Michael R. Ayers
Encyclopedia
Michael Richard Ayers, FBA, (born 1935) is a British philosopher and professor emeritus of philosophy
at the University of Oxford
. He studied at St. John's College
of the University of Cambridge
, and was a member of Wadham College, Oxford from 1965 until 2002. Among his students are well-known philosophers like Colin McGinn
and William Child.
Michael Ayers's research focuses are in the history of philosophy and in epistemology, metaphysics and language. He is co-editor of the Cambridge History of Seventeenth-Century Philosophy and subject editor of the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, has edited the work of George Berkeley and published on Descartes. His most influential contributions, however, concern the work of John Locke
. He is the author of Locke: Epistemology and Ontology as well as of several seminal articles on Locke's philosophy.
In 1987 Bryan Magee invited Michael Ayers to talk about Locke and Berkeley in the BBC's series The Great Philosophers.
More recently, Michael Ayers has published on metaphysics.
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. He studied at St. John's College
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
of the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, and was a member of Wadham College, Oxford from 1965 until 2002. Among his students are well-known philosophers like Colin McGinn
Colin McGinn
Colin McGinn is a British philosopher currently working at the University of Miami. McGinn has also held major teaching positions at Oxford University and Rutgers University. He is best known for his work in the philosophy of mind, though he has written on topics across the breadth of modern...
and William Child.
Michael Ayers's research focuses are in the history of philosophy and in epistemology, metaphysics and language. He is co-editor of the Cambridge History of Seventeenth-Century Philosophy and subject editor of the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, has edited the work of George Berkeley and published on Descartes. His most influential contributions, however, concern the work of John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
. He is the author of Locke: Epistemology and Ontology as well as of several seminal articles on Locke's philosophy.
In 1987 Bryan Magee invited Michael Ayers to talk about Locke and Berkeley in the BBC's series The Great Philosophers.
More recently, Michael Ayers has published on metaphysics.
Publications
- Philosophy and its past, Jonathan RéeJonathan RéeJonathan Rée is a British freelance historian and philosopher from Bradford. Educated at Oxford University, Rée was previously a Professor of Philosophy at Middlesex University, but gave up a teaching career in order to "have more time to think"....
, Michael Ayers, Adam Westoby: Harvester Press, 1978. - Philosophical works : including the works on vision George Berkeley 1685-1753. Michael Ayers (ed.) New ed., revised and enlarged. London : Dent, 1985.
- Locke London : Routledge 1991
- 'The foundations of knowledge and the logic of substance: the structure of Locke's general philosophy' in Locke Vere Chappell (ed.), Oxford University Press 1998
- The Cambridge history of seventeenth-century philosophy Daniel Garber, Michael Ayers: Cambridge University Press 1998
- 'What is Realism?' in Supplement to the Proceedings of The Aristotelian Society, Volume 75, Number 1, July 2001
- 'The Second Meditation and Objections to Cartesian Dualism' in Christia Mercer and Eileen O'Neill (eds.), Early Modern Philosophy: Mind, Matter, and Metaphysics, Oxford University Press, 2005
- 'Ordinary Objects, Ordinary Language and Identity' in The MonistThe MonistThe Monist: An International Quarterly Journal of General Philosophical Inquiry is an American academic journal in the field of philosophy. It was founded in October 1890 by Edward C. Hegeler, making it one of the longest-established journals in philosophy...
, Vol. 88, No. 4, October 2005 - Ayers, Michael R. "Substance, Reality, and the Great Dead Philosophers." American Philosophical QuarterlyAmerican Philosophical QuarterlyThe American Philosophical Quarterly is a scholarly journal for the publication of work in philosophy. It was created in 1964 and is published quarterly by University of Illinois Press. Some significant contributors include John Rawls...
7 (1970): 38-49.
The paper is a reply to:
External links