PhD position in Deontic Logic, Bochum (Germany)

The research group Logic in Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence (Christian Straßer, Ruhr-University Bochum) has an opening for a PhD-position embedded in the LoDEx project (Logical methods for Deontic Explanations), a joint project between the Ruhr-University Bochum (PI: Christian Straßer), the University of Luxembourg (PI: Leon van der Torre) and the TU Vienna (PI: Agata Ciabattoni). The call is for a 2 year (65%) position at the Ruhr-University Bochum, to be extended for another 2 years (years 3 and 4) at the University of Luxembourg under a Cotutelle agreement. Starting point: February 2024.

The PhD position focuses on the application of formal explanation methods to (bio)ethical reasoning. In the context of bioethics, deontic explanations answer why it is morally correct or justified to resolve a given case in a particular way. For this purpose, the candidate will combine methods from deontic logic, argumentation theory and philosophical conceptual analysis. They will develop and apply formal frameworks for (bio)ethical explanations. Formal argumentation provides a rich toolbox for representing and analyzing ethical conflicts in a transparent way that closely resembles human reasoning. By integrating dialogical contexts, it provides a natural framework for modeling deontic explanations that are optimized for understanding.