Job opportunities

POST-DOC POSITION IN MORAL PHILOSOPHY  

[deadline 10 January 2024] 

Roma Tre University

The Roma Tre University (Department of Philosophy, Communication and Performing Arts) is inviting applications for a postdoctoral researcher/assegnista di ricerca in the field of moral philosophy and social epistemology, for a period of one year (12 months) within the PRIN project “Distrust in Science Reframed: Understanding and Countering Anti-scientific Behavior”. 

Candidates must preferably hold a PhD degree in philosophy or provide clear evidence of obtaining it in the next months, and possibly have a track record of publishing in English. Candidates with a MA in philosophy will also be considered. In general, preference will be will given to candidates who are able to demonstrate their research excellence on topics connected with the following research description:

The project aims to investigate, from the perspective of moral philosophy, the phenomenon of declining public trust in experts -- a decline exemplified by widely discussed cases such as denialism about climate change, populist politics, and hesitation about vaccines. Widespread distrust in science -- as a method of knowing reality and solving problems that afflict individuals and society as a whole -- is usually pointed to as the cause of the decline in trust in the figure of the expert. Beginning with some of the objections that psychology and the social sciences have made to such an all-encompassing causalistic explanation, this project aims to offer a philosophical contribution to the issue, starting with the moral implications of distrust in experts and pursuing a twofold objective: (1) to offer a more refined model of the forces (cognitive, emotional, social) on the basis of which agents develop anti-scientific attitudes and behaviors (diagnostic part); (2) to develop a model to counteract the most pernicious effects of such attitudes and behaviors (constructive part). The researcher will help develop hypotheses within the diagnostic and constructive parts of the project, and will also collaborate in the organization of academic events related to the project.

There are no teaching obligations and knowledge of Italian is not required. The postdoctoral fellowship/assegno is exempted from regular income tax under the Italian legislation; only social security contributions apply. The gross amount of the fellowship is ca. 23.787,00 euros. 

The researcher will be supervised by Prof. Sofia Bonicalzi, Prof. Prof. Roberto Ciuni, Prof. Mario De Caro, and Dr. Mirko Garasic and will collaborate with the research activities of the other PRIN units (University of Genoa and University of Pavia). 

Eligible candidates have to apply by the 10th of January 2023 (12 pm, noon), following the indications available here: https://filosofiacomunicazionespettacolo.uniroma3.it/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/file_locked/2023/11/Bonicalzi_bando_Tipologia_PNRR_prot2126.pdf

Other applications cannot be considered. As the form for applying is only available in Italian, candidates are encouraged to contact sofia.bonicalzi@uniroma3.it in case they have any question regarding the procedure (or for any other question about the project). Interviews will be held online (the link will be communicated to the email address provided by the Candidate) on the 15th of January 2024, at 10 am. The starting date of the position can be mutually agreed as long as it is compatible with the plan of the funded project.