Vol. 6 No. 1 (2025): 70 Years of Tense-Logic
Articles

The Convolutions of Necessitarianism

David Jakobsen
Aalborg University

Published 13-01-2025

Keywords

  • A.N. Prior,
  • Determinism,
  • Moby Dick,
  • Tense-logic,
  • Dynamic view of time,
  • Realism
  • ...More
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How to Cite

Jakobsen, D. (2025). The Convolutions of Necessitarianism. Logic and Philosophy of Time, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.54337/lpt.v6i1.9942

Abstract

This article presents three letters written by Arthur Norman Prior to his wife Mary from 29th April 1945. Numbered 131–133, they concern ‘the convolutions of necessitarianism’, and is an analysis of how Fatalism and Despair constitutes a central theme in Melville’s Moby Dick. The letters discuss Jonathan Edwards’ view on predestination and, Luis de Molina’s theory of scientia media. They are relevant for understanding Prior’s later discussion of determinism and reveal that he had carried out extensive theological studies of Molinism as part of his work on reformed theology, was influenced by Barth’s discussion of Molinism in Church Dogmatics and viewed Molinism as a precursor of Jonathan Edwards’ theory and rejected both as Beltistian schemes, i.e., as a defense of the idea that God has created the best of all possible worlds. This article argues that Prior’s early study of determinism reveals a strong influence of Karl Barth’s criticism of Molinism, which, in light of Prior’s early criticism of Barth’s philosophical idealism, explains why he either had to reject divine foreknowledge or accept what he considered an unorthodox view of divine foreknowledge.

References

  1. Hasle, P. 2003. ‘Life and Work of Arthur N. Prior: An Interview with Mary Prior’, in Prior 2003, 293–310).
  2. Hasker, William (1989). God, Time, and Knowledge. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
  3. Jakobsen, D. 2019a. ‘A. N. Prior and “The Nature of Logic”’, History and Philosophy of Logic, doi:10.1080/01445340.2019.1605479.
  4. Jakobsen, D. (2020). Dispelling the Freudian Specter: A. N. Prior’s Discussion of Religion in 1943. In Hasle, P., Jakobsen, D. & Øhrstrøm, P. (Eds.), The Metaphysics of Time: Themes from Prior (pp. 63–85). Aalborg University Press. Logic and Philosophy of Time Vol. 4 https://vbn.aau.dk/ws/portalfiles/portal/395340573/The_Metaphysics_of_Time_OA.pdf
  5. Jakobsen, D. (2024). Tense-Logic and the Revival of Philosophical Theology. Philosophies, 9(5), Artikel 139.
  6. https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9050139
  7. Kenny, A., 1970. ‘Arthur Norman Prior (1914–1969)’, Proceedings of the British Academy, Vol. 56, pp. 321–49.
  8. Prior, A. N. 1931. ‘Essay Religious’, in Jakobsen, D., Øhrstrøm P. & Rini, A. (Eds.) 2020. Three Little Essays: Arthur Prior in 1931. (1. ed.) Aalborg University Press Logic and Philosophy of Time Vol. 3, pp. 167–228.
  9. Prior, A. N. 1958. ‘The syntax of time distinctions’, Franciscan Studies, 18(2), 105–20.
  10. Prior, A.N. 1966. Postulates for tense logic. American Philosophical Quarterly 3(2): 153–161.
  11. Prior, A. N. 1967. Past, Present and Future, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  12. Prior, A. N. 2014. A Statement of Temporal Realism, The Nachlass of A. N. Prior, https://nachlass.prior.aau.dk/paper/a-statement-of-temporal-realism
  13. Prior, A. N. 2003. ‘Limited Indeterminism’ in Hasle, P., Øhrstrøm, P., Bräuner, T. & Copeland, J. (Eds.) Papers on Time and Tense, Oxford University Press, 73–81.
  14. Prior, A. N. & Prior, M. 1945. ‘The Apocalypse of Ishmael.’ The Presbyter, November, 27–30
  15. Smith, Quentin (2001). The Metaphilosophy of Naturalism. Philo 4 (2):195-215.
  16. Wolterstorff, Nicholas (2009). How philosophical theology became possible within the analytic tradition of philosophy. In Oliver D. Crisp & Michael C. Rea (eds.), Analytic Theology: New Essays in the Philosophy of Theology. Oxford University Press. pp. 155--69.
  17. Øhrstrøm, P. (2014). What William of Ockham and Luis de Molina Would have said to Nuel Belnap: A Discussion of Some Arguments Against “The Thin Red Line”. In: Müller, T. (Eds.) Nuel Belnap on Indeterminism and Free Action. Outstanding Contributions to Logic, Vol. 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01754-9_9
  18. Prior, A. N. ‘Prior to Mary, [B46]’, Aalborg University, the Martin Prior Collection.
  19. Prior, A. N. Letter from Arthur to Mary Prior, 28th April 1945: Letter 130, the Ann Prior Collection box 3, The Bodleian Library, Oxford. Published in The Digital Prior Archive: https://virtuallab.prior.aau.dk/letter-from-arthur-to-mary-prior-28thapril-1945-letter-130
  20. Prior, A. N. First letter from Arthur to Mary, 29th April 1945: Letter 131, the Ann Prior Collection box 3, The Bodleian Library, Oxford. Published in The Digital Prior Archive: https://virtuallab.prior.aau.dk/first-letter-from-arthur-to-mary-29th-april-1945-letter-131
  21. Prior, A. N. Second letter from Arthur to Mary, 29th April 1945: Letter 132, the Ann Prior Collection box 3, The Bodleian Library, Oxford. Published in The Digital Prior Archive: https://virtuallab.prior.aau.dk/second-letter-from-arthur-to-mary-29th-april-1945-letter-132
  22. Prior, A. N. Third letter from Arthur to Mary, 29th April 1945: Letter 133, the Ann Prior Collection box 3, The Bodleian Library, Oxford. Published in The Digital Prior Archive: https://virtuallab.prior.aau.dk/third-letter-from-arthur-to-mary-29th-april-1945-letter-133