Dr. E.P. Schaafsma
Petruschka Schaafsma runs a research programme in the field of ethics and theology on the meaning of family, with special attention for the aspects of givenness and dependence. Starting from an approach to the family as 'mystery' (Gabriel Marcel) she draws interdisciplinary connections to in particular philosophy, social anthropology, medical ethics and social work. She is also project leader of the Moral Compass Project (https://www.pthu.nl/onderzoek/projecten/moral-compass-project/) and chair of the dogmatics ethics chair group. The Moral Compass Project (10 scholars) explores the expressive power of the ‘divine law’ or transcendence of the Good for good living together now. What is the critical and constructive power of the Good conceived as something beyond our comprehension but precisely so experienced as something that appeals to us, appeals to us ‘from outside’?
Schaafsma began her academic research with a PhD-project guided by the question of in what sense ‘evil’ can be called a religious theme. This reveals her preference for topics that touch upon religion, but are also found outside it, and that are somehow controversial, like ‘evil’ and ‘family’.
Keywords areas of interest: Family, Givenness, Dependence, Agency, Evil, Hermeneutics, Paul Ricoeur
Dr. E. P. (Petruschka) Schaafsma
Lecturer in Ethics, Protestant Theological University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
T +31 (0)88 3371 811 / +31 (0)6 57973118
E epschaafsma@pthu.nl I www.pthu.nl
P Postbus 7161, 1007 MC Amsterdam
A De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam
Key Publications (full list as download and see 'publications' in menu)
Books
- 2023, Petruschka Schaafsma, Family and Christian Ethics (New Studies in Christian Ethics, Vol. 41), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- 2022 Petruschka Schaafsma (ed.), The Transcendent Character of the Good: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives, (Routledge Studies in Ethics and Moral Theory), New York etc.: Routledge
- Schaafsma, Petruschka, Reconsidering Evil. Confronting Reflections with Confessions, Leuven: Peeters, 2006
Articles
- Schaafsma, Petruschka. "Chapter 1 Not Available Separately: the Balancing Act of Taking Evil Seriously". In Brokenness and Grace, (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2024) doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004716049_003
- Scheeres-Feitsma, T. M., Schaafsma, P., & van der Steen, J. T. (2024). 'A family affair: Repeated interviews with people with dementia and a euthanasia wish and their families'. Death studies, 1–11. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2024.2376819
- 2023, Petruschka Schaafsma, 'Interruption that liberates to love. On the positive potential of the ‘paradox of ethics’, International Journal of Philosophy and Theology, 84:5, 326-332
- 'Hoeveel duidelijkheid kan het goede verdragen? Over ethiek, theologie en gevoel voor mysterie.' inaugural address full professorship theological ethics, 9 november 2023 (ISBN 978-90-83365-62-6).
- 2023, Scheeres-Feitsma T.M., van Laarhoven A.J.J.M.K., de Vries R., Schaafsma P., van der Steen J.T., ‘Family involvement in euthanasia or Physician Assisted Suicide and dementia: A systematic review’, Alzheimer's & Dementia 19/8, 1-13
- 2020, Petruschka Schaafsma, ‘Why Religious Symbols? Accounting for an Unfashionable Approach’, in: Scott Davidson, A Companion to Ricoeur's 'The Symbolism of Evil', Lanham etc.: Lexington Books 2020, 69-86
- 2018, Petruschka Schaafsma, ‘Telling Images. On the Value of a "Strong Image" for Theological Ethics’, in: Michael Moxter und Markus Firchow (eds), Die Zeit der Bilder. Ikonische Repräsentation und Temporalität, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 144-160
- 2015, Petruschka Schaafsma, ‘Making Sense of the Postsecular. Theological Explorations of a Critical Concept’, International Journal of Philosophy and Theology 76/2, 2015, 91–99
- 2014, Inge van Nistelrooij, Petruschka Schaafsma en Joan Tronto, 'Ricoeur and the Ethics of Care', Medicine, Healthcare and Philosophy, Vol. 17/4, 485-491
