Logic List Mailing Archive

Postdoctoral fellowship on causation & probability, Paris (France), Deadline: 14 May 2009

The IHPST, Paris is offering a postdoctoral fellowship through the 
CAUSAPROBA project dealing with the connection between causation and 
probability. Causation, in particular in its connection to probability, 
has emerged as one of the most active fields of investigation in 
philosophy of science and its neighboring fields. Still, current state of 
research is incomplete; central issues have started being tackled only in 
recent years or are rarely studied as such. The project aims to explore 
four such issues: When precisely does a specific event or fact actually 
cause another one? (As opposed to: what are causal laws?) Precisely how 
are "this-worldly" mechanistic conceptions of causation related to 
"other-worldly" counterfactual conceptions? How can we have causation on 
different (micro and macro) levels and how do these levels relate to each 
other? And in what sense are causal relations features of an objective 
reality?

The post-doctoral fellow will work on one of these questions. S/He will 
have completed a PhD in metaphysics or philosophy of science by October 
2009 and will be willing to cooperate with IHPST researchers. A 
complementary education in an empirical discipline is not required but 
would be an asset. The postdoctoral fellow will work at the IHPST in Paris 
in cooperation with the Konstanz team. S/He will be in charge of the 
website for the CAUSAPROBA project and the organization of the closing 
international conference. The fellowship is 12-months, beginning October 
1, 2009, with the possibility of a 12-month extension. The net salary will 
be approximately 1900 euros per month.

Applicants should send a detailed CV and a 4-page description of a 
proposed scientific project by May 14th to: anouk.barberousse@gmail.com 
(subject: "CAUSAPROBA post-doc").