Books by AJ Ayer
“They envisaged an entirely rational world, based on the Enlightenment, where all problems were subjected to empirical analysis. And if they couldn’t be subjected to that, they didn’t exist. The philosopher AJ Ayer used to come to the Vienna Circle’s meetings. He wrote a book which was heavily based on their outlook, and which was called Language, Truth and Logic. I recommend that book if you want to have a bird’s eye view into the way they looked at the world (even if Ayer more or less disowned it later). It’s quite a short book, and, even for non-philosophers, mostly understandable.” Read more...
Nicholas Parsons, Historian
Interviews where books by AJ Ayer were recommended
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1
Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends
by Lonnie Johnson -
2
The Siege of Vienna: The Last Great Trial Between Cross & Crescent
by John Stoye -
3
Maria Theresa
by Edward Crankshaw -
4
Vienna: How the City of Ideas Created the Modern World
by Richard Cockett -
5
The Man Without Qualities
by Robert Musil -
6
The Capuchin Crypt (aka The Emperor's Tomb)
by Joseph Roth
The best books on Austria, recommended by Nicholas Parsons
The best books on Austria, recommended by Nicholas Parsons
Today, the Republic of Austria is a small country in Central Europe, but for centuries, it was the fulcrum of events going on in Europe, as the Habsburgs led the Holy Roman Empire—and later the multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire—until it all fell apart after World War I. Nicholas Parsons, author of the excellent The Shortest History of Austria, introduces us to books and novels that bring to life the history of a political, intellectual, and cultural powerhouse.
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1
Language, Truth and Logic
by AJ Ayer -
2
The World of Yesterday
by Stefan Zweig & Anthea Bell (translator) -
3
The Vienna Circle
by Friedrich Stadler -
4
Frank Ramsey: A Sheer Excess of Powers
by Cheryl Misak -
5
Exact Thinking in Demented Times: The Vienna Circle and the Epic Quest for the Foundations of Science
by Karl Sigmund
The best books on The Vienna Circle, recommended by David Edmonds
The best books on The Vienna Circle, recommended by David Edmonds
Members of ‘the Vienna Circle’ had strong views on what can and cannot be meaningfully said. They’ve had an enormous impact on modern philosophy, partly because the arrival of fascist rule in Austria scattered them around the world. Here, philosopher David Edmonds, author of The Murder of Professor Schlick, introduces us to their ideas, their milieu and the poignant background to their lives and thinking.
