THOUGHTS AND BIOGRAPHIES ALFRED JULES AYER (1910-1989)

Alfred Jules Ayer is the Oxford philosopher known as a broadcaster. Adherents of analytical philosophy seems atheist and in some people's eyes he was a political radical. However, he is best known as "logical positivism" and its commitment to strict empiricism based on the "data-sense", an attitude known as Phenomenalism. His best work was Language, Truth and Logic and The Problem of Knowledge, although he also wrote about pragmatism, freedom and morality, Russell, Hume and Voltaire.

Language, Truth and Logic (1936) is a classic description of logical positivism. Ayer restrict meaningful statement in the notice that is empirically verifiable and statements which by itself has clearly right or wrong. Religious and metaphysical statements are not included in this category and therefore not meaningful. In this book there is also a discussion of the purpose of philosophy.

What makes a sentence as a meaningful proposition. First of course is clear he was referring to things clearly. For example the phrase "National Monuman in Jakarta"; This sentence clearly refers to something. Whether or not this sentence can be determined whether this proposition is true or not. In contrast to this one sentence: "Now the night sky fresher than outside." This sentence is not clearly refer to what. It can not be determined more or less true. Which determines whether a sentence is meaningful or whether a sentence proposition can be verified or not. Examples of the first sentence would be verified because it can be proved that the sentence is true or false by observation. We can go to Jakarta to see whether or not the National Monument. So the significance of a sentence is determined by whether or not the sentence is observed through the senses.

Outside of observable by the senses, there are sentences that have meaning. That sentence related to mathematics and logic. These sentences were meaningful because these sentences have never exceeded the reality of language. For example: "1 + 1 = 2"; "Rectangle is the waking up that has four sides perpendicular"

This led him and other Neo underestimated positivist theology, ethics and aesthetics. Propositions that can not be proved. For example is the statement: "God created the world in seven days, God does not exist, everyone should love each other, all the people should not be killed, this painting is very high art, the girl was very pretty." These sentences do not have meaning and more nature emotions. Religious statement (even atheism) are not meaningful.

Another statement that is allowed is a statement that can be observed in part only. For example the statement "all metals expand" only took an observation on the metal portion alone to determine its significance for the whole of pure observation is not possible.

There are shortcomings in Ayer's theory. Ayer restrict a statement becomes meaningful only if it can be referred to an empirical observation. Finally, it also restricts the field of knowledge on the empirical truth. A statement is a value expressed as statements that are not true or false. What about the statement "I am cold"? Actually most crushing criticism comes from the core of the theory itself. Statements made Ayer could not be observed and not a tautology. In other words Ayer writing itself is not meaningful.