Abstract
Recently scholars have discovered a diary entry of Arthur Norman Prior dated the 25 March 1942 (Prior in The Nachlass of A.N. Prior, 2014a), in which Prior is reflecting on his own views and attitudes towards theology. The purpose of the present article is to consider what the diary entry can teach us about this period of transition in Prior’s life, and its effects upon his philosophical interests. This article will argue that the diary entry provides an explanation for why theology continued to be significant in Prior’s work.
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Notes
According to Kenny, Prior began at Otago as a medical student, but changed to philosophy and psychology after one year. (Kenny 1971)
The SCM had its origin in the World Student Christian Federation founded by John R. Mott, and its influence was quite large in the beginning of the twentieth century.
Grimshaw (2002) explores such themes, looking at Prior’s view of Barthianism and its influence.
For a discussion on the dating of ‘Faith, Unbelief and Evil’, as well as its significance, see Jakobsen 2012.
The impact of logical positivism is seen in a Freudian redefinition of what the meaning of the word ‘God’ really is. God does exist, if you like to put it that way, but He is not what He purports to be. When men talk about ‘God’, they are really talking about such beings as their parents, the primeval father of the race, or Moses, the father of the Jewish Church-nation; and when they speak of their ‘sin’ or murderous hostility to God, it is their hostility to these persons that they are describing. (Prior 1955, p. 146)
While the physical archive is located at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the content of box 7 can be studied at the virtual lab for Prior studies: research.prior.aau.dk.
Alexander Miller had a huge influence on Prior. Miller later completed a Ph.D. in theology under Reinhold Neibuhr and headed the Religious Studies Department at Stanford in 1951. We have no correspondence between Miller and Prior that would indicate that their friendship continued after Miller left New Zealand, and according to Prior’s son, Martin Prior, the relation between Prior and Miller did not persist (personal communication).
In ‘Can Religion be Discussed’ (1942), Prior explains:
I have always felt that it must be possible to give an adequate explanation of religious faith on the hypothesis that it is an illusion; and now you [Psychoanalyst] have shown me in a broad way how it might be done. It is also possible, however, to explain the fact of faith, and the corresponding sociological fact of Israel and the Church, on the assumption that it is not an illusion—that God is real, and faith is his gift, and “sacred history” the story of His strategy (Prior 1955, p. 147) (emphasis mine)
Is there clear evidence that Prior abandoned his Christianity because he found it logically untenable? Grimshaw (2002) says yes, Hasle (2012) says no. In any case it is worth noting that these logical problems did not concern contradictions in Christianity’s essential claims; instead, they concerned Barthianism’s rejection of the possibility of ‘free’ analysis of theology. Indeed, both ‘Can Religion Be Discussed?’ and ‘Faith, Unbelief and Evil’ can be seen as Prior’s attempt to treat Barthianism from the outside.
References
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Jakobsen, D. An illusion close to life. Synthese 193, 3429–3439 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-016-1076-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-016-1076-2