2 Postdoctoral Research Positions in Moral and Experimental Philosophy (up to 100%, up to 3 years) 60 - 100 %
Start of employment 1 February 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter, temporaryProf. Dr. Pascale Willemsen invites applications for two Postdoctoral Research Positions (60-100%) at the Department of Philosophy of the University of Zurich. The positions are part of two SNSF-funded research projects, "Shining Light on Praise" and "The Social Power of Praise", which operate at the intersection of moral philosophy and experimental philosophy and investigate the nature, mechanisms and social impact of moral praise. The positions are pure research positions (no mandatory teaching duties) and fixed-term for 2 to 3 years . The positions are to be filled as soon as possible.
"The Social Power of Praise" is a joint Weave project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). It is carried out in close collaboration with the research team of Prof. Dr. Leonhard Menges at the University of Salzburg (Austria). The two teams work together on shared research questions, co-author publications, and meet regularly online or in person. The successful candidates should be committed to collaborative work.
Please note: The Zurich positions focus on empirical and experimental research. Applications from candidates with a purely theoretical background, without experience in empirical or experimental methods, unfortunately cannot be considered for these positions. Candidates whose expertise lies primarily in theoretical approaches to moral philosophy are warmly encouraged to contact Prof. Dr. Leonhard Menges (leonhard.menges@plus.ac.at), who leads the Salzburg team of “The Social Power of Praise” and is recruiting for philosophically oriented positions within the project.
Your responsibilities
- Conduct high-quality research on topics related to moral praise within the scope of the SNSF projects
- Co-author and publish high-impact research articles in leading international peer-reviewed journals
- Actively contribute to the organization of international conferences, workshops and project events
- Collaborate closely with Prof. Dr. Pascale Willemsen, Prof. Leonhard Menges, and the team members in Zurich and Salzburg
Your profile
- PhD in Philosophy, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Linguistics, Behavioral Economics or a related field (the PhD must be completed by the start date, yet not by the time of the application)
- Demonstrated experience in empirical and/or experimental philosophy
- Proficiency with quantitative research methods
- Publication record in international peer-reviewed journals commensurate with career stage
- Strong competencies (AOC) in one or more of the following: Experimental Philosophy; Social Cognition, Moral Philosophy (especially theories of moral responsibility, praise and blame); Philosophy of Language (especially pragmatics); Moral Psychology; Feminist Philosophy (especially in relation to oppression, epistemic injustice, and social norms); Experimental Linguistics
- Working language: English (fluency in spoken and written English required; German language skills are not required)
- Experience with experimental paradigms relevant to the projects, such as linguistic tests (e.g., inference, cancellability or projection tests), economic games (e.g., dictator or ultimatum games), or corpus-based and computational methods
- Advanced statistical skills (e.g., mixed-effects or Bayesian models in R or Python)
- Familiarity with and committment to open-science practices such as preregistration, open data and reproducible analysis code
- Experience in collaborative, international research projects, for instance co-authoring across disciplines
- Prior research on praise, blame, moral responsibility or evaluative language
- Experience in organizing academic conferences and workshops
- A dynamic, highly collaborative and international research environment at the Department of Philosophy at UZH
- Dedicated research time (100% research focus)
- Flexible work arrangements, including up to two days of remote work per week
- Funding for travel, conference attendance and experimental studies
- Attractive employment conditions and salary in accordance with the standards of the Canton of Zurich and the SNSF.
Information on your application
Please submit your application as a single PDF containing the following document by November 20, 2026:- Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- List of publications
- Up to three publications that are particularly relevant to the projects and that we should review
- Names and contact details of two academic references (references will only be contacted for shortlisted candidates)
Application deadline: November 20, 2026.
What we offer
What we offer
Further information
Questions about the job
Pascale Willemsen Prof. Dr., Assistant Professor of Philosophy (SNSF), Principal InvestigatorThe University of Zurich, Switzerland's largest university, offers a range of attractive positions in various subject areas and professional fields. With around 10,000 employees and currently 12 professional apprenticeship streams the University offers an inspiring working environment on cutting-edge research and top-class education. Put your talent and skills to work with us. Find out more about UZH as an employer!
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