Box 11

Miscellaneous material

Last updated: 2018-06-29 14:50:55

The box contains miscellaneous material, the main parts being:

• Two notebooks by Prior, on 'Time and Modality' and on 'Objects of Thought'
• Five Scrapbooks with various kinds of material collected or written by Prior
• Two papers by Prior's grandfather the Rev. Samuel F. Prior
• Six more folders with very diverse material:

1. ANP: A notebook on 'Time and Modality' (1957a) for the period 09.02.64-08.03.65. HWU (53 p.)
• INFO (Per Hasle): 

  This notebook further develops some tense-logical systems that would yield obvious qualifications and/or extensions to 1957a (especially the Ockham-system and the Peirce-system).It is clear that in the end, the considerations in this notebook have to a large extent (and in a modified form) found their way into 1967a, chapter VII: Time and Determinism. - It seems that at the time of writing these notes, Prior had in mind either a new second edition of 1957a, or an independent article with the provisional title 'Indeterminism and Tense-Logic'; on 11.02.65, he writes: "Divide article [into] 1. can the Past be Necessary and the Future Not, 2. The system O [i.e. the Ockham-system], 3. The system P [i.e. the Peirce-system], 4. Necessity as Truth from Now on." - On p. 20, he lists the following "Occamists: Cleanthos, Ryle, Anscombe, Shorter". - On p. 32 (22.02.65), Prior suggests to "bring in Buridan on -| CMPxfxPxMfx", that is, to bring in Buridan on the discussion of the validity of the Barcan-formulae, a suggestion realised in 1967a (see e.g. p. 140).

2. ANP: A notebook on 'Objects of Thought' for the period 08.02.64-21.04.65. HWU? (67 p.; pp.31-49 blank)
• INFO (Per Hasle): 

  Probably some of this material was included in 'Objects of Thought', i.e. 1971a. See also Parts of Speech/box 6 and Second folder/box 8. In their "Editorial Note" to 1971a Geach and Kenny state that "At his death Prior left the manuscript of a work entitled 'Objects of Thought'. In the same file he left two sets of notes giving the plan of the work. The first is dated 18 April 1965..." (p. vii). This first plan is found in this notebook.

3. ANP: A list of ANP's Papers on theological subjects. HWU (2 p.).

All papers mentioned in this list are included in Additions to Bibliography. 
--- Per Hasle

ANP: Three scrapbooks

From the University of Otago; containing articles on Marxism and Christianity, as well as social and religious issues in society (articles collected - not written - by Prior):

1. Black scrapbook No. 1: 30.09.36-23.07.37. Articles on socialism, communism and marxism. Contains also Prior's paper: The Nation and the Individual, 1937a.
2. Black scrapbook No. 2: Theological papers (by authors other than ANP) from the Outlook and the Student 1935-1940. Plus three offprints of papers by ANP.
• INFO (Per Hasle):Note by Mary Prior ('BR'): "This scrapbook contains articles, among much else by the younger theologists writing for the NZ Journal of Theology - mainly from the Outlook, the Student and the Student Christian Movement. 1935-1940."

  3 offprints are found at the back of the scrapbook:

  • Tomorrow We Die. The Student, No. 5, pp. 9-10. August 1946. (See Additions to Bibliography 1946d).
  • The Reformers Reformed. Knox on Predestination. The Presbyter (pp. 19-23). (See 1946b).
  • The Apocalypse of Ishmael. The Presbyter (pp. 27-30). November, 1945. (With Mary Prior). (See Additions to Bibliography 1945j).
3. Blue scrapbook: (1933 - ca. 1939). Containing:1) Poetry cuttings. 2) ANP: Notes on theological subjects, HWU (26 p.)
• INFO (Per Hasle): The concluding words of these notes are: "The need for dogma - perhaps not felt so much now, but some very queer views circulating then under the name of Christianity."
  

ANP: Two scrapbooks

These contain small and early newspaper articles/letters by ANP. A good deal of the material listed in Additions to Bibliography is found here!

INFO (Per Hasle): The items in these scrapbooks are not listed in the Øhrstrøm/Flo bibliography. Mary Prior, however, made a thorough listing of this material. The Additions to Bibliography is partly based on Mary Prior's list. The Scrapbook Listings (Section 1 and 2) provide an overview of the contents of these scrapbooks.

Two papers by Prior's grandfather the Rev. Samuel F. Prior

1. The Master's Methods: Or, How a Man May Best Help God to Save His World. T (15 p.). (T.S. Carey & Co., Adelaide, 1888)
2. A Symposium on Methodism. The Connexional Principle. Its Social Aspect. T (4 p.). (From 'The Christian Weekly', November 20, 1885).

First folder: 'Letters, Reviews, etc. ...'

(This folder carries the designation 'Letters, Reviews, etc. by A.N. Prior in NZ papers in early 1950's.')

• Various newspaper and Journal cuttings.
• INFO (Per Hasle): The Scrapbook Listings (Section 3) provide an overview of these papers.
  
