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JOB: 3-year Postdoc Fellowship in Philosophy of Physics, USI, Lugano
The postdoc will work at the Institute of Philosophy at USI, Lugano (Switzerland), under
the supervision of Professor Damiano Costa in the framework of the SNSF-funded Starting
Grant project ‘Temporal Existence’. A brief description of the project is provided below.
The approximate gross salary will be CHF 75'000 CHF per year.
The tentative starting date is flexible (earliest starting date is May 1, 2024).
Candidates must have a PhD degree in philosophy and a background in the philosophy of
physics, with an emphasis on Relativity Theory. Proven specific competence in analytic
metaphysics would also constitute an advantage. The main selection criteria will be (a)
compatibility with the research project as well as (b) scientific excellence.
Candidates may write to damiano.costa(a)usi.ch with questions about the suitability of their
profile for the project.
Deadline for applications (soft): the selection process will start on March 1, 2024, and
will continue until the position is filled. Applications received before February 29, 2024
will be given priority.
Language Requirements: Lugano is in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, but for the
purposes of the position only English is compulsory.
Applicants must submit their dossier as a single PDF file to damiano.costa(a)usi.ch with
‘Postdoc application’ in the subject line. The dossier should include:
(i) a cover letter describing the candidate’s background in philosophy of physics and the
fit between the candidate’s interests and qualifications and the Starting Grant project;
(ii) a CV;
(iii) a 5'000 word writing sample;
(iv) the contact details of two philosophers who can provide academic references.
Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed via Zoom in March 2024.
SNSF Starting Grant ‘Temporal Existence’
Everything in our concrete universe, from the smallest elementary particle to the largest
galaxy, exists at some time and at some place. But what is it for something to exist at a
time? What is temporal existence? Even though other topics in the vicinity, such as
tenseless existence, time, persistence, and temporary intrinsics, have been at the centre
of much recent philosophical research, this specific question has been overlooked so far.
This project tackles this problem head-on. Drawing from metaphysics and physics, this
project will launch a systematic inquiry into the nature of temporal existence and explore
the transformative impact that this inquiry can have in philosophy and beyond. A first
sub-project deals with this question from the point of view of analytic metaphysics,
making use of conceptual tools developed in mereology, location theory, and the theory of
grounding. Questions to be addressed include: what is it for something to be in time? Is
existence-at a relation? What’s its relation with existence and being? Is everything in
time in the same way? A second sub-project will tackle the question from the point of view
of the philosophy of physics, and more precisely Relativity Theory. Questions to be
addressed include: what is spacetime unitism? How, if at all, does Relativity Theory
support spacetime unitism? What does spacetime unitism tell us about being in time? A
third and fourth sub-project will apply the methods, arguments and results developed in
the first two sub-projects to two case studies, namely that of abstract objects and that
of the mind. Questions to be addressed include: are abstract objects such as universals
and numbers in time? Does this imply that they are also in space? What consequence do
different theories of temporal existence have on debates concerning the existence and
nature of abstract objects?
The research team will be composed of PI, a post-doc working on philosophy of physics, a
post-doc working in metaphysics, philosophy of mind or religion (or the history thereof),
a PhD student working on metaphysics.