Ayer on Metaphysics

Abstract

At the beginning of the Introduction to the second edition of his important and influential Language, Truth and Logic, Ayer admits that the questions with which it deals are not in all respects so simple as it makes them appear. At the same time he reiterates his conviction that the point of view which it expresses is substantially correct. This attitude—not uncommon among philosophers whose first book is not their last—has in particular inspired the development of Ayer’s views on metaphysics, which are the main topic of the present essay. Its aim is to argue that not only his early rejection of metaphysics as meaningless but also the later modification of his original view are open to serious objections; and to sketch an alternative account of the structure and function of metaphysics.