Postdoc Position

Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) is one of Germany's leading research universities. The University draws its strength from both the diversity and the proximity of humanities, natural sciences and engineering disciplines on a single, coherent campus. This highly dynamic setting enables students and researchers to work across traditional boundaries of academic subjects and faculties.

Ruhr-Universität Bochum is committed to promoting the careers of women and therefore strongly welcomes applications from female candidates. As an equal opportunities employer, we also encourage applications from suitably qualified disabled candidates and other groups.

Ihre Aufgaben

At the Institute of Philosophy II of the Ruhr-University in Bochum a position for a PhD student (65 % TVL) or a postdoc position (100% TVL) is offered in the area of philosophy of mind and cognition in the research group of Prof. Albert Newen. The position is available for a period of two years in the case of a postdoc and three years in the case of a PhD-candidate. The project will be situated in Bochum and developed in a close collaboration with researchers from other RUB departments in neuroscience, psychology and computational modelling. The candidates should be interested in working out a project within the thematic framework of the position determined by the research project described now

Ihr Profil

autobiographical episode is based on triggering relevant memory traces which are used to construct a scenario by enrichment or modification through semantic information. One main challenge of this project is the adequate description of the whole Self-Memory System by also accounting for the functional roles of episodic memory. This theoretical project is realized in close collaboration with an additional empirical fMRI project (guided by Prof. Nikolai Axmacher in the same Research Group) in which we aim to measure the neural correlates of the influence of the self-model on episodic recall. Thus, an interdisciplinary perspective is essential for the project. Depending on the background and level (PhD or postdoc) the project can be jointly shaped and constrained.

Requirements for PhD applicants: The applicants for a PhD-position are expected to have an excellent M.A. (or Staatsexamen degree) in Philosophy. Their area of expertise should be in Philosophy of Mind, either including philosophy of self or philosophy of memory, and they should be familiar with at least one of the following areas: Cognitive Psychology, Artificial Intelligence or Cognitive Neuroscience.

Requirements for postdoc applicants: Candidates should have an outstanding PhD in philosophy and, in the ideal case, an additional degree in psychology, cognitive science, linguistics, psychiatry or neurosciences. Some substantial expertise in at least one of these areas will be expected. Furthermore, the candidate is expected to have proven expertise in the field of theories of self-consciousness or self understanding or concerning theories of episodic memory or in philosophy of psychiatry with some knowledge in philosophy of self or philosophy of memory., The applicant need not speak German at the time of application but he or she should be willing to learn German in order to be able to engage in everyday conversations soon. Candidates should be prepared to participate in weekly meetings of the research group of Prof. Newen in Bochum. Candidates who have evidently engaged in some in-depth research in both philosophy of mind with very good knowledge in neurosciences will be of particular interest for this job.

Kontakt

Application documents: Please send your application to sekretariat-newen@rub.de, For further information, please contact: Prof. Dr. A. Newen (albert.newen@rub.de)