Doctoral Colloquium 2025 – Friday, September 5th
Go back to overview page Doctoral Colloquium 2025
| 7:30 – 8:00 | Breakfast |
| 8:15 – 8:45 | Chapel (K. Kok) |
| 09:00 – 09:45 | Student Presentations
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| 09:55 – 10:40 | Student Presentations
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| 10:40 – 11:05 | Coffee break |
| 11:05 – 11:50 | Student Presentations
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| 12:00 – 13:00 | Faculty Presentations
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| 13:00 – 14:00 | Lunch |
| 14:00 – 16:00 | Doctoral Examination (closed meeting) Stephan Meijers (LCCS 0103) |
| Possibility for appointments | |
| 16:00 – 16:30 | Coffee Break |
| 16:30 – 18:30 | Possibility for appointments |
| 18:30 – 19:30 | Dinner |
| 19:30 | The End |
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Student Presentations
J. Glen (ST): Critical Analysis of Nussbaum’s Positions on Shame
I will give an update on my dissertation research pertaining to Martha Nussbaum’s understanding of shame. I will specifically address past criticisms and possible critiques levied against Nussbaum’s predominant focus on primitive shame and its connection to infantile narcissism; her assessment about the origin of an invitation to feel shame; possible definition bias that defines shame according to its potential negative outcomes while defining doubt according to a more generous range of possible outcomes; prejudicial judgement of the role of shame in terms of perceived social power dynamics; and potential issues with affirming communal shame versus individual shame.
J. Lorein (HT): The Ethics of John Duns Scotus: Looking into and beyond the question of voluntarism
I will give a concise introduction to the research on the ethics of John Duns Scotus (c. 1265 – 1308), by discussing key concepts and the (three) main interpretations, as well as the question of voluntarism.
The discussion on voluntarism has been a recurring and dominant theme in the research on John Duns Scotus’ ethics. In my view, a pivotal contribution was made in 2019 by Thomas Ward, who identified the “Wolter/Williams thesis”. By this, he refers to two influential scholars of Scotus’ ethics, having opposing views.
According to Ward, this thesis has served as both a common ground and an insufficient, limiting framework for the understanding of Scotus’ ethics.
The W/W thesis: According to Scotus, there are moral truths about how human beings ought to treat each other if and only if, in addition to creating human beings, God legislates or issues commands.
Having set the scene, I will present different opportunities and strategies for further research and connect these with some of my own findings thus far. If there is time, I would like to conclude my presentation by sharing some insights on the ongoing relevance of this research.
R. Elliott (HT): An Analysis of John Owen and Jonathan Edwards on the subject of Justification and Union with Christ
John Owen and Jonathan Edwards are considered the best theologians that their respective countries have ever produced. Although they have been compared at various points in their theologies, their writing and emphasis on the subjects of justification and union with Christ have never been compared and contrasted in detail. This presentation will be a brief analysis of their careers, key points of their theology relating to justification and union with Christ and, in particular, a comparison and contrast on their perspectives on these two topics. There will also be a special explanation of a key point of difference in how they view the role of faith in justification.
This paper examines the ethical challenges of modern technology through the lens of Ernst Cassirer’s philosophy of symbolic forms. In my dissertation I argue that Big Nudging, understood as the digitally mediated steering of behavior using techniques from psychology, behavioral economics, and Big Data, raises fundamental questions about the impact of technology on human freedom and flourishing. Drawing on Cassirer, the paper conceptualizes technology not merely as a collection of tools, but as a symbolic form. Technology mediates the human will to reality . Through this process both the world as well as individual self-awareness is shaped. Cassirer’s approach situates technology as a foundational condition for culture and survival, while also highlighting its potential dangers: the loss of meaning, the dominance of efficiency over freedom, and the erosion of reflexivity and self-awareness. The analysis argues that technology must be balanced by other symbolic forms and guided by ethical and cultural values to preserve human freedom. Ultimately, Cassirer’s insights reveal that technology can serve as an enabler of the good life, provided it is consciously integrated into a broader symbolic and ethical framework. This perspective offers a critical foundation for evaluating digital behavioral interventions and their role in shaping contemporary life.
S. Meijers (ST): Empowered through Machiavellian Power and Courage
This presentation challenges the theme “Empowered through Humility” by arguing that humility does not empower contemporary civil servants. Humility invites suppressing moral dissent, as the Dutch childcare benefits scandal shows. Using a hermeneutical reading of Machiavelli’s Discorsi, informed by Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Tillich, I reconceive empowerment through three existential orientations: power, courage, and conspiracy.
