octob Died 27 June 1989 (1989-06-27) (aged 78) Lond Alma mater Christ Church, Oxford Era 20th-century philosophy

Who was Sir Alfred Ayer and what did he do?

Sir Alfred Jules ” Freddie ” Ayer FBA ( /ɛər/; 29 October 1910 – 27 June 1989), usually cited as A. J. Ayer, was an English philosopher known for his promotion of logical positivism, particularly in his books Language, Truth, and Logic (1936) and The Problem of Knowledge…