Dr Nathan Coundon

My DPhil dissertation was titled ‘Can the Cappadocian theory of Divine Simplicity address the modern problems in understanding this doctrine?’ As the title indicates, my research operates at the intersection of historical explorations of Christian doctrines and contemporary debates about the plausibility of these doctrines in Philosophy of Religion. I argue that the three ‘Cappadocian Fathers’, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory Nazianzen, offer tools for understanding the thesis that God is simple which can address the concerns of contemporary philosophers about the coherence of divine simplicity with regards to (i) the plurality of God’s attributes, (ii) modal concerns, and (iii) the doctrine of the Trinity. Given that the objections to divine simplicity across these areas have typically been articulated as responses to Thomas Aquinas’ account of God’s simplicity, I had to develop an interpretive and argumentative framework that allowed me to put the Greek Patristic theology of the Cappadocians in dialogue with both Aquinas’ Medieval Latin theology and the arguments of contemporary analytic philosophers of religion. I was examined by Prof. Timothy Pawl and Prof. Mark Wynn. 

Alongside my research on Divine simplicity, I am currently working on a project which explores the historical development of, and systematic case for, the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. I am particularly interested in the legacy of Anselm’s Mariology and Soteriology in this area. 

Education

DPhil in Theology and Religion, University of Oxford 

MPhil in Philosophical Theology, University of Oxford 

BA Hons in Philosophy, University of Leeds 

Awards

Trinity College Graduate Scholarship (for DPhil, 2025 – 2026) 

Bampton – Christie Miller Scholarship (for DPhil, 2022 – 2025) 

Clarendon Scholarship (for MPhil, 2020 – 2022)