Power concerns self-affirmation within hierarchy. As “just power,” it is bounded by law and accountability, and directed to the common good. Humility becomes disabling where envy and incompetence dominate the public sphere. Without power or coalitions civil servants are overruled by their political or hierarchical supervisors. They cannot abstain from power dynamics without losing influence. Just power protects their moral standing and the service’s integrity by rewarding merit and enabling correction. Courage sustains action amid uncertainty and institutional decay. Courage and just power are interdependent: courage enables the assumption and maintenance of just power; just power gives courage scope to act without self-annihilation.
Machiavellian conspiracy is reinterpreted as group-based courage against unjust power. Because civil servants are embedded in groups, effective dissent is often collective. Small, trustworthy networks united by moral purpose can withstand anxieties in the context of the public sphere better than isolated individuals. Institutions should normalize such networks via spaces for moral deliberation. The theme “Empowerment through Humility” underestimates the administrative reality. Civil servants achieve empowerment by integrating just power, courage, and trustworthy networks.
S. Mezmur (OT/NT): Roots of Hope Amid Dislocation: The Planting Metaphor in the Pauline Tradition in Light of Promises of Replantation in Former and Latter Prophets
This presentation focuses on my revised proposal, first presented at the 2024 Doctoral Colloquium, and highlights the changes I have made since then. After a brief recap of my project’s thesis, I will explore examples from Jeremiah 24:6, 1 Corinthians 3:6, and relevant Greco-Roman material to demonstrate the inner connections and contrasts between the texts. The abstract of my research is as follows:
This study critically examines the planting metaphor in the Pauline tradition, exploring its role in providing hope and stability for early Christians facing socioreligious dislocation. It traces the metaphor’s earlier use in the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, and Second Temple literature, particularly in the Former and Latter Prophets, where YHWH’s promises of replantation are articulated to exiled Israelites and post-exilic Judean communities. Using Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), Blending Theory (BT), and Social Identity Complexity Theory (SICT), the analysis investigates the metaphor’s conceptual nature and functions. CMT reveals the conceptual meaning of hope for the community, while SICT highlights the metaphor’s contribution to navigating dislocation and forming new identities. The study integrates plant metaphors across Judahite, Jewish, and Christian traditions, showing their role in constructing narratives of hope during instability. In the Pauline tradition, the eschatological hope promised by Hebrew prophets is developed and finds metaphorical meaning in Christ. Unlike prior studies focusing on agricultural images in the Gospels and their background in texts of prophetic judgment, this research highlights the Pauline tradition’s positive adaptation of the planting metaphor from earlier Jewish texts. The research is motivated by ongoing displacements, such as the Israeli-Hamas conflict and Ethiopia’s internal displacement since the 2020 war.
Faculty presentations
A. Beck (HT): The Reception of Late Medieval Scholastic Thought in Early Modern Reformed Theology
My presentation examines the reception and transformation of late scholastic thought in early modern theology, focusing on the Reformed tradition in the seventeenth century. It explores how key concepts, methods, and debates from late scholasticism—particularly those developed by thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, Thomas Bradwardine, and, more recently, Luis de Molina, Francisco Suárez, Domingo Báñez, and Diego Álvarez —were appropriated, adapted, or contested by early modern Reformed theologians. The study highlights the persistence of scholastic terminology and argumentative structures in the works of figures like William Twisse, Johannes Maccovius, and Gisbertus Voetius, demonstrating that the transition from medieval to modern philosophy was marked by both continuity and innovation. By analyzing primary texts and recent scholarship, the paper reveals the nuanced ways in which early modern thinkers engaged with scholastic doctrines on the doctrine of God, anthropology, and eschatology. It argues that rather than representing a radical break, the early modern period involved a complex dialogue with the scholastic past, resulting in the reconfiguration of theological and philosophical problems and the emergence of new intellectual frameworks. The paper concludes that understanding the reception of late scholastic thought is essential for appreciating the development of early modern theology and for reassessing the narrative of theological progress during this transformative era.
W.C. Marlowe (OT) – The Language of the Ten Commandments as to Designation and Design
Internal and external Christian and Jewish interpretive traditions differ regarding which directives are named when listing the Ten Commandments (as identified in Exodus 34:28, Deuteronomy 4:13, 10:4 and implied in Exodus 20:1–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21). The variations typically revolve around the number of commands found in the beginning idolatry or ending covetous verses. At least one study has noted how the total number of commands or prohibitions (in Exod. 20 and Deut. 5) adds up to much more than ten. To date, no consensus exists on which ten were intended. This exegetical and contextual analysis of the Hebrew language of these two Ten-Commandment passages in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 (focused on the former) attempts to end the debate over naming the Ten by demonstrating how these texts contain literary features or devices like chiasm that clearly identify the exact Ten Commands the A/author had in mind: (1) never build an idol; (2) never bow to an idol; (3) never misrepresent YHWH; (4) Observe the Sabbath; (5) Honor parents; (6) never murder; (7) never commit adultery; (8) never steal; (9) never testify falsely against a neighbor; (10) never desire any possession of a neighbor.