Within the Département de Philosophie, Éthique et Sciences des Religions et de la laïcité at the Université libre de Bruxelles, there is a vacancy for a fully funded 3-year fellowship in the context of the ARC project „Transformations of practical reason in early modern philosophy prior to Kant”, directed by Prof. Arnaud Pelletier (https://www.ulb.ac.be/recherche/presentation/en-arcpelletieren.html). Within this project, which has three parts, the candidate will work on one of the two following issues:

either Leibniz: Practical reason and the Science of prudence
The main focus of this first topic is to address Leibniz’s practical philosophy through the particular investigation of the project of a « science of prudence » (its genesis, evolution and challenges). The new conceptualization of practical reason should also be compared to both the contemporary projects of a "moral science" and the Leibnizian scope of wisdom understood as a "science of happiness".

or The primacy of practical reason before Kant
The main focus of this second topic will be that of the origin and ensuing modifications of the idea of a "primacy of practical reason" (over theoretical reason) in pre-Kantian philosophy (addressing, for instance, authors like Thomasius, Crusius or Baumgarten as far as the 18th century is concerned) in order to investigate the different ways to address the genuine normativity of the practical reason and its relationship to the theoretical reason.

The thesis can be written in French or in English, but the candidate must be able to present his/her research and to take part in seminars in French. From the first year, active participation in the doctoral program and the activities of the Research Center in Philosophy (http://phi.ulb.ac.be/) and of the Research Group in Modern Philosophy, as well as contributions to journals and international conferences are expected. The candidate may have small administrative tasks (organization of conferences, etc.) within the ARC project.

Requirements: - MA in Philosophy (or a justification that it has been passed in 2015)
- Good knowledge of early modern philosophy
- Written and oral competence in French
- A minimum command of Latin and German would be an asset

Duration: 36 months, starting October 1, 2015
Amount: ca. 1880 EUR per month (netto)

Application deadline: August 20, 2015.

Applicants should send the following files (numbered from 1 to 5) to Arnaud [dot] Pelletier [__at__] ulb [dot] ac [dot] be:
1) a cover letter (explaining the adequacy of the applicant with the topic he/she wants to work on)
2) a detailed CV (including an academic transcript) with a publication list (if any)
3) a brief doctoral project (4 pages + bibliography)
4) a writing sample (about 10 pages, possibly from the Master thesis)
5) names and contact details of two academic referees.

For any further information, please feel free to contact Arnaud Pelletier (Arnaud [dot] Pelletier [__at__] ulb [dot] ac [dot] be).
Results will be known by the end of August 2015.