This Postdoc position will be part of the Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies research program, a new 10 year long international program (2020-29) of seven academic institutions in the Netherlands. This programme has a combined budget of € 27 million, and is funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) in the Gravitation funding scheme for excellent research, and by matching funds from the participating institutions.
The programme has the aim of achieving breakthrough research at the intersection of ethics, philosophy, technology / engineering and social sciences, and to position its consortium at the top of its field internationally. A key objective is to investigate how new technologies challenge moral values and ontological concepts (like “nature”, “human being” and “community”), and how these challenges necessitate a revision of these concepts. The program includes four research lines, “Nature, life and human intervention”, “The future of a free and fair society”, “The human condition” and “Synthesis: Ethics of Technology, Practical Philosophy, and Modern Technology-Driven Societies”. The Postdoc project we advertise will be part of the Synthesis research line.

The project
One of the central ideas of the gravitation program is that the new generation of socially disruptive technologies will challenge and even change key concepts with which we understand and evaluate ourselves, our social world and natural environment. These concepts include agency, responsibility, autonomy, democracy, and nature. It is, however, not evident what this conceptual change amounts to. The main aim of this project is to understand what conceptual change in the context of socially disruptive technologies actually can mean. Concepts may change over time in several relevant respects. These include the meaning or intension, the scope or extension, and the preciseness or fuzziness. Conceptual change may be driven by internal developments in a scientific discipline, but also by external developments in society, such as technological developments or by normative developments.
We are looking for a candidate who will be able to theorize how conceptual change takes place in relation to moral and ontological concepts, what kinds of changes occur, and how they are induced, both in general and in relation to technological change. This will involve the development and deployment of theories of concepts, and case studies of conceptual change, particularly of moral and ontological concepts. For example, of the concept of privacy: how has it changed over time and in what relevant respects?

Requirements
You hold a Ph.D degree (by the time of appointment), and have a background in philosophy of language, logic, philosophy of science, or conceptual history of philosophy, and should have affinity with cognitive science and ethics. The TU/e is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome candidates with a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives. As we aim to increase the diversity in our Section Philosophy & Ethics and in the field of philosophy, we especially encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply.

Conditions of employment
We offer you a 3 year Post-Doc, starting September 1, 2020 (or later in 2020). The gross salary is €3255-€4274 per month, paid 14 times per year (more precisely a holiday allowance (8% of the annual salary), plus an end-of-year bonus (amounting to 8.3%)), with full social security benefits and a number of additional benefits. Eindhoven University of Technology provides excellent facilities for professional and personal development. Please note that there are other vacancies in the Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies program at different participating universities. In case several are of interest to you, we want to encourage you to apply to them as well.

Philosophy and Ethics Department at TU/e: https://www.tue.nl/en/research/research-groups/philosophy-ethics/
Gravitation Project: https://www.esdt.nl
4TU Ethics: https://ethicsandtechnology.eu

For further information, please contact Prof. Vincent C. Müller: v.c.muller[at]tue.nl

Social media has become an essential space of public and semi-public discourse, and has the potential for a second wave of digital democracy by increasing access to information and greatly lowering the barrier of participation in public debates. The last few years, however, have also shown some of the risks that are present in social media. Fake news, disinformation, manipulation and disguised propaganda in social media have contributed to a post-truth era in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. A recent challenge is posed by so called deep-fake technology that allows to create authentic looking videos that seem to depict real events, and that are undistinguishable from real videos for the average user. This poses a threat to democracy.

In this project we will investigate the complex picture of the influence of social media upon democratic politics, and whether the claim that democratic practices is linked to truth telling, rationality, consensus and reason is still tenable due to social media. The objective of this project is to develop a normative and empirical model of democracy theory that takes into account the potential of social media to facilitate more participative democracy while acknowledge its disruptive value of challenging traditional political practices and institutions.

Research Program “Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies”

This PhD position will be part of the Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies research program, a new 10 year long international program of seven academic institutions in the Netherlands that has started in January 2020. This programme has a combined budget of € 27 million, and is funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) in the Gravitation funding scheme for excellent research, and by matching funds from the participating institutions. The duration is from January 2020 to December 2029.

The programme has the aim of achieving breakthrough research at the intersection of ethics, philosophy, technology / engineering and social sciences, and to position its consortium at the top of its field internationally. A key objective is to investigate how new technologies challenge moral values and ontological concepts (like “nature”, “human being” and “community”), and how these challenges necessitate a revision of these concepts. The program includes four research lines, “Nature, life and human intervention”, “The future of a free and fair society”, “The human condition” and “Synthesis: Ethics of Technology, Practical Philosophy, and Modern Technology-Driven Societies”. The PhD project we advertise will be part of the research line “The future of a free and fair society”

PhD students are encouraged to spend a semester abroad, and a budget is available to cover travel expenses. Please note that there are other vacancies in the Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies program at different participating universities. In case several are of interest to you, we want to encourage you to apply to them as well.
Job requirements

Your Profile

You hold a Master’s degree or equivalent degree in Philosophy or Ethics. Other Master’s degrees will also be considered if you have a demonstrable interest in analytical/conceptual problems, as well as in normative questions. You have an interest in the themes of the research: political philosophy, ethics, ethics of technology, democracy, and social media. You have good Dutch and English skills.

