Postdoctoral Fellow (Functional title: Research Assistant Professor) (EXPIRED)

Lingnan University, a distinctive liberal arts institution in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is committed to the provision of quality whole-person education by combining the best of Chinese and Western liberal arts traditions. It strives to pursue excellence in teaching, learning, scholarship and community engagement. With three academic Faculties, it offers a wide range of undergraduate degree programmes in arts, business and social sciences. Lingnan’s liberal arts education is characterised by a broad-based interdisciplinary curriculum with specialised disciplinary studies; close student-staff relationship; a vibrant residential campus; ample global learning opportunities; active community engagement and multifarious workplace experience. The School of Graduate Studies also offers postgraduate programmes up to doctoral level in various disciplines and provides professional education for the wider society. Applications are now invited for the following post:

Postdoctoral Fellow (Functional title: Research Assistant Professor), Hong Kong Catastrophic Risk Centre / Department of Philosophy
(Post Ref.: 21/276/PHIL)

The Department of Philosophy at Lingnan University is one of the best in Asia. The department is especially strong in philosophy of science, philosophical logic, metaphysics, ethics and aesthetics, and also has several members with expertise in other areas such as epistemology, philosophy of mind, and Chinese philosophy. Department members publish in leading journals in the field, such as Analysis, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Ethics, Journal of Philosophical Logic, Mind, Noûs, Philosophers’ Imprint, Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophical Studies, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, and Philosophy of Science.

More information on the research interests and publications of philosophers at Lingnan University may be found at: https://www.LN.edu.hk/philoso/?page_id=9.

This position is part of a project of a new research centre, the Hong Kong Catastrophic Risk Centre (launch date: January 2022).

General Requirements

Areas of Specialization: Ethics (esp. ethics of (catastrophic) risk, normative decision theory, population ethics, ethics of new technologies/weapons, health care rationing, environmental ethics, climate change and future generations, and related sub-fields).

Areas of Competence: Ethics (esp. ethics of (catastrophic) risk, normative decision theory, population ethics, ethics of new technologies/weapons, health care rationing, environmental ethics, climate change and future generations, and related sub-fields).

Applicants should have a PhD degree in Philosophy by the start of the appointment and have publications in Philosophy, preferably in leading journals. The successful candidate’s duties will include:

• Conducting research in the areas of focus of the centre (e.g., publishing high quality papers on catastrophic/existential risks, ethics of emerging technologies (AI, biological weapons, etc), population ethics, climate change and future generations and related fields)
• Conducting an extensive mapping of various funding opportunities for the centre
• Collaborating with the director and other fellows in the development of funding applications for the centre
• Writing individual and collaborative research proposals

Teaching will not be required, but can be arranged upon mutual agreement.

Appointment

The basic salary is around HKD$390,000 /USD$50,000 per annum. Fringe benefits include annual leave, medical and dental benefits, mandatory provident fund, gratuity and incoming passage and baggage allowances for eligible appointees.

Appointment will normally be made on contract basis for up to two years.  Suitably qualified appointee may carry a functional title of Research Assistant Professor.

Application Procedure (online application only)

Applicants should include a letter of interest a CV, research statement, and a sample paper in the application.  Applicants shall also provide names and contact information of at least three referees to whom applicants’ consent has been given for their providing references.  Personal data collected will be used for recruitment purposes only.

Informal inquiries concerning the post or the centre are encouraged and can be directed to Professor Andrea Sauchelli, Head of the Department of Philosophy, at [email protected]. 

We are an equal opportunities employer. The starting date of the position is at the first quarter of 2022 or later (but no later than August 2022). The deadline for applications is 10 December 2021. Qualified candidates are advised to submit their applications early for consideration.

The University reserves the right not to make an appointment for the post advertised, or to fill the post by invitation or by search. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.