In 1936 A. J. Ayer, twenty four years old, publishes Language, Truth and Logic, carrying the Vienna Circle's logical positivism into English: a statement is meaningful only if verifiable, and metaphysics, theology, and much of ethics are thereby dissolved. The book is naturalism's most aggressive philosophical program of the century, and its verification principle is argued over for decades.
Tagged: Naturalism
The Event
- Date
- 1936 (exact)
- Era
- Pragmatism and Positivism; Standard periodization of naturalist history
- Location
- London; today London, England
- Traditions
- Naturalism
- Streams
- Naturalism
- Key figures
- A. J. Ayer
- Key texts
- Language, Truth and Logic
Primary Sources
- Ayer, A. J. Language, Truth and Logic. London: Gollancz, 1936.
Secondary Sources
- De Caro, Mario, and David Macarthur, eds. Naturalism in Question. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004.
- Gregory, Frederick. Scientific Materialism in Nineteenth Century Germany. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1977.
- Papineau, David. Philosophical Naturalism. Oxford: Blackwell, 1993.
Provenance: HIST-1412; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-30.
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World View
Naturalism
Naturalism holds that nature is all there is: the universe of matter, energy, and natural law needs no god, soul, or purpose beyond itself.