PhD Studentship: Scepticism and Intellectual Virtue

Project Title: Scepticism and Intellectual Virtue

Lead Institute: Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Southampton

Main Supervisor:  Professor Genia Schönbaumsfeld

Duration of the award: Three years

Start date: 25^th September 2023 (February 2024 start is also possible)

Project description:

A funded PhD position is available on Genia Schönbaumsfeld’s European Research Council Advanced grant, ‘The Ethics of Doubt – Kierkegaard, Scepticism and Conspiracy Theory’. This is an exciting opportunity for a researcher to work on a project that seeks to unify the theoretical and existential dimensions of scepticism by exploring the idea, due to Kierkegaard, that knowledge requires courage.

Core aims of the project are:

1. To bring Kierkegaard’s existential epistemology into dialogue with the contemporary mainstream, in particular in respect to the relation between the intellectual vices, such as a lack of intellectual courage, and various forms of scepticism.
2. To examine the similarities between radical scepticism (the thought that we may know nothing about the world) and global conspiracy theories.
3. To apply Kierkegaard’s insight that knowledge requires courage to a central challenge of our time: loss of faith in knowledge, expertise and authority.

As a PhD student on this ground-breaking project, you will be working with the PI on one (or more) of these central aims. You should, therefore, have an interest in and, ideally, prior knowledge of, either Kierkegaard or scepticism (or both).

Key questions the PhD student could address include:

• What role do the intellectual virtues play in knowledge-acquisition and attempts to avoid radical scepticism?
• Is intellectual courage necessary for knowledge?
• If intellectual courage is a virtue, how do we instil and foster it?

The successful candidate is likely to have the following qualifications:

• A first class honours degree or a Master’s (distinction) in a relevant discipline and/or second degree with a related Masters.

Funding information:

This project is funded by the European Commission and guaranteed by Innovate UK.

For UK and international students, tuition fees will be paid and you'll receive a stipend (living allowance) tax-free per year for up to 3 years.

Administrative contact and how to apply:

Please complete the University's online application form, which you can find at

https://student-selfservice.soton.ac.uk/BNNRPROD/bzsksrch.P_Login?pos=7241&majr=7241&term=202324

You should add Professor Genia Schönbaumsfeld  in section 2 of the online application form. To support your application provide an academic CV (including contact details of two referees), official academic transcripts and a research proposal including 2 writing samples.

Informal enquiries relating to the project or candidate suitability should be directed to Professor Genia Schönbaumsfeld:

(G.M.E.Schoenbaumsfeld@soton.ac.uk).

Closing date:  25^th June 2023

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