Two Postdoctoral Researchers in Theoretical Philosophy

University of Helsinki; Helsinki; Presencial; EUR 45.000 - 49.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Travel budget 2000 EUR/year for travel

Health insurance

Sports facilities

Language courses

Professional development opportunities

Descripción de la vacante

University of Helsinki invites applications for two fixed‑term Postdoctoral Researchers in Theoretical Philosophy. The project explores the Epistemic Significance of Concepts and aims to hire researchers with expertise spanning psychology, cognitive science, linguistics and philosophy.

Responsibilities include publishing peer‑reviewed articles, collaborating across projects, and contributing to conferences and seminars. Teaching in Finnish, Swedish or English is possible for about 5–10% of time.

Formación

• Hold a doctoral degree in philosophy or complete by start of contract.
• Applicants should have strong record in interdisciplinary work at intersection of psychology, cognitive science, linguistics and philosophy.

Responsabilidades

• Authoring peer‑reviewed journal articles addressing core project questions.
• Collaborating with project members and external researchers; co‑authoring publications.
• Organising international conferences, workshops and seminars.

Conocimientos

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Philosophy of language

Cognitive science

Psychology

Linguistics

English proficiency

Educación

Doctoral degree in philosophy

Descripción del empleo

Two Postdoctoral Researchers in Theoretical Philosophy

The Research Council of Finland-funded project “the Epistemic Significance of Concepts” based at Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Helsinki invites applications for two (2) fixed-term Postdoctoral Researcher positions. The positions are for four years, starting in April 2027 (or later as agreed). The positions belong to a research project “the Epistemic Significance of Concepts” led by Academy Professor Maria Lasonen. The project is funded by the Research Council of Finland. The project will work alongside another project on concepts funded by the European Research Council, but its aims are complementary to those of the ERC project.

Conceptual resources are crucial from an epistemic perspective. Having the right concepts allows asking the right questions, formulating new hypotheses, and providing good explanations. New concepts are often needed for developing theories that systematize data and make accurate predictions. Good concepts are projectable, providing a sound basis for inductive reasoning. They enable communicating one's own experiences and recognizing various forms of injustice. In short, concepts enable acquiring knowledge and understanding – whether about the subatomic world, moral reality, or our own social experiences – that is otherwise out of reach. And on the flipside: inapt concepts can result in widespread ignorance.

This project aims to ask epistemological questions about concepts in an empirically informed way. These questions include but are not restricted to the following: What are concepts, and what do they allow us to do? What is their epistemic role? How do cognitive scientists and psychologists think about concepts? What are recognitional abilities, and how do they relate to concepts? How are concepts and linguistic meaning related? Can work on lexical competence shed light on conceptual competence? What makes for an epistemically good concept or distinction? Do epistemically good concepts track metaphysically privileged categories? How should considerations of cognitive limitations and architecture inform our account of epistemically good concepts? Could we offer a unified theory of epistemically good concepts that bridges the gap between scientific concepts designating natural kinds and non‑scientific concepts with similar epistemic benefits (supporting inductive inference, figuring in good explanations and generalisations, etc.)? Does AI use concepts and if so, how can we tell which concepts it deploys? How can we impact which concepts AI deploys? Can we make rational or reasonable decisions about which new concepts to adopt? What are some robust case studies of new, epistemically good concepts from both the natural and social sciences? How do social practices shape the thinking of individuals by impacting which concepts they deploy and what information is associated with these concepts? How can we understand such social influences in a way that fits with an externalist and referentialist view of language and the mind? What sort of account can we provide of the role of concepts in inference without relying on inferentialism? What can we learn about the distorting view of concepts from the Marxist and feminist traditions and the philosophy of race? How do concepts compete with other concepts? How do concepts relate to unawareness and ignorance? What is the role of concepts in understanding? What is the role of concepts in moral epistemology? Do thick concepts play a special role in moral knowledge and understanding? To what extent does the role of thick concepts in moral epistemology rely on a view about the semantics of thick terms?

Since the PI of the project is an epistemologist, the postdoctoral researchers being hired will bring in complementary expertise from outside epistemology.

Responsibilities and Assessment of Qualifications

• Authoring peer‑reviewed journal articles answering core questions investigated by the project.
• Being open to collaborating with the other projects members, for instance by writing joint publications.
• Organising and participating in international conferences, workshops, and seminars.
• Preparing competitive grant applications.
• Providing research‑based teaching in Finnish, Swedish, or English (app. 5‑10 % of annual working time).
• Seeking opportunities for societal engagement.
• Attending a regular project seminar in person.

Assessment of Qualifications

• Applicants should hold a doctoral degree in philosophy or complete a doctoral degree by the beginning of the work contract.
• Given the salary bracket of the position, the candidates should not have more than three years of previous post‑doctoral experience.
• In exceptional cases, we will consider applicants with doctoral degrees in other areas (e.g. cognitive science, psychology, or linguistics), provided they have adequate expertise in philosophy, as well as candidates with more than 3 years of post‑doctoral experience.
• We welcome proposals from researchers with research projects that intersect with a range of the project’s research questions.
• A pre‑existing interest and publication record on topics within the general theme of the research project is a prerequisite.
• We are specifically looking for expertise that lies in the intersection of psychology, cognitive science, linguistics (pragmatics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics) and philosophy bearing on concepts and word meaning.
• The aim is to hire at least one researcher with deep knowledge of discussions of concepts and categorisation in psychology and cognitive science.
• Candidates must be able to write and publish high‑quality peer‑reviewed articles both independently and collaboratively.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English are required.
• Applicants should possess sufficient teaching skills to successfully teach undergraduate and master programme courses in philosophy.

What we offer

• The salary for the positions will be based on level 5 of the job requirement scheme for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities.
• The appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal performance.
• The starting salary will be approximately 4000–4400 €/month before taxes depending on the appointee's qualifications and experience.
• The position will come with a travel budget of 2000 euros per year, to be used for conference travel related to the project.
• In Finnish universities, the teaching and research staff (app. 65% of total staff) have a special system regarding the free time equivalent to holiday. They belong to the 1612 annual working hour system, in which the annual amount of paid holiday is app. 5‑6 weeks per year.
• The University of Helsinki offers comprehensive services to its employees, including occupational health care and health insurance, sports facilities, language courses, and opportunities for professional development.
• The appointee is expected to reside in Finland while employed by the University of Helsinki.
• The University provides support for internationally recruited employees with their transition to work and life in Finland.

The positions have a six‑month trial period.

The research project is based at Theoretical Philosophy at the Faculty of Humanities. The office is located at the University of Helsinki City Centre Campus.

In addition to international collaborations, researchers at Theoretical Philosophy collaborate with philosophy researchers from other faculties and disciplines at the University of Helsinki such as Practical Philosophy, Philosophy (Swedish language), Faculty of Theology, and Helsinki Collegium of Advanced Studies.

A diverse and equitable study and work culture is important to us. That is why we do our best to promote an inclusive university community. We encourage all qualified applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply for these two positions.

The deadline for applications is 30th of November. There may be video interviews during January or February 2027, and decisions will be made by March 2027.

Additional information: Further information about the two positions can be obtained from the project PI, Academy Professor Maria Lasonen (maria.lasonen(at)helsinki.fi).