The Department of Philosophy of Utrecht University is looking for:
3 PhD Researchers (3 x 1,0 fte)
The positions are part of the research programme ‘Human Dignity as
the Foundation of Human Rights?’ which is a five year project on the
question to what extent the foundational role of human dignity in
the human rights framework can be justified. The programme is funded
by NWO.
Programme description
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) articulates that
human dignity is the reason why we must grant rights to all human
beings. By adopting the UDHR, nearly all countries in the world have
committed themselves to respect for human dignity. But the concept
of human dignity raises numerous questions: Who has dignity? All and
only members of the human species? What specific moral obligations
follow from the attribution of dignity? How can human dignity
provide a foundation for human rights? Is the concept exclusively
recognised by Western culture or are there reasons for expecting
universal acceptability?
The core meaning of the concept, its historical roots and its
philosophical justification are insufficiently understood. This
generates an urgent problem because references to human dignity
increasingly play a crucial role in debates on bioethics, new
technologies and globalization while there is widespread suspicion
that references to human dignity merely have a rhetorical function.
In the programme, the research group as a whole will attempt to
reconstruct the core meaning and normative content of the concept of
human dignity in current discourses. The project leader, Prof.
Marcus Düwell, and the postdoc researchers will investigate, in
dialogue with contemporary moral philosophy, how the justificatory
function of human dignity can be conceptualized. This theoretical
investigation will form the basis for three case studies on
bioethics, global justice and future generations, examined in three
corresponding PhD-projects. The case studies will in turn provide
the theoretical analysis with input from concrete ethical debates.
This structure will motivate intensive cooperation within the
research group.
PhD project a: Human Dignity in Bioethics
There is a significant body of literature on human dignity in
bioethics. Since bioethics deals with the boundaries of human life,
it is not surprising that human dignity is challenged by the life
sciences. Do human embryos have dignity? Do humans in coma or with
brain-death have human dignity? Is it compatible with human dignity
to enhance specific features of human beings? However, the relation
between the concept of human dignity as used in bioethics and the
human rights framework has so far not been systematically examined.
The PhD-project shall be a contribution to overcome this theoretical
lacuna in bioethics. It will reconstruct the use of human dignity in
bioethical literature, investigate possibilities for applying a
theoretically developed concept of human dignity to bioethics and
investigate the more general problems of the application of the
human rights framework in bioethics.
PhD project b: Human Dignity and Global Justice
Debates on global justice in contemporary moral and political
philosophy raise important questions with regard to human dignity
and human rights. Should human rights be seen primarily as demands
to be met by nation states, or do they require a global order? Can
human rights justify far-reaching duties towards the global poor?
And can references to human dignity help us to determine the
application of human rights in the case of global justice? The PhD
project will examine to what extent different theories on human
dignity can provide systematic answers to such central questions of
global justice.
PhD project c: Human Dignity and Future Generations
The rights of future generations become increasingly important in
the context of environmental challenges. However, there is little
discussion on the question how different concepts of human dignity
affect the specific rights we must grant future generations.
Ascribing human dignity and human rights to beings that do not yet
exist raises specific difficulties: on what basis should dignity be
ascribed, and how can the rights of future generations be
determined? How to weigh rights of future generations against the
rights of contemporaries? This PhD project will examine to what
extent different notions of human dignity could apply to future
generations, and how this would affect the interpretation of the
human rights framework in this context.
Application procedure
We are looking for three talented and dedicated young researchers
with a master or equivalent degree in philosophy, who are willing to
work in an active team. The applicants should preferably have some
background in bioethics, law or human rights studies. Fluency in
English is required.
We offer three full-time PhD positions, consisting of an initial
period of 18 months which, after a satisfactory first year, will be
extended by another 30 months (4 years in total), with a gross
monthly salary starting at € 2,042,- in the first year, ending at
€ 2,612,- in the fourth year (1,0 fte).
Applications should contain the following:
- an application letter in English
- a short outline of your ideas on how to fill in this position
(max. 1000 words, in English).
- a curriculum vitae in English;
- the contact information of two people willing to recommend you for
this post;
- a writing sample, in English, Dutch or German, of max. 25 pages;
- a list of grades
Applications should be submitted online via: http://www.uu.nl/NL/Informatie/sollicitanten/Pages/vacatures.aspx
. If you want to apply for several positions, please submit separate
application forms for each position.
The deadline for applications is 10 September 2011. Interviews will
be held in November 2011. The positions will be available from
January 2012 (there is some flexibility in the starting date).
The full text of the proposal can be downloaded from
http://www.uu.nl/faculty/humanities/EN/research/researchinstitutes/zeno/current/Pages/20110713-32-583-563-human-dignity.aspx
For other questions please contact S.vanVliet@xxxxx
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