4-year PhD fellowship
The Institute of Philosophy at the University of Neuchâtel (http://www2.unine.ch/philo/) offers a 4-year PhD fellowship within Fabrice Correia’s SNSF Consolidator project
THE METAPHYSICS OF TIME: RECONCILING THE MANIFEST IMAGE AND CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE
The project will be linked to eidos, the Centre for Metaphysics (http://eidos.philosophie.ch/).
STARTING DATE
August 1st, 2015. A later date may be considered, depending on the availability of the candidate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT
Our common representation of the world appears to involve a number of substantial metaphysical views about time and its occupants, in particular the view that there is an objective distinction between past, present and future, the view that time passes or flows, or again the view that time is occupied both by events and things, the former unfolding along the temporal dimension and the latter persisting and changing through time while remaining numerically the same. Recently, these theses have been subject to a form of scepticism, which purports to show that the very distinctions they explicitly endorse or at least presuppose are in fact illusory. Even if it is granted that the relevant distinctions do make sense, a number of arguments taken from contemporary physics have been put forward against the common sense views. The aim of the project is twofold: (1) to argue, against the sceptical stances, that the distinctions in question are robust, and (2) to assess the prospects of a reconciliation of contemporary physics and commonsense. The core working hypothesis of the project is that both aims can be achieved in terms of relevant concepts of “fundamentality”, “grounding”, “what is really the case”, and cognate notions.
SCIENTIFIC REQUIREMENTS
The ideal candidate has a strong background in both contemporary metaphysics and the philosophy of contemporary physics. The appointee will be expected to work on a topic related to the project.
LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
Neuchâtel is part of the French-speaking area of Switzerland, but for the purposes of the position only English is compulsory.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications must be sent by e-mail to Fabrice Correia (fabrice [dot] correia [__at__] unine [dot] ch) by March 31st, 2015. They should include a CV, a list of publications, a writing sample and the name of two persons who can act as referees if contacted.
For further information, please contact Fabrice Correia (fabrice [dot] correia [__at__] unine [dot] ch).