PhD in Ethics and/or Political Philosophy

Join the Ethics Institute for four years as a PhD candidate! You will carry out research within the project “Assessing the Legitimacy of Global Governance in a Polycentric World of Socially Disruptive Technologies”, as part of the inter-university Gravitation consortium Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technology (ESDiT).

Your job
As part of the Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies programme (see below), this 4-year PhD project examines a fundamental challenge for the ethics of technology: how to approach the assessment and guidance of socially disruptive technologies (SDTs) in an increasingly fragmented global governance landscape. It contributes to ESDiT's Objective 3 (New approaches for ethical assessment and guidance of SDTs) by exploring methodological approaches that can function effectively in contexts where centralized regulation faces challenges to its feasibility and legitimacy.

The project is driven by the following main question: "What methodological approaches are best suited to determining how to legitimately assess and guide the feasible, effective, and ethical governance of socially disruptive technologies in a polycentric world?"

The research question acknowledges that global technology governance increasingly operates through multiple, competing centres of decision-making power – from international organizations and governments to corporations, civil society groups, and technical communities. This polycentricity raises important questions about how ethical considerations can be effectively incorporated across this complex landscape.

The core methodological issue regards how to develop normative frameworks appropriate for legitimately and effectively governing SDTs in a polycentric world, engaging with debates in ethics of technology and political philosophy. The project will analyse how key contextual factors shape appropriate normative frameworks: technology-specific factors, institutional context (such as UNESCO's use "Responsible Research and Innovation" frameworks), and intercultural value pluralism.

The PhD researcher will have flexibility to explore the implications of this methodological analysis along one or more dimensions: (A) Normative - reconceptualizing concepts like legitimacy and accountability; (B) Institutional - comparative assessment of governance models; or (C) Application - applying insights to specific technological domains like AI governance or climate technologies.

The exact emphasis will be determined by the PhD researcher in consultation with the supervisory team. Your application's "research note" should address your ideas regarding the direction you think the research could best take. Please consult the full description of the project, when preparing your application.

Alongside your participation in the ESDiT consortium as a whole, you will participate in two research lines: 'New Methods for Ethics of SDTs' and 'Democracy, Justice, and Solidarity'. For these research lines, you develop ethical frameworks that acknowledge both normative and practical challenges of governing technologies across fragmented jurisdictions. This leads to new approaches for ethical assessment and innovations in practical philosophy.

Please note that there are other vacancies in the ESDiT programme at different participating universities. In case several are of interest to you, we encourage you to apply to them simultaneously.

• A position for 18 months, which will be extended to a total of four years after positive evaluation;
• a working week of 38 hours and a gross monthly salary between € 2,901 and € 3,707 (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU;
• PhD candidates are encouraged to spend a semester abroad. A budget is available to cover expenses. Additionally, a generous (conference) travel budget is available for this position.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. This includes schemes facilitating professional development, leave schemes and schemes for sports and cultural activities, as well as discounts on software and other IT products. We also offer access to additional employee benefits through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage our employees to continue to invest in their growth. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

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The Faculty of Humanities has around 7,000 students and 1,100 staff members. It comprises four knowledge domains: Philosophy and Religious Studies, History and Art History, Media and Culture Studies, and Languages, Literature and Communication. With its research and education in these fields, the faculty aims to contribute to a better understanding of the Netherlands and Europe in a rapidly changing social and cultural context. The enthusiastic and committed colleagues and the excellent amenities in the historical city centre of Utrecht, where the faculty is located, contribute to an inspiring working environment.

You will be part of the Ethics Institute, which is part of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. It provides a stimulating and internationally oriented research environment.

This PhD position is part of the Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technology (ESDiT) programme, a ten year long international research programme of seven academic institutions in the Netherlands. This programme has a combined budget of €27 million, and is funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research in the Gravitation funding scheme for excellent research. The duration of the programme is from January 2020 to December 2029. The programme has the aim of achieving breakthrough research in at the intersection of ethics, philosophy, technology/engineering and social sciences, and to position its consortium at the top of its field internationally. A key objective is to investigate how new technologies challenge moral values and ontological concepts (like 'nature', 'human being' and 'community'), and how these challenges necessitate a revision of these concepts. The consortium, counting over 130 researchers, consists of internationally well-known ethicists, philosophers, engineers and social scientists. The programme functions through nine research lines and three synthesising workshops.