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The Philosopher Who Crossed the Room and Stopped a Boxer
The Philosopher Who Crossed the Room and Stopped a Boxer
At a Manhattan party in 1987, an elderly man with a bad heart crossed a crowded room to confront the most feared athlete on the planet, using nothing but words. He was seventy-six years old, a lifelong philosopher who had spent his entire career insisting that moral claims like "this is wrong" carry no factual truth at all. What made him move, and did the moment prove his life's argument or break it?
In this episode, we trace the life of Alfred Jules Ayer from his wartime childhood and Oxford education through his encounter with the…
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