3 year Postdoc in Science and Values, Leibniz Uni Hannover, Germany
The Institute of Philosophy at Leibniz Universität Hannover invites applications for a Post-Doctoral Position funded by the DFG (the main German public research funding organization). Applicants should have a PhD in philosophy, philosophy of science, history and philosophy of science, bioethics, or similar areas; with an AOS in science and values. The postdoctoral fellow will work with Prof. Torsten Wilholt (Leibniz Universität Hannover) and Prof. Manuela Fernández Pinto (Universidad de los Andes) as part of the project “A Philosophical Approach to Biasing Mechanisms in Scientific Research.”
The project aims at providing a philosophical analysis that contributes to a better understanding of biasing mechanisms in science. Recent work in philosophy of science has convincingly shown that science is not value-free, and that values, including social and political values, play different roles in the research process. It has also become clear that, values can have both a positive and a negative impact on science. Sometimes, values can contribute to science’s epistemic and social goals, while other times, they can have a detrimental effect on science’s epistemic goals, i.e., bias research results. With this framework in mind, the main goal of this project is to clarify the negative roles of biases in scientific research. While it is well-known that biases impact scientific research results, we have a less clear understanding of the different types of biases, their mechanisms, and their scope. This project aims to fulfill that gap.
Cover letter
The cover letter (doc or pdf) is an opportunity for you to highlight your unique qualifications for this postdoctoral position in brief. Please do not write more than one page.
CV
This should be an academic CV, focusing on your education and academic activities, including lists of your publications and presentations (doc or pdf).
Writing Sample
This should be your best philosophical work, regardless of topic. You can submit a work-in-progress or an already published piece. The paper should be of standard length (20 pages double-spaced, ca. 7000 words) (doc or pdf).
Certificates
We require scans (pdf) of your PhD certificate or diploma and previous academic degree certificates or diplomas. This is an administrative requirement for the hiring process. The certificates should be in English or German. If your certificate is in a different language, please provide a translation in English or German. For the application, a translation made by yourself is sufficient. However, for the hiring process we will need certified translations.
You are very welcome to apply, even if you don't have your PhD certificate yet. In this case you should hand in some kind of proof that you handed in your dissertation, e.g. a confirmation by the faculty or your supervisor. For the actual hiring process, however, we will need a copy of the PhD certificate or diploma.
The project will be conducted in English. No proficiency in German required.
The postdoctoral positions will be offered as 100% positions on salary scale E13.
The following information is intended to give you a rough orientation on the salary and is not legally binding. Currently, a 100% E13 position amounts to a gross salary of ca. 50 000 € p.a. Taxes and deductions for mandatory health and retirement plans apply, so that a single person may initially expect a monthly net salary of ca. 2500 €. Note that this means that you are automatically insured within German statutory health insurance (“gesetzliche
Leibniz University Hannover aims to promote women within the scope of the statutory provisions and, hence, emphatically invites qualified women to apply for this position. Severely disabled applicants will be given preferential consideration in the event of equal qualification.