Call for Application: PhD student (m/f/x)

The Chair of Logic and Philosophy of Language will host the new international project The Mathematical Turn in Philosophy: Measurement, Computation, (De)Idealization, one of the UK-German Research Projects in the Arts and Humanities funded by the DFG and the AHRC. The project seeks to provide a critical framework for addressing the increasing role of mathematics and computation in philosophy in several of its core areas. The objective of the project is to develop a unified methodology for understanding the mathematical turn in contemporary philosophy. The Principal Investigator of the German part is PD Dr. Martin Fischer.

Your tasks and responsibilities:

Doctoral research in the thematic area of the project The Mathematical Turn in Philosophy: Measurement, Computation, (De)Idealization.
Prototypical examples of the use of mathematical representation to formulate philosophical premises include the use of real numbers to represent credences (to express norms of rationality in epistemology), but also include reflection principles, truth principles. Prototypical instances of the use of mathematics to derive conclusions from such premises include instances in which mathematical theorems are explicitly cited in philosophical arguments. This includes Dutch book theorems and Arrow’s theorem. They also include squeezing and categoricity arguments.
The doctoral thesis should be written in English and will be supervised by PD Martin Fischer and Prof. Hannes Leitgeb.
Participation in activities of the project (conference and workshop organization).
Participation in activities at the Chair (if desired, teaching).

Your qualifications:

Candidates must have successfully completed a master program in philosophy and/or mathematics and/or an MSc in computer science. The master degree must have been awarded by the beginning of the contract.
Candidates should have a strong mathematical, logical and computational orientation and aptitude.
Candidates should be capable of engaging in teamwork.
Excellent English language skills are required.

Benefits:

The salary will be calculated according to group E 13 TVL-employment (65%, part-time). The positions are limited to three years.
Successful applicants will also have the opportunity for an extensive exchange with the University of Warwick, Walter Dean and Benedict Eastaugh.
Funds available to attend workshops and conferences.

The Chair is part of the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy, which offers a world-class environment for research in formally oriented areas of philosophy. Furthermore, LMU’s Faculty of Philosophy has significant strengths across a wide range of different areas of philosophy, theoretical as well as practical, contemporary as well as historical.

We especially encourage women and candidates from underrepresented groups to apply. People with disabilities who are equally as qualified as other applicants will receive preferential treatment.

Application procedure:

Applications should be written entirely in English and should include:

a cover letter that addresses the candidate’s academic profile and their motivation for applying for the advertised position,
a proposal for a dissertation on the project topic `reverse philosophy’ (maximally five pages),
A CV with a list of publications and/or PDF-files of unpublished manuscripts, and an academic transcript of records.

These materials should be collated into a single PDF document and sent to Martin Fischer at m.fischer1@lmu.de by 28.02.2026. The subject line of the email should include ``PhD application" and the name of the applicant.

Furthermore,

two confidential letters of recommendation should also be sent directly to m.fischer1@lmu.de by 28.02.2026