A.N. Prior on James Joyce (final draft: Philosophical Inquiries 1(1) 2013: 193-202 Mike Grimshaw University of Canterbury The New Zealand logician Arthur Prior (1914-1969) was a man of many and varied interests. Originally deciding to study medicine at Otago University, he soon changed to graduate with a BA in Philosophy and Psychology. A convert from Methodism to Presbyterianism, or more particularly Barthian Calvinism, Prior became a theology student with the aim joining the clergy of the Presbyterian Church; he also to become a religious journalist, an expert on both Scottish theology and Jonathan Edwards, a philosopher of religion, and a literary critic before he decided to concentrate on logic. Prior had a lifetime’s deep interest in literature as evidenced from the age of sixteen when he compiled a list of his ‘ideal library’ i . This combination of interests means that to understand Prior we need to realise that becoming a logician did not just mean abandoning theological study and immersing himself in philosophy - nor does it seem that it was a matter of disbelieving in theology and now believing in philosophy ii . Until the war (and it appears beyond) Prior strongly considered a career as a religious journalist writing widely on theology and contemporary Christianity, especially when travelling and living on the Continent and in England with his first wife Claire. 1