PhD Candidate (M/F) on the subject "A broadly operationalizable notion of (marine) biodiversity"

7 Feb 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

CNRS

Department

Institut Jean-Nicod

Research Field

Philosophy

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

France

Application Deadline

27 Feb 2024 - 23:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

35

Offer Starting Date

1 Oct 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

HE / MSCA

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

The EU-funded Marie-Curie Training Network MEDiverSEAty Investigating human dimensions of Mediterranean Marine Biodiversity recruits ten PhD candidates. The Network involves academic institutions and associated partners from six EU Mediterranean countries (Italy, Malta, France, Spain, Montenegro and Greece). Candidates will be employed by the respective national universities and research centers, and will be awarded a title from the employing institution. Work will start in the Fall 2024. Applications are welcome from prospective students that will have completed their MA prior to the date of employment.

The MEDiverSEAty Training Program is based on 10 pillars, that describe the general collaborative and individual workflow, as well as expectations and advantages for PhD candidates.

Mobility of PhDs between partners. Each PhD candidate will need to undertake at least 1 secondment with the non-academic partner of the consortium for a minimum period of 6 months.
Workshops and seminars organized by academic and non-academic partners. There will be a calendar of at least 2 interdisciplinary workshops each year (at least 1 workshop per country) focused on specific topics relevant for the whole project's objectives, to which all 10 PhDs will be invited.
MEDiverSEAty Symposium. The Consortium will open a call (M30) on a topic of relevance to the project (e.g, Fishing, Heritage, etc.) and, working as a Board, the 10 PhDs will have to prepare a program of seminars, roundtables, excursions, exhibitions, etc. inviting lecturers and experts.
Project Meetings. The 10 PhDs will be invited to meetings during the whole project cycle.
Online training. Each year there will be a calendar of webinars for all the candidates. Webinars will host keynote speakers and will address key topics related to marine conservation and marine literacy.
MEDiverSEAty learing platform will be opened for the use of PhD students.
Personal Coaching on academic matters will be offered.
Ocean-Archive.org Content production and online platform management training. Candidates will cooperate to the development of a participatory platform for ocean collaborative research, conversation, imagination, and action.
Mentoring in a gender perspective.
MEDiverSEAty community-building days.

Moreover, Candidates will have the opportunity to carry out fieldwork and secondment periods at one or more of the following MEDiverSEAty associated partners
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (Italy)
BLOOM Association (France)
Marilles Foundation (Spain)
Heritage Parks Federation (Malta)
Mouseio Fisikis istorias apolithomenou dasous Lesvou (Greece)
Public Enterprise for Coastal Zone Management (Montenegro)
École des hautes études en sciences sociales (France)
World Rise (Italy)

When will the Program start?

PhD programs will start between October and November 2024 and will last 36 months.

What is the the MEDiverSEAty project
MEDiverSEAty is a Doctoral Network investigating human dimensions of Mediterranean Marine Biodiversity. The efforts made to conserve Mediterranean biodiversity are still facing the need to ensure an adequate implementation of the existing measures, a path that could be pursued by integrating the human dimension into the integrated study of biodiversity and the related strategies for conservation. Experts in the field of marine sciences do not neglect the relevance (both scientific and social) of these dimensions. Currently, emphasis is on marine citizen sciences, maritime spatial planning, marine heritage, economic values of marine biodiversity. MEDiverSEAty aims at moving international debate a step forward: transfer this multidimensional vision into actions, policies and strategies.

The lack (or oversimplification), both in political and scientific debate, of “diversity” (among cultures, roles, societies, attitudes, identities) is a key driver acting on the relationship among European citizens and marine biodiversity. MEDiverSEAty aims at filling these gaps, through the implementation of a Doctoral Network Training and Research Program involving six European countries (Italy, Malta, France, Spain, Montenegro and Greece) working on two key-pillars of contemporary marine sciences, policies and education: Ocean Literacy and Marine Biodiversity Conservation.

The candidate will be based at Institut Nicod and conduct the applied research in the context of the Islands and Small States Institute (MT) and BLOOM (FR)
Professor Roberto Casati (EHESS Chair of Ocean Philosophy) will supervise the candidate's research project, as part of the Environnement : Concepts et Normes team.
Good knowledge and practice of empirical methods (qualitative and quantitative analysis) is requested for the study.

The Institut Jean-Nicod is a CNRS joint research unit set up in 2002, under the joint supervision of the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS). It is a cognitive science laboratory with around 100 members, half of whom are PhD students, the other half being CNRS researchers (around 20), lecturers and post-docs, and contract and administrative engineers.
While the core discipline is analytical philosophy, the unit also hosts cutting-edge research in linguistics and the social sciences, the unifying theme being the human mind and the nature of representations (linguistic, mental and social). At the ENS, the Institut Jean Nicod is attached to both the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Cognitive Studies (DEC).
The IJN, directed by Roberto Casati, is housed at 29 rue d'Ulm, in the Cognitive Studies Department of the Ecole normale supérieure.

Climate change and biodiversity loss appear to be correlated, with loss of biodiversity feeding back on the capability to prevent or mitigate climate change. However, measures of biodiversity are not consensual (Bowler, 2021), in part because definitions of
biodiversity are not. For instance, consider: “Biodiversity is a term which describes every living organism within a single ecosystem or habitat, including numbers and diversity of species and all environmental aspects such as temperature, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels and climate. Biodiversity can be measured globally or in smaller settings, such as ponds.” (Biology Dictionary). This definition does not make room for functional interdependencies. A broader definition is the following (taking into account causal chains and feedback
loops) “Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life you'll find in one area—the variety of animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms like bacteria that make up our natural world. Each of these species and organisms work together in ecosystems, like an intricate web, to maintain balance and support life. Biodiversity supports everything in nature that we need to survive: food, clean water, medicine, and shelter.” (WWF https://livingplanet.panda.org/en-US/ )
The present project addresses the issue of providing a definition of biodiversity that satisfies the following constraints: grounding in biological and ecological facts according to consensual theories; interfacing with what is retrievable from the historical record; interfacing with local knowledge over a broad geographic spectrum; being operationalizable in contexts of measurements of
biodiversity, and in measurements of perceptions, conceptualizations and valuation of biodiversity by a variety of non-scientific stakeholders (fisheries, policymakers, tourist operators).

Desired profile: skills in epistemology/philosophy/history of science, skills/interest in marine biology (or conversely, biologist with interest in conceptual work).

Requirements

Research Field

Philosophy

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Languages

FRENCH

Level

Basic

Research Field

Philosophy

Years of Research Experience

None

Additional Information
Additional comments

Two PhD students will be recruited by the CNRS at the Institut Nicod for the MEDiverSEAty project, on two different projects.

Website for additional job details

https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/Doctorant/UMR8129-ROBCAS-002/Default.aspx

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Institut Jean-Nicod

Country

France

City

PARIS 05

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Candidat/Offre/UMR8129-ROBCAS-002/Candidater.aspx

Contact

City

PARIS 05

Website

http://www.institutnicod.org/

STATUS: EXPIRED