Postdoctoral Fellow in Economic and/or Environmental Ethics, one or

Updated: almost 2 years ago
Deadline: 31 May 2022

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 University of Gothenburg is looking to hire one or more 2-year post docs in the intersection of economic and environmental ethics. Economic ethics is the application of moral or political philosophy to critical issues in business organizations or the economic system. Environmental ethics is the application of moral or political philosophy to critical issues in the relationship between humans and non-human environmental systems. The research area should be understood broadly so as to include subtopics like business ethics, the political philosophy of financial markets, ethics of commodification, ethics of climate change, ethics of biodiversity, environmental philosophy and the philosophy of (environmental) economics. Any applications related to these subfields are welcome.

Potential research questions in these fields include the following:

  • What moral duties, if any, do commercial firms have to mitigate climate change?
  • Do consumers have a duty to invest in sustainable firms?
  • Is sustainability an irreducible moral value?
  • Can environmental values (such as biodiversity) be expressed in monetary terms?
  • Do advantaged nations have duties to promote sustainability in vulnerable nations?
  • Is the state justified in coercing financial markets towards sustainability?

The post doc will join the Financial Ethics Research Group which consists of philosophers and economists dedicated to ethical and political issues raised by the financial system (in the broadest sense). More specifically, the post doc will be connected to the research program Sustainable Finance Lab , which is a collaboration between several Swedish universities that is funded by Vinnova, Sweden’s innovation agency. Additional funding is due to the University of Gothenburg, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation, and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (Mistra).


Subject area 

Practical philosophy


Subject area description 

Economic ethics is the application of concepts, methods and theories from practical philosophy to critical issues in business organizations and the economic system. Environmental ethics is the application of moral or political philosophy to critical issues in the relationship between humans and non-human environmental systems.


Job assignments

The position provides the postdoctoral fellow with an opportunity to solidify and develop his or her scientific skills through conducting research in economic and/or environmental ethics. The fellow is expected to spend most of his or her employment on research. The research will be conducted in close collaboration with the rest of the research group, and the fellow is expected to actively participate in group-related seminars, events and other activities. He or she is expected to carry out the vast majority of the research in Gothenburg and to participate in a regular and consistent manner in the department’s other relevant research activities. There is an additional possibility to assist in the educational development or teaching of a new M.A. programme in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) that is being planned at the department. However, such additional duties will not exceed 20 %.


Eligibility 

Eligible for a postdoctoral position are those with a PhD or other foreign degree that is deemed equivalent to PhD. The subject of the doctoral thesis should be in a research area relevant to the subject description above. Since the postdoctoral position is intended to give junior researchers the opportunity to establish themselves in the field, we aim to employ applicants that graduated with PhDs within 3 years of the application deadline.

Please note that qualifications for postdoctoral appointments are described in more detail at: https://www.arbetsgivarverket.se/avtal--skrifter/avtal/avtal-om-tidsbegransad-anstallning-som-postdoktor/


Assessment

Most emphasis will be put on research proficiency as it is demonstrated in the applicant’s PhD thesis, other publications and project plan. Emphasis will also be put on a documented ability to cooperate and strong skills in planning and organizing research as well as disseminating research results. Furthermore, we give priority to applicants whose project plan and prior work can strengthen the research group overall. This means, among other things, that we give priority to researchers that use an analytical-philosophical method and whose subject area either overlaps with or beneficially complements existing research interests in the group.

General assessment criteria for teachers are noted in the Appointments procedure: https://medarbetarportalen.gu.se/digitalAssets/1803/1803446_appointment-procedure-gu-2022-38-eng-2022-02-17.pdf


Employment 

Type of employment: Fixed-term employment, 24 months

Extent: 100 %

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

First day of employment: 2022-09-01, or by agreement


Contact information 

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Joakim Sandberg, Project leader
+46 (0) 31 - 786 4571
[email protected]
http://flov.gu.se/english/about/staff_/?userId=xsajoa


If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Jennifer Stråle, HR administrator 

[email protected]


Unions 

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

How to apply 

Please note that the following documents should be attached to the application (in pdf):

  • Project plan: The applicant must attach a project plan of at most 2500 words to the application, detailing the research that the applicant plans to conduct during his/her time as postdoctoral fellow. This description should also explain how the project contributes to state-of-the-art research on economic and/or environmental ethics.
  • PhD certificate
  • Doctoral thesis
  • Maximum 10 scientific texts (in full text) that the applicant wishes to appeal to
  • List of degrees and employments

We prefer applications in English since international referees may be used.

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. Any documents that are not available in electronic format should be mailed to: HR Administrator, FLoV, Box 200, 405 30 Göteborg.

Applications must be received by: May 31, 2022

Information for International Applicants 

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.



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