Call for Applications:
SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATOR
in the project 'To and Fro: Scientific Metaphysics at Physics's Frontiers'
University of Geneva
The Department of Philosophy in Geneva solicits applications for a research
position ('collaborateur scientifique'), starting 1 September 2019 or as soon
as possible thereafter. The position is funded by the Swiss National Science
Foundation grant 'To and Fro: Scientific Metaphysics at Physics's Frontiers'.
The position will be funded for up to 9 months from the starting date.
The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to the project's
research independently and in collaboration with Professor Christian Wuthrich.
They will be expected to participate in weekly meetings of the Geneva Symmetry
Group during term, and help with the administration and organization of the
group's activities. Fluency in English is required.
Please find more information on the project at the end of this ad. More
information on the Geneva Centre for Philosophy of Science can be found at
http://www.unige.ch/lettres/philo/recherche/research-groups/geneva-centre-philosophy-science/.
More information on the Geneva Symmetry Group can be found at
https://genevasymmetrygroup.wordpress.com/.
Applicants with strong backgrounds in metaphysics (particularly laws of nature,
causation, philosophy of mind), philosophy of physics (particularly spacetime,
quantum physics), and the relevant physics (particularly quantum gravity) will
be strongly preferred, but candidates with backgrounds in only some of these
areas will also be considered. The Ph.D. must be in hand at the time of
employment.
The position is fixed-term for up to 9 months. The salary is competitive. Some
research funds for travel to relevant conferences are available.
Applications must contain a cover letter detailing the pertinent experience for
the position, a CV, a one-page research statement describing the work to be
accomplished for the project including publication plans, one or two writing
samples, and three letters of reference. The letters of reference must be sent
under separate cover, i.e., directly by the letters writers or their
administrator and not by the candidate. All materials should be sent to
Professor Christian Wuthrich at [email protected].
Review of the files will begin on 30 June 2019 and will continue until the
position is filled. The competition for this position opens on 30 June and
closes on 31 August 2019.
Applications from women and underrepresented minorities are particularly
encouraged.
For more information, please contact Professor Christian Wuthrich at
[email protected].
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To and Fro: Scientific Metaphysics at Physics's Frontiers
Scientific metaphysics is a recently much discussed approach in metaphysics
that aims to bridge the artificial gap between contemporary analytical
metaphysics and science by promoting a strong interrelationship between the two
fields. In this context, the project explicitly considers the two directions of
the relationship between contemporary analytical metaphysics and current
fundamental physics, taking space and time as an exemplar for the interaction
between the two. Consequently, the two interrelated parts of the project aim to
travel the road between scientific metaphysics and the frontiers of physics in
the two directions. In the first part 'From metaphysics to physics', the
project aims to show how the tools of functionalism as developed in the
philosophy of mind and metaphysics can help to resolve the conceptual problems
related to the absence of standard space and time at the quantum gravity level,
in particular regarding a threat of empirical incoherence. In this co
ntext, the project aims to develop a new model of functional emergence of the
empirically relevant spatio-temporal features from a non-spatio-temporal
ontology suggested by the current main research programs in quantum gravity.
Thus, tools from metaphysics are employed to enable a successful interpretation
of fundamental physical theories. Traveling in the other direction, 'From
physics to metaphysics', the second part of the project aims to redefine
central metaphysical conceptions concerning laws of nature and causation in the
light of current research on space and time at the frontiers of physics; the
goal is to update and to enrich these traditional metaphysical debates with
novel inputs from contemporary fundamental physics. We aim to generalize the
two main families of conceptions--namely reductive and non-reductive
ones--regarding laws of nature and causation to the non-spatio-temporal setting
suggested by quantum gravity.
The project implements what is argued to be a fruitful--indeed ultimately
inevitable--dialogue between contemporary analytical metaphysics and current
fundamental physics, providing concrete examples of a two-way avenue to and fro
metaphysics and physics. The project will be of relevance to a large audience
of philosophers, and will bring together metaphysicians, philosophers of
science, and physicists through its network of national and international
partners.
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