PhD Candidate in the History of Philosophy

Job description
The Department of the History of Philosophy of the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies is looking for a PhD candidate to conduct research on Hans Kelsen's interpretation of Plato. Hans Kelsen was one of the most influential jurists and legal philosophers of the twentieth century. His work comprises not only seminal publications on legal theory, but also in-depth investigations into the history of philosophy, including writings on Plato.

The aim of this project is to reconstruct the intellectual and theoretical background of Kelsen’s interpretation of Plato. The project will shed light on the relationship between Kelsen’s writings on the Platonic dialogues and other interpretations of Plato that have been propounded by major intellectuals, philosophers, and classical philologists in the twentieth century. Also, the project will investigate the connections between Kelsen’s approach to the Platonic dialogues and his theory of law. The project will thus provide a novel contribution to the history of the reception of Plato in contemporary thought.

The Department's research is embedded in the Center for the History of Philosophy and Science. The Center has a very cohesive research group. Its members lunch together on a regular basis. They share their research in work-in-progress meetings, and they co-teach, co-publish, and co-organise conferences. PhD supervision is of high quality, not at the least because of the daily presence of supervisors and supervisees at the department. The aforementioned project will be conducted in close cooperation with the Center for Contemporary European Philosophy.

Requirements

• An MA degree in Philosophy (including Philosophy of Law).
• Strong conceptual skills.
• Willingness to teach (your teaching load may be up to 10% of your appointment).
• Proficiency in English (C1).
• Excellent reading skills in German.
• Knowledge of ancient Greek is not required but would be an advantage.

Conditions of employment
Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

• Employment: 0.8 (5 year contract) - 1.0 FTE (4 year contract).
• The gross starting salary amounts to € 2,434 per month based on a 38-hour working week, and will increase to € 3,111 from the fourth year onwards (salary scale P ).
• In addition to the salary: an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• Duration of the contract: you will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract) or 3.5 years (5 year contract).
• The intended start date is 3 January 2022.
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services . Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment and help your family settle in Nijmegen.

Application procedure
Please address your application to Antonio Cimino and submit it, using the application form , no later than 31 October 2021, 23:59 Amsterdam Time Zone.   

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