Professor of Philosophy (Metaphysics) (EXPIRED)

Job description

The Faculty of Humanities of the University of Amsterdam provides education and conducts research with a strongly international profile in a large number of disciplines in the field of language, history, and culture. Located in the heart of Amsterdam, the Faculty maintains close ties with many cultural institutions in the capital city. Almost 1,400 employees are affiliated with the Faculty, which has about 7,000 students. The Faculty of Humanities consists of eight departments.

Context and profile

The chair is part of the capacity group Philosophical Tradition in Context (PTC). This capacity group covers metaphysics broadly conceived, history of philosophy, non-western philosophy, and philosophy of science with an emphasis on the humanities and the social sciences, and/or on formal approaches. The successful candidate will be a specialist of international standing in metaphysics broadly conceived and with a perspective beyond the boundaries between the continental and analytic tradition. Furthermore the faculty is interested in a candidate who has competence in history of philosophy and/or philosophy of science, and/or non-western philosophy. As to other academic disciplines, the successful candidate easily crosses borders between various disciplines.

Area of Specialization: Metaphysics

Area of Competence:

• History of Philosophy and/or
• Philosophy of Science and/or
• non-western philosophy.

The successful candidate will be the chairperson of the Capacity Group PTC. The chairperson is expected to have regular meetings with the Head of Department and the Chairpersons of the other three research groups (Logic & Language/LLA, Philosophy and Public Affairs/PPA, and Critical Cultural Theory/CCT). The chairperson is expected, as well, to coordinate every year the assignment of teaching tasks to the group both with the staff, the BA- and MA-directors, and the administration. The managerial duties also include taking up the task of Head of Department.

More in general the candidate is expected to take an active role in the whole spectrum of activities of the Department of Philosophy, ranging from teaching and research to administration and academic as well public debates. The candidate will be a team player and has exquisite social skills. Put in simple words: the department would like to welcome a creative and open-minded philosopher being at home above all in the broad and fundamental area of metaphysics.

Teaching and research

The professor in Metaphysics is expected to play an important role in both BA and MA teaching as well as PhD supervision. In terms of research, the candidate will continue and expand the research profile of the capacity group and will be affiliated to the faculty research institute either of ASCA (Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis) or ILLC (Institute for Logic, Language and Computation).

Requirements

Candidates for the position are expected to meet the following requirements:

• a PhD in philosophy or a related field;
• an excellent international reputation in metaphysics, history of philosophy, philosophy of science and/or non-western philosophy (humanities and social sciences);
• an excellent academic publication record;
• an experienced and enthusiastic teacher on all levels of academic training;
• experience in developing new teaching programs;
• experience with collaborative projects;
• a proven track record of acquiring external research funding;
• experience in the supervision of PhD-tracks;
• an extensive national and international network with other academic and cultural institutions;
• the ability to contribute to knowledge exchange in public as well as academic settings;
• the ability to establish productive connections with other academic disciplines within as well as outside the department;
• proven excellent management and leadership qualities;
• exquisite social skills and a deeply collegial attitude.

All foreign employees appointed at the Faculty of Humanities are expected to have a good command of both written and spoken Dutch within two years.

Please also check the document Information about chairs at the Faculty of Humanities, which can be found on the vacancy website of the University of Amsterdam.

Appointment

The appointment will be permanent. The gross salary will normally conform to professorial scale 2, between €5,582 and €8,127 gross per month (€77,902 to €113,420 per annum, including 8% holiday pay and an 8,3% end of year payment) on a full-time basis in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (Cao NU). In certain cases, however, different terms of employment may be offered.