PhD to draw on contemporary philosophy of mind, social ontology, & classical phenomenology for Dan Zahavi’s ‘Who are We?’ project.
The Center for Subjectivity Research (CFS), at the Department of Communication, University of Copenhagen, is advertising a fully funded PhD-position in philosophy to be filled by September 1, 2020 or as soon as possible thereafter. The 3-year position is funded by Prof. Dan Zahavi‘s ERC Advanced Grant “Who are We? Self-identity, Social Cognition, and Collective Intentionality”. The PhD student will be expected to draw on discussions found in contemporary philosophy of mind and social ontology as well as on contributions found in classical phenomenology (e.g., Husserl, Stein, Scheler, Heidegger, Sartre).
Job content
The larger project investigates what it means to feel, think, and act as part of a we. Its guiding hypothesis is that a systematic account of the we must be embedded in a more comprehensive investigation of selfhood and social cognition. The project will systematically develop this hypothesis by combining cross-disciplinary theorizing with historical scholarship. In particular, it will draw on seminal contributions from classical phenomenology. In addition to philosophers, the project will also involve social scientists (from social anthropology, sociology, social psychology and political theory).
The specific focus of the PhD project is to investigate the relation between the I and the we. What does the existence of we-experiences tell us about the structure of the first-person singular perspective? What is the relation between personal identity and collective identity? Is selfhood only something that can be achieved as part of a community, is individual selfhood linked constitutively to we-membership, or does the latter on the contrary require some pre-existing form of selfhood? In engaging with these questions, the PhD student will be expected to draw on discussions found in contemporary philosophy of mind and social ontology as well as on contributions found in classical phenomenology (e.g., Husserl, Stein, Scheler, Heidegger, Sartre).
The successful candidate will be working in close cooperation with philosophers and other social scientists and is expected to partake in the activities of CFS on a daily basis.
More information on the position and application at the UoC job portal.