Did A. J. Ayer Bring Logical Positivism to England?

Grazer Philosophische Studien 100 (3):253-276 (2023)
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Abstract

Ayer’s Language, Truth and Logic (1936) was immediately regarded as a clear and faithful presentation of the views of the Vienna Circle to English-speaking readers. Since Ayer wrote this book after his visit to Vienna, where he participated in the meetings of the Circle, one may often hear to this day that he brought logical positivism to England. However, while Ayer’s conception was a form of logical positivism, it significantly differed from its Viennese counterpart(s). The key discrepancies are related to verificationism: this article aims to analyse these discrepancies. It will be claimed that upon his return from Vienna Ayer assumed positions that were no longer, or had never been, held in the Circle: regarding the verification principle, test-statements, phenomenalist reductionism and analyticity.

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10.1163/18756735-00000199

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A. J. Ayer. Editor's introduction. Logical positivism, edited by A. J. Ayer, The Free Press, Glencoe, Illinois, 1959, pp. 3–28; also first paperback edition, The Free Press, New York 1966, pp. 3–28. - Bertrand Russell. Logical atomism. A reprint of XXV 333. Logical positivism, edited by A. J. Ayer, The Free Press, Glencoe, Illinois, 1959, pp. 31–50; also ibid., pp. 31–50. - Moritz Schlick. Positivism and realism. A reprint of XVI 67. Logical positivism, edited by A. J. Ayer, The Free Press, Glencoe, Illinois, 1959, pp. 82–107; also ibid., pp. 82–107. - Carl G. Hempel. The empiricist criterion of meaning. A reprint of XVI 293. Logical positivism, edited by A. J. Ayer, The Free Press, Glencoe, Illinois, 1959, pp. 108–129; also ibid., pp. 108–129. - Rudolf Carnap. The old and the new logic. English translation of 3525 by Isaac Levi. Logical positivism, edited by A. J. Ayer, The Free Press, Glencoe, Illinois, 1959, pp. 133–146; also ibid., pp. 133–146. - Hans Hahn. Logic, mathematics and k. [REVIEW]Alonzo Church - 1970 - Journal of Symbolic Logic 35 (2):312-312.
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References found in this work

Language, Truth, and Logic.A. J. Ayer - 1936 - Philosophy 23 (85):173-176.
Testability and meaning (part 1).Rudolf Carnap - 1936 - Philosophy of Science 3 (4):420-71.
Intellectual Autobiography.Rudolf Carnap & Paul Arthur Schilpp - 1971 - Journal of Symbolic Logic 36 (1):178-179.
Verificationism and (Some of) its Discontents.Thomas Uebel - 2019 - Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy 7 (4):1-31.

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