• Logic Colloquium Programme: Oxford, 1956.
• INFO (Per Hasle): Note written by Mary Prior ('BR'): "A.N.P. was largely responsible for the first NZ Philosophical Conference since 1930. It was in 1953 and the NZ section of the Australasian Association of Philosophy and Psychology was formed at this time, and yearly meetings commenced shortly after. He was also one of those who was responsible for the first Logical Colloquium held in Britain, in Oxford in 1956." This is the programme for the vital event of the 1956 Oxford Logic Colloquium, primarily organised by Prior. The meetings were held in Lecture Room 22, Balliol College on Saturday, 14th of July and Sunday, 15th of July. The programme was as follows (chairmen of sessions in parantheses): Saturday, 14th of July: 09.30 I. Thomas: Quantified Syllogistic.(M. Kneale) 11.00 C. Lejewski: Ontology with Different Primitive Functors (A.N. Prior) 20.00 E.J. Lemmon: Weaker Lewis Modal Systems.(C. Lewy) Sunday, 15th of July: 10.30 C.A. Meredith: Theory of Deduction in Combinatory Logic. (M.W. Dick) 14.30 W.C. Kneale: The Stoic System of Inference Schemata. (P.T. Geach)
  
• A series of theorems (321 theorems) in propositional and tense logic - written in Polish notation. HWU (3 p.) and TU (17 p., numbered as 20-36).
• ANP: When I was a Freshman. HWU (3 p.). 1948.
• a Journal 'Gaudeamus' May 1951 (referring a discussion between ANP, Crowther, Whittle), pp. 4-5.

Second folder: 'Schindler'

(This folder carries the designation 'Schindler'.)
Containing four items; two of these possibly by ANP, possibly from ca. 1937.

INFO (Per Hasle): Prior studied at Otago University 1932-37 and was an assistant lecturer there around 1937, while he was writing his MA thesis. As an assistant lecturer he most probably taught logic and made notes. The exposition is informal, and the diction is quite "Priorean". (See also Notes on Logic, Ninth folder/box 10, and also Third folder/box 11).

• ANP (?) Berkeley: 2. Discussion and Criticism. TU (10 p.). University of Otago, Philosophy Department. (See also the info on: ANP (?): Notes on Logic Ninth folder/box 10).
• ANP (?) Methods of Testing Validity. TU (10 p.). University of Otago. (See also the info on: ANP (?): Notes on Logic Ninth folder/box 10).
• Reviews of C.S. Peirce and work on C.S. Peirce- Not by ANP. Some from Journal of the History of Philosophy. April 1965.
• A Completeness proof for Gli (probably by Robert Bull). (T 22 p.). 17 June, 1969.

Gli is a system of linear, infinite, transitive and discrete tense logic.
--- Per Hasle

Third folder:

• Anonymous draft of an elementary logic text, 1938
• INFO (Per Hasle): With the comment "baby-logic text" added by hand, quite possibly an addition by Mary Cresswell. The draft consists of three parts:
  1. A course description (1938)
  2. Untitled manuscript. T (25 p.) On basic concepts of logic.
  3. Untitled manuscript. T. On rules of inference (syllogistic rules).

  - See also Second folder/box 11 and the info on: ANP (?): Notes on Logic Ninth folder/box 10).

• Philosophy I or II - Logic, 1938. (Course on I. Formal or Deductive Logic, II. Inductive Logic or Methodology of Science, and III. The Nature of Logic). TU (36 p.). Not by ANP.

Fourth folder:

• Retirement notice for Professor R.D. Waller, Manchester 1966.
• Request for a copy of Prior's 'The paradoxes of derived obligation' from Rijksuniversiteit, Bladijnberg 2, Gent. 1966.
• Letter to Journal of Symbolic Logic requesting copies of R. Mitchell's paper. HWU (2 p.). No date.

Fifth folder: 'Montgomery, Mill, Moore, etc.'

(This folder carries the designation 'Montgomery, Mill, Moore, Pilkington, Popper, Richards, Ryan, Smart, Smiley, Turner'.)

• Stori Bilong Teseus Na Ariadne (Dr. Robert Hall)

A story by Robert Hall, written such as to reflect New Zealand pronunciation.
--- Per Hasle

• Syllogism (Smiley). 4 p.
• One sorted bases for 3 and 4 S-logics. 2 p. Not by ANP.
• Time and Place Logic (by George [Hughes], 1959). A Further Discussion of A.N. Prior's 'Thank Goodness That's Over' 1959b.

Sixth folder: 'Trew'

(This folder carries the designation 'Trew'.)

• Two Non-standard Systems of Hughes and Londey (by Tony Trew?). TU (7 p.). 20 December, 1968. Not by ANP.
• The Subsystem (RO)lmdon (by Tony Trew). TU (4 p.). 23 December, 1968.
• ANP: Notes on Peirce Systems. HWU (1 p.). (Loose page).