Abstract
In the early thought of Arthur Prior, the idea of predestination played a considerable role. While on one hand he as a (largely) committed Presbyterian accepted the idea in some form or other, it also troubled him even from a very early stage of his intellectual life. From 1949 till 1953 a transition took place. During this time, he gave up his wider ambition of writing a History of Scottish Theology (and without doubt a highly systematical ‘history’ it would have been) and instead turned to modal and tense logic. At the same time he grew to be a firm defender of the notion of free will. There is no doubt that the connection between time, logic and determinism vs. indeterminism was a crucial theme and motivation from 1953 and onwards in the thought of Prior. This included some penetrating analyses of the notion of foreknowledge and its tense-logical implications. In this talk I will however focus on the theme of predestination in Prior’s early thought. It appears that his struggle with and finally rejection of predestination played a significant part in his development from being a practicing Presbyterian to his interest in tense-logic and indeterminism - and his ‘agnosticism’, respectively abandonment of religious beliefs.
| Original language | English |
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| Publication date | 3 Mar 2018 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 3 Mar 2018 |
| Event | Prior Day: Logic and Philosophy of AN Prior - Canterbury University , Christchurch, New Zealand Duration: 3 Mar 2018 → 3 Mar 2018 |
Seminar
| Seminar | Prior Day |
|---|---|
| Location | Canterbury University |
| Country/Territory | New Zealand |
| City | Christchurch |
| Period | 03/03/2018 → 03/03/2018 |