Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (EXPIRED)

2 Year Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

in Philosophical Foundations of Body Perception

on Visual Embodiment Project (CIN 2011-16)

at the Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Tuebingen (Germany)

Stipend

1,365€-1,416€ per month (tax free fellowship)

Application Deadline

November 30, 2011

The Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN) is an interdisciplinary institution at the Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, funded by the German Excellence Initiative programme. The CIN strives to advance our understanding of the mind/brain by studying how the brain generates and sustains mental functions and how brain diseases impair these functions.

As part of its integrative approach to studying the mind/brain, the CIN offers a postdoctoral research fellowship for promising researchers in the field of philosophy of psychology and neuroscience. The candidate should either be a philosopher with a strong background in philosophy of mind/psychology/ neuroscience and a track record of interacting with empirical work in cognitive science, or a cognitive scientist with a strong track record of interacting with philosophy. Candidates should have a PhD or be very close to completing a PhD by the time of appointment.

The successful candidate will be a member of the CIN’s Philosophy of Neuroscience (PONS) group, led by Dr. Hong Yu Wong, and will be a postdoctoral research fellow on the visual embodiment project (CIN 2011-16) that the PONS Group is embarking on in collaboration with the Perception and Action in Virtual Environments Group at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen (Dr. Betty Mohler, Dr. Sally Linkenauger, and Prof Heinrich H. Buelthoff). More details of the Project can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/whywong/collaborators

DUTIES

The postdoctoral fellow will do research on the philosophical foundations of body perception, investigating such questions as how embodiment structures perception and action. The postdoctoral fellow is expected to develop an independent line on body perception, and contribute to a new conceptual framework within which we can understand notions such as embodiment, the sense of body ownership, and the sense of agency and control. These philosophical investigations are expected to lead to implementation and experimental testing of ideas with our collaborators at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen. As the MPI Biological Cybernetics is among the foremost virtual reality laboratories in the world, this collaboration will provide opportunities for us to probe theoretical claims in virtual reality in ways which cannot be physically implemented. In addition, the postdoctoral fellow will co-ordinate the research activities associated with the Tuebingen Body Perception Forum, a Forum set up to consolidate body perception research in the Tuebingen area.

FRAMEWORK

The duration of the position is for 2 years provisional on the renewal of the CIN Excellence Cluster for a second funding period after October 2012. The working language of the CIN is English. The candidate will be provided with opportunities to contribute to graduate teaching at the CIN Graduate Training Centre and the university faculties associated with the CIN. If desired, the university will provide opportunities to do a German “Habilitation” (second book) according to established rules. The planned start date of the position is January 1, 2012. Earlier or later start dates are negotiable.

According to German law, severely disabled persons with equal occupational aptitude will be given preferential consideration.

The University of Tuebingen strives to promote equal opportunities in science and is committed to increasing the percentage of females in teaching and research. Qualified female candidates are thus strongly encouraged to apply.

APPLICATION

Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, one sample of their philosophical writing (not to exceed 10,000 words), a one page statement relating their research to the aims of the visual embodiment project, and two reference letters. Candidates should request their referees to email Dr. Wong directly with their reference letters by the deadline. All documents should be submitted electronically (pdf) to the Group Leader of the Philosophy of Neuroscience Group, Dr. Hong Yu Wong, at [email protected]. The deadline for applications is November 30, 2011. Inquiries about the post should be directed to Dr. Wong.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to work with the PONS group in Tuebingen for a trial period during December 5-9, 2011.

For further information on the CIN and the Philosophy of Neuroscience Group

see:

www.cin.uni-tuebingen.de

www.cin.uni-tuebingen.de/research/research-groups/philosophy-of-neuroscience-wong.php