Sense and Sensibilia
June 15, 2026 DOI: 10.1093/9780197910245.003.0005 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Austin's critique of Ayer's sense-data theory is forceful and reveals Austin's method, and proposes that their linked conceptions of sense and sensibility constitute a late stage in the grammatical field described by Empson. |
Abstract
Abstract This chapter offers a summary of Austin’s critique of sense-date theories in the philosophy of perception, as exemplified by the work of A. J. Ayer, and as published in a set of lecture notes entitled ‘Sense and Sensibilia’. By first tracing out the details of Austin’s critique of Ayer, the chapter not only brings out the force of that critique, but develops a far more specific understanding of the method employed to do so, at least as Austin himself appears to understand and characterize it. And in so doing, the chapter begins to make a case for understanding Ayer’s and Austin’s conception of the two linked notions as amounting to a late stage in the development of the grammatical field linking sense to sensibility in Empson’s account (analysed in the previous chapter).