RAIL

The Department of Philosophy, which is one of three departments of the Faculty of Humanities, is a vibrant and international community of philosophers committed to high-quality teaching and research in diverse areas of philosophy. The Theoretical Philosophy group, where the current position is based, was evaluated as the best group in theoretical philosophy among all participating groups during the last QANU research visitation.

The position is part of Dr. Catarina Dutilh Novaes’ ERC Consolidator project ‘The Social Epistemology of Argumentation’, which is devoted to investigating the role(s) of argumentation in social processes of sharing and producing epistemic resources such as knowledge, justification, defeaters etc. This postdoc project focuses specifically on formal theories of argumentation, in different disciplines: argumentation theory, logic, artificial intelligence, game theory, formal social epistemology. The postdoc will survey a number of prominent formal accounts of argumentation in order to determine how best to capture the key idea of the project, namely that argumentation is best conceived of as social epistemic exchange, within a formal framework. The postdoc project will be carried out in collaboration with the principal investigator, Catarina Dutilh Novaes, and PhD students and another postdoc to be appointed at later stages. The position includes ample funding for research and travel. A full description of the ERC project is available upon request; candidates are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the project when writing their letter of application.

Tasks

• Conduct research on the project topic, resulting in several papers in international peer-reviewed journals;
• Participate in the teaching and research activities of the Theoretical Philosophy group, depending on the candidate’s needs and availability;
• Co-supervise Ph.D. students and potentially supervise students in the Department’s Bachelor and Masters programs;
• Participate in the university’s grant-writing support program and submit at least one proposal to a national or international funding agency;
• Co-organize and coordinate project workshops and other events.

Requirements
The candidate should have a Ph.D. degree (or an approved thesis and a set defense date) in Philosophy, Artificial Intelligence, or Argumentation Theory, with a strong academic record, demonstrable affinity with social epistemology and argumentation theory, and solid formal skills. Excellent spoken and written English as well as strong academic writing skills are essential.

Further particulars
• The appointment will initially be for 12 months. After satisfactory evaluation of the initial appointment, it can be extended for a total duration of three years;
• Preferred starting date: Fall 2018, and no later than November 1st 2018.

You can find information about our excellent fringe benefits of employment at www.workingatvu.nl such as:
• Remuneration of 8,3% end-of-year bonus and 8% holiday allowance
• Solid pension scheme (ABP)
• A minimum of 29 holidays in case of full-time employment
• Generous contribution commuting allowance based on public transport

Salary
Salary will be in accordance with university regulations for academic personnel, and is expected to be
€ 3238,00 gross per month based on full-time employment (pending on the candidate’s experience and seniority).

Information
For additional information please contact:
Dr. Catarina Dutilh Novaes
e-mail: c.dutilh.novaes@rug.nl and cdutilhnovaes@gmail.com (please use both)
website: https://sites.google.com/site/catarinadutilhnovaes/home

Application
To apply, please send the following materials in one email to vacature.fgw@vu.nl and  sea.vu.erc@gmail.com (please use both) with subject line ‘Postdoc Application’ and vacancy number in the emailheader:
• a letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications to work in this project (a full description of the project is available upon request, by getting in touch with Dr. Dutilh Novaes)
• a curriculum vitae
• two references (names and e-mails)
• a writing sample or published paper of about 6,000 – 8,000 words

Search Procedure
The deadline for application is May 20th 2018. We will be conducting (video-conference) interviews in June, and a decision will be made by the end of June, early July at the latest.