PRR Project

Summary

Job description NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities (NOVA FCSH) seeks to expand its academic staff by appointing an Assistant Researcher in Philosophy of Mind & Language. The selected candidate will develop a research agenda as an active member of Instituto de Filosofia da Nova (IFILNOVA) and will contribute to the development of NOVA FCSH strategic line on Media, Communication and Language. Mind and Language are nuclear subjects in Philosophy, involving a high level of specialization. IFILNOVA’s research lines involve the study of human cognition and its relation with the world from a variety of perspectives, belonging to the fields of epistemology (including ethically-driven, formal and social epistemology), formal value theory, logic, philosophy of artificial intelligence, philosophy of cognitive science, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind and philosophy of technology. Research in these areas is developed at the ArgLab – Laboratory of Argumentation, Cognition and Language, materializing in various individual and collective research projects, which share the general concern of using conceptual analysis and tools to illuminate contemporary concerns, aiming to applying philosophical theories to social practices and problems while prioritizing the role of values in human action. Scientific profile Candidates should present high level expertise in Mind and Language broadly construed.  Preference will be given to a scientific profile that reveals i) solid knowledge of this area; ii) theoretic ability to pursue philosophical reflection on current views in mind and language; iii) evidence of the capacity to attract funding for the exploration of issues in mind and language. Thus, we are looking for a candidate with an excellent curriculum, who: (i) has a PhD in Philosophy, with a specialization or thesis in Mind and Language broadly construed, (ii) has a good and increasingly solid record of international publications in books, indexed journals and book chapters; (iii) is committed with the dissemination of knowledge to audiences outside academia; (iv) has played an active role in research projects, especially in the role of Principal Investigator, demonstrating capacity to develop research projects in the future and attract external funding, and is or has been part of international projects in the research area described above, therefore showing that is capable of forming fruitful collaborations with other researchers or institutions; (v) has experience in teaching courses in the area of mind and language; (vi) shows abilities for undertaking managerial or scientific coordination activities, as well as vii) engaging in scientific referee work, evaluation committees and organization of scientific events. Rationale The recruitment of an Assistant Researcher in Philosophy in the area of Mind and Language is scientifically relevant for the Research Unit IFILNOVA, the Department of Philosophy and NOVA FCSH. IFILNOVA’s main goal is to develop research focused on the philosophical investigation of values. Among other perspectives, it promotes research on the nature of the human mind in the context of our technological environment populated by artificial intelligence, on how formal models of value theory at the intersection of philosophy, decision-making and computer science, can improve our understanding of value disagreement and provide tools for policy-makers to highlight ethical aspects of well-being and inequality, and how conceptual-analytical tools can illuminate issues belonging to epistemic injustice and social epistemology more generally. An Assistant Researcher working in Mind and Language will consolidate IFILNOVA’s long term investigation in this field and be a major addition to the teaching resources of NOVA FCSH and the Department of Philosophy.