Postdoctoral position (2+1 years) -- Qualitative epistemic grading and aggregation

Post-doctoral position in Philosophy

Université de Poitiers, France

Topic: Qualitative epistemic grading and aggregation

Abstract: Qualitative grading (e.g., ‘very promising’ or ‘quite unlikely’) is pervasive in scientific evaluations and policy recommendations by expert panels, yet its formal foundations and aggregation methods remain underexplored, for instance compared to other frameworks such as probability or binary beliefs. The postdoctoral researcher will work on:

(1) clarifying the philosophical foundations and rationality norms of qualitative epistemic grading in science. For this, they will develop a taxonomy of the possible objects of such grading, elaborate on a theory of the relationship between ordinal grading and other traditional scales (binary, probabilistic), and provide epistemic decision-theoretic arguments supporting certain rationality norms for qualitative grading,

(2) and/or work on aggregating qualitative grades in science. They will establish new impossibility and possibility results based on novel rationality norms for grades in the epistemic context, offer an axiomatic characterization of Majority Judgment (Balinski and Laraki 2010) with epistemic axioms, and investigate methods for aggregating individual credences into collective grades, or for aggregating individual grades into collective beliefs.

The postdoctoral researcher will employ methodological tools from formal social epistemology and decision theory, including argument and conceptual analysis and formal modeling.

Research areas: philosophy of science, formal epistemology, decision theory.

Research team & project

Supervisor: Thomas Boyer-Kassem (philosophy, Université de Poitiers, France)

Scientific co-supervisor: Dunja Šešelja (philosophy, Ruhr Universität Bochum, Germany)

Research project: ANR-DFG research project QUALIGRASCI, “Qualitative Grading in Science — Rationality, Aggregation, and Applications” [website]. Within this project, the candidate will have the opportunity to interact with a wonderful international team, among which: Minkyung Wang (philosophy, LMU Munich), Rida Laraki (mathematics, UM6P, Morocco), Cyrille Imbert (philosophy, CNRS Nancy, France), Marion Vorms (philosophy, Sorbonne, Paris), Gabriella Pigozzi (computer science, Paris Dauphine), Christian Strasser (philosophy, Bochum, Germany)...

The postdoctoral student will be expected to submit their work to high-profile international philosophy journals and international conferences (organised e.g. by EPSA or PSA) and focused workshops.

Gross salary: 2667 € /month (between 0 or 1 year after PhD) or 2917 € / month (2 years or more after PhD).

Where? The postdoctoral researcher’s institutional affiliation will be at the Université de Poitiers. However, personal residence in Poitiers is not mandatory. Regular research stays will be scheduled in Bochum (Germany) or in other places of the research network, and will be covered by the project.

When? starting date: September 2026 (can be negotiated if needed).

Duration: two years, with a possibility of extension to a third year.

Teaching. No teaching duties are included in the position, but optional teaching in Poitiers or in Bochum can be considered.

Requirements. PhD in Philosophy. A good command of the English language is required (at least B2). Mastery of French is not required, just expected to be acquired through the years.

How apply?

Please send before May 17th to [email protected] (subject: “Application for a postdoc position”):

- a CV

- an application letter

- a research proposal of about one or two pages that fits within the “abstract” above

- a writing sample

- contact details of two references who should be ready to send a recommendation letter, if requested.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for online interviews around the end of May, with final answers in early June.

For more information or informal inquiries, please write to [email protected]