PAIR/COMPAIN Research Fellowship in Philosophy of AI & Neurophilosophy/Philosophy of Science/Philosophy of Pain (EXPIRED)

The Centre of Philosophy and AI Research {PAIR} at the Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany) is offering two 100% Research Fellowships. This one, 100% and co-funded by the COMPAIN project, focuses both on Neurophilosophy/Philosophy of Science/Philosophy of Pain and the Philosophy of AI

– Research Environment 

PAIR was founded in 2022 with support from a prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Professorship for Vincent C. Müller at the University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU, est. 1743). 

Our vision is to help set the agenda in the philosophy and ethics of AI, through publications, events, structures, and visible activities. This research will generate intellectual progress that can have a deep impact towards a better society. Our work involves excellent people with a background in philosophy, cognitive sciences, neurosciences, social sciences, political science, and computer sciences. 

PAIR currently has 13 core members: The director, a director of research, 4 post-doc research fellows, 4 PhD students, 2 post-docs associated with funded projects (BMBF-PsychedELSI and DFG-PhiMiSci), 1 admin; plus visiting fellows and affiliated FAU faculty. We offer an international, stimulating, supportive, and pleasant research environment – situated in a lively and modern workplace in the centre of beautiful Erlangen. The working language at PAIR is English. For more information, visit

https://www.pair.fau.eu

Besides being involved with PAIR, each position will interact with the members of the COMPAIN consortium in Germany (Claudia Bozzaro, Frauke Nees, Dominik Koesling) and Taiwan (Ying-Tung Lin, Chris McCarroll, Chia-Shu Lin). 

– Position, Project, and Tasks

What matters to us is your contribution to intellectual progress in research, plus contributions to the team overall (publications, funding, visibility, cooperation, ...). Academic excellence is assumed, as are teamwork, an international outlook, and fluent English. The position involves co-supervision of PhD candidates at the Centre and possibly contributions to classroom teaching (jointly not more than 20% FTE). 10% FTE would concern the support of PAIR activities, in particular the diamond open access journals “Philosophy and the Mind Sciences”. Research fellows are expected to be mostly working on-site at PAIR.

This position is funded 50% by the EU ERANET NEURON project COMPAIN, which investigates pain ontologies from the perspective of neurophilosophy and medical ethics. PAIR's part of this project is headed by Sascha Benjamin Fink; the consortium includes a German team, headed by Claudia Bozzaro, and a Taiwanese team, headed by Ying-Tung Lin. For more, see here: https://www.neuron-eranet.eu/wp-content/uploads/Lay_COMPAIN.pdf 

A background in neurophilosophy, philosophy of medicine, philosophy of biology, philosophy of pain, or medical ethics is considered a plus. Besides working on on COMPAIN, the candidate will have the freedom to develop their own projects in the Philosophy of AI.

Informal but targeted inquiries about position A to Sascha Benjamin Fink: [email protected] 

– Benefits 

Starting dates: 01.10.2024 (negotiable).

The appointments are initially for 36 months. Employment beyond that point will depend on the funding situation. Part-time employment is possible, if needed. 

Salary at level TV-L E13, full-time (currently ca. €55.-73.000/year, before tax, depending on experience). The employment includes social security benefits, health insurance (1/2 employer, 1/2 employee), pension, sick pay, etc. There is funding for travel to conferences and for the organisation of events.

– Requirements

PhD in a relevant field, normally by the time of appointment. 

A visa & work permit for the EU/Germany is not required at the time of application. Learning or improving German language skills is supported by PAIR.

Everyone deserves to feel at home at our university. In its pursuit of academic excellence, FAU is committed to equality of opportunity and to a proactive and inclusive approach, which supports and encourages all under-represented groups, values diversity, and promotes an inclusive culture. FAU is a family-friendly employer.