PhD Scholarships available at NIP

The University of Aberdeen is delighted to announce a cluster of PhD scholarships to be awarded for studies undertaken at the Northern Institute of Philosophy. The awards are for uptake in 2013 and 2014 as part of the project Interdisciplinary Studies in Epistemology.

The proposed research themes of the project are:

The epistemology and ethics of testimony in the courtroom (EETC)
This scholarship theme will be associated with a new NIP pilot project on Testimony. An example of philosophical questions to be considered are: Who counts as an ‘expert’ when it comes to the testimony of an advertised ‘expert witness’? And how much weight it is epistemically appropriate to put on expert and scientific testimony? Should (and does) a testifier’s moral character or social standing impact on their testimonial power? The interdisciplinary aspect of the scholarship links the topic with law and, as such, thesis will be part supervised by an appropriate member of the law department.

Religious Disagreement (RG)
This scholarship theme will be associated with the existing NIP Leverhulme Trust funded project, Relativism and Rational Tolerance. An example of philosophical questions to be considered are: What forms the basis of judgements of heresy and orthodoxy? Should we suspend judgement in the face of peer disagreement? What does tolerance amount to in such a setting? The interdisciplinary aspect of the scholarship links the theme with theology and, as such, the thesis will be part supervised by an appropriate member of the divinity department.

Epistemology and Science (ES)
An example of philosophical questions to be considered under this scholarship theme are: How can thought-experiments be relevant for empirical science? What is the link (if any) between thought-experiments and models? The interdisciplinary aspect of the scholarship links the theme with the sciences and, as such, the thesis will be part supervised by an appropriate member of staff from the sciences.

Knowledge and Belief Representation Theories (KBR)
An example of philosophical questions to be considered under this scholarship scheme concern the concepts of common ground and presupposition and how they are to be represented in psycholinguistics and computational linguistics. The interdisciplinary aspect of the scholarship links the theme with computer sciences and, as such, the thesis will be part supervised by an appropriate member of staff from the computer science department.

There are four scholarships available, each with a 3-year duration. Two scholarships will be awarded to start in 2013 and two will be awarded to start in 2014. The scholarships are for fees (EU or overseas) plus subsistence of £3600 per year.

All scholarship applicants must also have applied to the University Admissions Office for PhD enrollment. Please note that all supporting documentation, e.g. transcripts, references, research proposals, etc., must have been submitted to the Admissions Office before the scholarships application will be considered. The University cannot guarantee that an incomplete application will be considered. Details on how to apply to be a PhD student at Aberdeen can be found on the University website.

To apply for a scholarship please submit the following material to Paula Sweeney at p.sweeney@abdn.ac.uk.