Alfred Jules Ayer's Critique of Metaphysics

OpenAlex İngilizce

Logical Positivism stands out as one of the most remarkable and most controversial theories of twentieth century philosophy. Alfred Jules Ayer, one of the leading representatives of this theory, participated from the front line in the war against metaphysics waged by Logical Positivism, and his work Language, Truth and Logic became one of the most well-known manifestos of the theory. Although the theory has been subjected to intense criticism and largely abandoned since the second half of the twentieth century, the ideas at the core of Logical Positivism have taken on different forms and have survived to the present day. Therefore, Logical Positivism’s critique of metaphysics has not only historical but also contemporary significance. The aim of this study will be to present the arguments underlying Ayer's defense of the elimination of metaphysics and then to address the main criticisms directed to this theory. Keywords: Logical positivism, Alfred Jules Ayer, metaphysics, verifiability, Vienna Circle.