The TU/e is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome candidates with a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives. As we aim to increase the diversity in our Section and in the field of philosophy, we especially encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply.
Conditions of employment

We offer you a four-year Ph.D. position, starting September 1 (or soon thereafter), 2020. The gross salary is €2325 per month in the first year to €2972 per month in the last year. Additionally, Eindhoven University of Technology provides excellent facilities for professional and personal development, a holiday allowance (amounting to 8% of the annual salary), an end-of-year bonus (amounting to 8.3%), and a number of additional benefits.
Information and application

Application

Your application should contain the following documents:

a letter of application which explains your interest in the position and your qualifications for it;
a curriculum vitae;
a writing sample (Master thesis or equivalent)
a one-page motivation statement, elaborating on your ideas for a research focus in line with the project
names and contact information of two persons willing to provide references;

If you are interested, we invite you to apply before June 21 2020. Interviews will be held shortly thereafter. To apply please use the “apply now” button. Please note that a maximum of 1 document can be uploaded, so if you have more than 1 document you will have to combine them. Please do not send us applications by e-mail.

Further information
For further information on the PhD project, please contact mr.dr.ir. Lambèr Royakkers (email: l.m.m.royakkers[at]tue.nl, phone: +31 40 2474693)

More information about the Program “Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies” can be found at https://www.esdt.nl/.

More information about the Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences can be found at www.tue.nl/en/university/departments/industrial-engineering-innovation-s....

Information about the terms of employment can be obtained from Kim van Puijenbroek, HR advisor (pz.ieis[at]tue.nl). Further information about Eindhoven University of Technology can be found at www.tue.nl.

Leibniz University Hannover and Bielefeld University (Germany) invite applications for the position of

5 Doctoral Candidates (m/f/d) (salary scale E13 TV-L, 65%)
in Ethics of Science and/or Philosophy of Science

starting 1 October 2020, within the Graduiertenkolleg (research training group) GRK 2073 “Integrating Ethics and Epistemology of Scientific Research”.

The positions are limited to 3 years. At least two of the positions are expected to be located at Leibniz University Hannover and at least two at Bielefeld University. Application deadline: 31 May 2020.

For further information and our application guide, please see https://grk2073.org/apply/ or contact the coordinator Leonie Wiemeyer at leonie [dot] wiemeyer [__at__] philos [dot] uni-hannover [dot] de.

We are looking for a self-motivated postdoc with a strong interest in the ethics of digital technologies in healthcare. The job placement is temporarily for two years and is situated in newly established Digital healthcare ethics laboratory (Digit-HeaL) at the Catholic University of Croatia in Zagreb. The successful applicant will become a member of the new research group and will have the chance to work within the installation research project „ (New) Ethical and Social Challenges of Digital Technologies in the Healthcare Domain (Digit-HeaL)“ funded by the Croatian Science Foundation under contract number UIP-2019-04-3212. The newly established international team will focus on ethical, legal and social issues of the use of different digital technologies in healthcare e.g. artificial intelligence, big data and digital phenotyping using mixed methods approach and involving stakeholders views.

Therefore as a postdoc, you will be involved in a theoretical analysis of the ethical and social issues and empirical work using qualitative and quantitative methods. It is strongly desired to have previous experience of interdisciplinary collaboration. You will work independently but in close collaboration with the research group leader of the Digit-HeaL Lab and other members of the research group.

From the applicant is expected to have an interest in ethical and social issues of digital technologies. The postdoc will work closely with the principal investigator and other collaborating investigators of the project to deliver high calibre research results. Salary will be commensurate with qualification and experience.

Application process:
A pre-selection will be made from amongst the submitted applications. The remainder of the selection procedure is specific to the position and will be determined by the selection panel.
The date of the interviews for candidates, preselected by a selection panel, will be communicated.

What we offer:
a temporary work contract for two years from 15 June 2020 until 15 June 2022.
a full time gross monthly salary ranging from € 1.607- € 1671
diverse opportunities for professional development
a dynamic and stimulating work environment

Requirements:

PhD in Philosophy (Applied ethics or Bioethics)
Strong commitment and interest in doing research in the Ethics of Medical Technologies
Experience in quantitative and qualitative methods (SPSS and NVivo)
Excellent command of written and spoken English (minimum CEF C1)
Flexibility and readiness to work in interdisciplinary teams

Application documents:

Application letter
Curriculum vitae
Copy of certificate of citizenship
Copy of academic degree certificates
Detailed presentation of research, teaching and other activities with supporting copies of documents
Publication list
Cover letter
Police clearance certificate (not older than six months)
Application documents (please submit all documents in English or Croatian)

How to apply:
The applications should be sent electronically until the closing date 18 May 2020, as a single PDF file containing all required documents indicated with a subject “Application for Postdoc at Digit-HeaL” at the e-mail: lana [dot] jurilj [__at__] unicath [dot] hr, and by post at the address: “ZA NATJEČAJ” Hrvatsko katoličko sveučilište, Ilica 242, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.