Isaac Frisby
| Biography | I am a doctoral student and seminar tutor in the department of Theology & Religion. Having completed my initial training in Medieval Studies, which included history, theology, philosophy, palaeography and literature, I undertook a PGDip in Biblical Studies at King's College London, where I specialised in languages and literature, and received a distinction for my dissertation, which offered a re-reading of Matthew 17:24-27. After four years working in the charity sector I undertook my masters training at Durham University, where I received a distinction overall and in my dissertation, in which I explored perception in relation to the beatific vision (or theoria) through the work of the patristic theologian Basil of Caesarea (On the Holy Spirit) and the French phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty ('Eye and Mind'). I commenced doctoral research in 2022 under the supervision of Canon Proferssor Simon Oliver. My thesis takes its departure from the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381) which calls the Holy Spirit 'the giver of life.' My interest is in what way the Spirit is the giver, not only of 'spiritual' or 'resurrection' life, but of 'biological' life. To explore how this might be understood in a way other than metaphorical I consult the philosophical theology of the Russian Orthodox theologian Sergius Bulgakov and the philosophy of biology and the phenomenological ontology of the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty. From October 2024 to March 2025 I am a seminar tutor for the modules: (THEO1191) Introduction to Christian Theology and (THEO1171) Introduction to the History of Christianity. From October 2023 to March 2024 I was a seminar tutor for two undergraduate modules: (THEO1191) Introduction to Christian Theology and (THEO1921) God and the Good: Philosophy of Religion of Ethics. I have also held a number of student representative roles during both MA and PhD study. |
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| Research Interests | Philosophical Theology Phenomenology Pneumatology Modern Orthodox Theology Patristics Philosophy of Biology |
| Teaching and Learning | Seminar Tutor 2023-24: (THEO1191) Introduction to Christian Theology (THEO1921) God and the Good: Philosophy of Religion and Ethics |