Doctoral position in Practical philosophy within the research school Norms and Normativity, one or

The University of Gothenburg tackles society’s challenges with diverse knowledge. 56 000 students and 6 600 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract scientists and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.

The Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science at the Faculty of Arts has about 100 staff members and a student body corresponding to about 350 full-time equivalents. It is home to a large number of national and international research projects and offers courses and degree programs for philosophers, logicians, linguists, language technologists, theorists of science, historians of philosophy, philologists and philosophy teachers. The Department also arranges doctoral education and development work in its various academic domains.

The department hereby announces one or more PhD student positions in practical philosophy with a special focus on fundamental philosophical questions about norms and normativity. The doctoral student will be part of the research school "Norms and normativity" which is organized together with the Philosophy Departments at Stockholm University and Uppsala University (with support from the Swedish Research Council). Doctoral students in the research school will have access to a large research network, joint courses, workshops and seminars at the three collaborating departments. More information can be found here: https://www.su.se/research-school-nono

Practical philosophy at the University of Gothenburg offers a wide selection of research and supervision competence, including applied and normative ethics, free will and moral responsibility, history of moral philosophy, metaethics and political philosophy. More information: https://www.gu.se/en/flov/our-research/research-areas/research-in-practical-philosophy

General information about being a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg can be found on the university's doctoral student pages. 

https://medarbetarportalen.gu.se/doktorand/?languageId=100001&skipSSOCheck=true    

Practical philosophy

Practical Philosophy addresses questions of norms, values and ideologies. Central research areas include moral philosophy (ethics and metaethics), social philosophy (political philosophy and legal philosophy), philosophy of religions and aesthetics. 

In this call, we are particularly looking for doctoral students who will work on basic philosophical questions about norms and normativity. This includes, among other things, questions within metaethics/metanormativity, philosophy of action, normative ethics, as well as philosophical-historical perspectives on these subject areas. Examples of potential research areas include:

• What is normativity? What distinguishes normative domains from non-normative domains? What role do e.g. emotions and motivation play in normative psychology?
• It is often assumed in philosophy that we can distinguish between different normative domains, e.g. the moral, the prudential, the aesthetic, the social, the political, the legal and the epistemic. To what extent is the nature of normativity homogeneous across different domains? What are the similarities and differences?
• What distinguishes moral language, moral thinking and moral facts? How reasonable are, for example, different forms of moral realism vs. anti-realism?
• What is the relationship between social or institutional norms and moral norms?
• What are social norms, and what is their role in collective action?
• Can there be norms that are constitutive of human action (constitutivism)? Or more generally for human nature? Could such norms function as justification with regard to how one should live?
• Philosophical historical perspectives on all the above questions about norms and normativity.

This list is far from exhaustive. Many other philosophical research questions and areas with connection to the theme norms and normativity are relevant to the research school.  

The successful candidate’s main responsibilities will be to write a doctoral dissertation in the area mentioned above, and to complete obligatory course work. He or she may also undertake a limited amount of teaching, administration or research not directly connected to her or his dissertation topic. Such duties extend the position accordingly. The candidate is expected to participate in the department’s activities, such as workshops and seminars.

To be eligible for the position, the applicant must meet both general and specific entry requirements. The general entry requirements for third-cycle (doctoral) programs are: a second-cycle qualification/degree or at least 240 higher education (HE) credits for courses of which at least 60 HE credits are awarded in the second-cycle; or equivalent training either in Sweden or abroad.

Admission to the third-cycle program in Practical Philosophy also requires:

For further information about the general and specific requirements please refer to study syllabus at the following link: https://www.gu.se/en/humanities/doctoral-studies/general-syllabi-for-third-cycle-study-programmes

In selecting between applicants, their ability to benefit from the course or study program shall be taken into account in accordance with Chapter 7 of the Higher Education Ordinance. To facilitate the selection process, the applicant must submit: 

 - Theses, degree projects and any publications. These are assessed based on the following five quality criteria, of which the final two have the heaviest weighting: Suitable subject definition, relevant questioning, suitable command of the subject and structuring of the thesis, suitable use of language, formalities, academic quality and independence. 

 - A project draft no more than 2,500 words in which the applicant stipulates a research domain that he/she would like to develop, justifies its relevance and discusses which theories, methods and materials would be relevant. The project draft is assessed on the basis of the following four criteria: whether the draft displays familiarity with previous and current research within the field, whether the research questions are viable and grounded in current research, whether the draft is judged to be realistic, as regards its implementation at third-cycle level, and whether the draft shows that it is likely the applicant will make a valuable contribution to research in the field. The project draft also provides supporting information for assessing the Department’s supervisor competence within the research domain stipulated. 

Type of employment: Fixed-term employment, HF 5 kap 7§ Doctoral position

Extent: 100 %

Location: Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science, Gothenburg

First day of employment: 2023-09-01

Apart from his or her own third-cycle education, the successful applicant may also be expected to do service in education, research (unrelated to the thesis) and administration. The employment is for one year. It can be extended with a maximum of two years at a time. The total employment cannot exceed four years third cycle education, full time.

The University applies a local agreement on salaries for doctoral students.   

Selection, interviews and assessment is made by a recruitment group at the department. A list of top-ranked applicants is then presented based on the information provided by the applicants (based on merit, quality of submitted works, quality of research proposal, and availability of qualified supervisors). The top-ranked candidates may be invited to interviews (in Gothenburg or via video link).

Ragnar Francén, Senior lecturer in Practical philosophy, Tel: + 46 (0)31-786 4837, [email protected]

Queries about the recruitment process should be directed to Jennifer Stråle, tf HR Officer, [email protected]

Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here:
https://www.gu.se/om-universitetet/jobba-hos-oss/hjalp-for-sokande    

In order to apply for a position at the University of Gothenburg, you have to register an account in our online recruitment system. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the job advertisement, and that it is submitted before the deadline. The selection of candidates is made on the basis of the qualifications registered in the application.

Complementary documents, such as publications/books should be sent in two copies to the following address and marked with reference number. University of Gothenburg, Att: HR Officer, FLoV, Box 200, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden.

For the application to be considered complete it must include:

1) An introductory letter of 500 words maximum (approx. 1 page). The letter should consist of four paragraphs in the following order: a) a short presentation of yourself, b) a short presentation of your merits, c) a short presentation of the intended research project and d) a short account for why the Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science is of interest to you.

2) A CV, including a list of publications (if applicable).

3) Master thesis and a maximum of 3 other publications that the candidate want to submit as proof of merit, such as other theses, or research publications.

4) A description of the intended research project of at most 2500 words (including abstract, excluding bibliography), indicating the applicant’s research interests and planned focus area of his/her thesis and research. As well as a plan for its execution, describing how it can be discharged in a series of articles.

5) Verified copies of academic transcripts and possibly evidence of other relevant qualifications, if applicable.

In addition, candidates may submit any other documentation they want to be considered, such as recommendation letters.

Applications should be written in English.

Applications must be received by: March 9, 2023  

Choosing a career in a foreign country is a big step. Thus, to give you a general idea of what we and Gothenburg have to offer in terms of benefits and life in general for you and your family/spouse/partner please visit: 

https://www.gu.se/en/about-the-university/welcome-services
https://www.movetogothenburg.com/  

The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations.

Salaries are set individually at the University.

In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden’s regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed.

In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.