Thomas Paine

by Alfred Jules Ayer

"A lively discussion of the life and writings of one of the premier revolutionaries of the eighteenth century. [Ayer's] chapters alternate between the externals of Paine's life and career in England, America, and France and analyses of Common Sense, The Rights of Man, The Age of Reason , other significant but less well known writings, and Paine's anticipations of the welfare state."— Reviews of New Books

"[An] exciting book about Paine's life and principles."—Christopher Hitchens, Newsday

Genres: Philosophy, Biography, Nonfiction

206 pages, Paperback

Published August 3, 1990

About the author

In 1910, Sir Alfred Jules Ayer was born in London into a wealthy family. His father was a Swiss Calvinist and his mother was of Dutch-Jewish ancestry. Ayer attended Eton College and studied philosophy and Greek at Oxford University. From 1946 to 1959, he taught philosophy at University College London. He then became Wykeham Professor of Logic at the University of Oxford. Ayer was knighted in 1970. Included among his many works are The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge (1940), The Problem of Knowledge (1956), The Origins of Pragmatism (1968), Metaphysics and Common Sense (1969), Bertrand Russell (1972) and Hume (1980), about philosopher David Hume. Later in life, Ayer frequently identified himself as an atheist and became active in humanist causes. He was the first vice president of the British Humanist Association and served as its president from 1965 to 1970. He was an Honorary Associate of the Rationalist Press Association from 1947 until his death. He was also an honorary member of the Bertrand Russell. In 1988, Ayer had a near-death experience in the United States after choking on salmon and subsequently losing consciousness. He wrote of his experience in “That Undiscovered Country” (New Humanist, May 1989): “My recent experiences have slightly weakened my conviction that my genuine death, which is due fairly soon, will be the end of me, though I continue to hope that it will be. They have not weakened my conviction that there is no god. I trust that my remaining an atheist will allay the anxieties of my fellow supporters of the British Humanist Association, the Rationalist Press Association and the South Place Ethical Society.” He died shortly after at age 78 in London. D. 1989.

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._J._Ayer

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ayer/

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~uctytho/AyerbyT...

http://badassphilosophers.tumblr.com/...

http://www.informationphilosopher.com...

Reviews

[MerryMeerkat · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars, Buy it.

Self purchase paperback.

First Impression: Love it.

General summary: Zita is thrown into a dungeon where she makes friends with a talking skeleton and talking ragpile. She gets help escaping but gets caught and this time is sent to the mines while the bad guy wants to take Earth for himself. Zita gets a pet rock and then unexpected help comes along. But then Zita is stabbed in the back so to speak. Zita gets more help from Femur and Raggy.  Lots of fighting ensues.  And I’ll leave it there so not to ruin anything.

Overall, awesome just like the first two. I sooo hope this author puts out more stuff. LOVE this work. I really hope one day to introduce my son to comics and hope he would like these even if the main character is a girl. 
"

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book by Ayer. A labour of love, quite obviously. We are presented alternating chapters on the personal life of Paine and his main works. I have always been an admirer of Thomas Paine, ever since I read the Mack Reynolds Section G novels where Paine is introduced as the man who was mainly responsible for the American revolution, had an impact on the French revolution and had tried very hard to ignite a revolution in England. Reading this book now, I am happy to report, that he did all this and was a man we should regard as a historical figure of first-rate importance. Ayer ends his biography with this quotation from one H.N. Brailsford:
"The neglected pioneer of one revolution, the honoured victim of another, brave to the point of folly, and as humane as he was brave, no man in his generation preached republican virtue in better English, nor lived it with a finer disregard of self."

Just beautiful. Paine, of course, is famous for his Common Sense, Rights of Man, and Age of Reason. It is probably the last book that is responsible for the fact that he is not nearly as highly regarded as he deserves. The Age of Reason is a book on Deism defending a rational religion, and denouncing Christianity as superstition. This is a position not popular with Christians, of course, but equally despised by atheists.
Paine was against monarchy and in favour of the representational government. He was moderate and revolutionary in his views at the same time, arguing for progressive tax for example. 1000 pounds income would leave 979 pounds to the man. Not bad. Ayer especially honours Paine as thinking up a blueprint for the welfare state, although as he admits, he had little actual influence in this respect. With any other guy I would have objected in drawing parallels to the present, but in Ayer’s case (a well-respected philosopher in his own right) it actually adds something to the tale. Something I always like it when someone admits that he does not understand something. And that is what Ayer does from time to time.

[Ginger Heskett]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14355051