This is amazing...

[lilwilly]

Okay, at first I did not believe this was true but it comes straight from a biography on the man himself. Sir Alfred Jules Ayer (A.J. for short) the eminent British philosopher, logician, and heir of Russell wound up in the following hilarious and wonderful, yet true, situation:At yet another party he had befriended Sanchez [Fernando Sanchez, a

Comments

[cube00_2000]

That is pretty amazing on so many levels. I'm not too surprised though. For a logical postivist, Ayer seemed like a playboy himself. I scanned a biography on him last year. I wonder if Tyson would do the same now though. Doubt it. Prolly just ignore the guy.

[lilwilly]

Ayer was, from what I know, very much a playboy. He even succeeded Russell in that respect. Russell, being notorious for his mulitple marriages and affairs, didn't seem to have much compared to the flamboyant life that Ayer led. I recall that at one point, Ayer had up to six girlfriends and none of them even knew about each other; moreover, he was proud of the fact and would boast to friends.

As far as Tyson goes... I think Ayer's age gave him an advantage in that situation. I think even Tyson wouldn't wanna beat up on an old aged man. If Ayer had been 25 or 30 at the time and ran in proclaiming his philosophic credentials it may have been a bit different. Although I'm sure it was shocking to Mike Tyson anyhow. I mean, who in an attempt to intimdate during a physical altercation asserted their prowess in philosophic logic?

Re:

[cube00_2000]

I used to do such things in middle school but I always got beat up anyway....j/k

[kinz4]

this is incredible! i can see my friend bill as a philosophical playboy at 77, busting up spats between pop cultural icons.

[cube00_2000]

....and I'll be a dirty old man living in Waukesha :(

or not....:)

[lilwilly]

Haha. That would be interesting now, wouldn't it? Doubtful, but interesting. Although, I now have a great hankering to run into a room saving a cute girl and belting gallantly, "Desist! For I am Bill Sullivan, a philosophy major!" Sure, it doesn't sound as good as "I am former Wykeham Professor of Logic", but sadly I cannot impute such a title honestly.

Ohh, I know... better yet: "Desist! Else I shall negate the existential quantifier attached to your variable!"

[kinz4]

hey, whatever pushes those buttons. 'desist! i am a philosophy major!' may just do the trick (definitely does for me!). i'm still waiting for 'desist! i am an art major!' to do the same, but so far not so good.

[godinshackles]

A simple case of mind over matter.