ELFT HÍRADÓ

["Laszlo E. Szabo" <leszabo AT phil.elte.hu>]

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------

Subject: Postdoctoral Positions in Philosophy of Physics - European Research 
Council (ERC) Project.
Date: 2011. August 9., 22:26:43
From: Gabriel Catren 
<gabrielcatren AT gmail.com>
To: 
gabrielcatren AT gmail.com

Call for postdoctoral positions for the project
*Philosophy of Canonical Quantum Gravity*
funded by an ERC Starting Grant
of the European Research Council
Principal Investigator: Gabriel Catren

The project *Philosophy of Canonical Quantum Gravity* announces two one-year
post-doctoral positions with the possibility of an extension.

*Project description*. During the first two years of the project, we shall
address some philosophical problems concerning the foundations of quantum
mechanics and space-time theories that are relevant for contemporary
attempts to build a quantum theory of gravity. With respect to quantum
mechanics, we shall address the problem of constructing an ontology for
quantum systems in light of one of the most elegant mathematical
formalizations of canonical quantization, namely *geometric quantization*.
With respect to general relativity, we shall address some philosophical
problems concerning space-time theories and gauge theories in light of both
the so-called gauge theories of gravity and the generalized theories of
gravity with torsion and/or non-metricity. To do so, we shall consider the
Einstein-Cartan action and the theory of Cartan connections, the
MacDowell-Mansouri action, teleparallel gravity, the BF topological field
theory, and the formulation of general relativity in terms of Ashtekar
variables.

*Host Institution*: *Centre de Recherche en Epistémologie
Appliquée<http://www.crea.polytechnique.fr/LeCREA/>
* (CREA), UMR 7656, CNRS/Ecole Polytechnique, Paris-Palaiseau, France.

*Starting Date*: November 2011, with the possibility of negotiating a
modification of the starting date.

*Eligibility Requirements*: Eligible candidates must hold a PhD or
equivalent in philosophy, physics or mathematics by November 1st, 2011.

*Application Procedure*: Applicants are invited to submit an application by
email (in English or French) including:

• a cover letter explaining how the candidate intends to contribute to the
project.
• a curriculum vitae including a publication list;
• a copy of the PhD thesis and sample of other relevant writings, published
or not;
• the name and electronic address of one knowledgeable scholar who could
provide a recommendation letter if necessary.

Scholars of all nationalities are welcome to apply. For further information,
please contact Gabriel Catren: 
gabrielcatren AT gmail.com.
 The application must
be addressed to the following electronic address: 
gabrielcatren AT gmail.com.

*Application Deadline*: September 30, 2011.

- -----------------------------------------
- -- 
L a s z l o  E.  S z a b o
Professor of Philosophy
DEPARTMENT OF LOGIC, INSTITUTE OF PHILOSOPHY
EOTVOS UNIVERSITY, BUDAPEST
http://phil.elte.hu/leszabo