PhD Position on Intercultural Perspectives on the Ethics of Existential Risk

Philosophers are increasingly concerned with the impact of socially disruptive technologies on our existing concepts as well as new ones. One such concept that has recently emerged as a response to changing socio-technical circumstances is that of existential risks. Most discussions in the field don't pay attention to intercultural philosophical perspectives. For instance, the concept of existential risk finds its roots in a specific brand of Western-centric normative thinking, thereby influencing how we frame and approach what we find valuable and important for the purposes of preventing existential risks from materializing. The primary goal of the project is to study existential risks as part of broader conceptual cluster disrupted by socio-technological developments through the lens of general intercultural philosophy or a specific non-Western ethical framework. The resulting approach of ‘intercultural ethics of existential risks’ would be operationalized to explore whether and how insights and perspectives from under-represented philosophical traditions bear upon understanding existential risks (and related concepts), and subsequently, normative and practical questions associated with why their mitigation matters, for whom, and so on.
This PhD position will be part of the Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies programme, ESDiT, a ten year long international research programme 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 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 in 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 programme includes four research lines, “Nature, life and human intervention”, “The future of a free and fair society”, “The human condition” and “Foundation and Synthesis: Ethics of Technology, Practical Philosophy, and Modern Technology-Driven Societies”.
This PhD project will be embedded in the Foundation and Synthesis line, as well as in the intercultural track that cross-cuts through the whole program. More information can be found on the ESDiT website: https://www.esdit.nl/ The candidate is expected to play an active role in the project described above and to participate actively in the workshops, public events, courses and other activities of the ESDiT programme in general and the “Foundation and Synthesis” research line and intercultural track in particular. ESDiT-PhD students are encouraged to spend a semester abroad, and a budget is available to cover expenses. Furthermore, generous (conference) travel budgets are available for the position.
The supervisory team for this position will consist of dr. Kritika Maheshwari (TU Delft), dr. Gunter Bombaerts (TU Eindhoven) and Prof.dr. Sabine Roeser (TU Delft). The position is based at the Ethics and Philosophy of Technology Section at the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management (TPM) at TU Delft, which provides a stimulating and internationally oriented research environment. The candidate will participate in the activities of in the Graduate Schools of TU Delft, of the Faculty of TPM, and of the 4TU.Center for Ethics and Technology. Our PhD candidates also are expected to take on a small number of teaching tasks, under supervision.

Requirements:

• You will have completed, prior to appointment, a Master’s degree or equivalent degree in moral or theoretical philosophy, but other Master’s degrees will also be considered if you have demonstrable expertise in conceptual problems and approaches to normative justification, in close connection with the themes of the research project.
• Familiarity with ongoing discussions in existential risk research is greatly valued.
• Strong conceptual and analytic skills.
• You have proven affinity with technology and the philosophy of technology.
• You have acquaintance with intercultural philosophy approaches.
• Relative to experience, you have excellent research skills and excellent academic writing and presentation skills.
• You can work both independently and as part of a team.
• You have a high level of proficiency in English

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.

Salary Benefits:

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.
Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2770 per month in the first year to € 3539 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.
The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.
For international applicants, TU Delft has the Coming to Delft Service. This service provides information for new international employees to help you prepare the relocation and to settle in the Netherlands. The Coming to Delft Service offers a Dual Career Programme for partners and they organise events to expand your (social) network.

36 - 40 hours per week

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