Ayer requires that empirical statements must be able to be verified in practice.
Ayer requires that empirical statements must be able to be verified in practice.
For a statement to be empirical, it suffices that we can describe what an empirical test would be like. But, due to practical limitations, we might not be able to perform the test.
Ayer used "There are mountains on the far side of the moon" as an example. When he wrote, it wasn't technically possible to test the truth of this statement. But still, we could describe what such a test would be like. So the statement is meaningful; it's objectively true or objectively false, even though we might not yet know which it is.
So Ayer requires only that an empirical statement be able in principle to be verified.
Ayer requires that empirical statements must be able to be verified in practice.
For a statement to be empirical, it suffices that we can describe what an empirical test would be like. But, due to practical limitations, we might not be able to perform the test.
Ayer used "There are mountains on the far side of the moon" as an example. When he wrote, it wasn't technically possible to test the truth of this statement. But still, we could describe what such a test would be like. So the statement is meaningful; it's objectively true or objectively false, even though we might not yet know which it is.
So Ayer requires only that an empirical statement be able in principle to be verified.