Employed PhD Position in Cognitive Science/Philosophy of Mind (m/f/x)

In order to fill a fixed-term position in part-time (25,8895 = 65%) 01.01.2027, we are looking for a

Employed PhD Position in Cognitive Science/Philosophy of Mind (m/f/x)

The successful applicant (m/f/x) will be affiliated with the the Chair of Philosophy of Language and Cognition (rub.de/phil-lang) and work within the Collaborative Research Center “Episodic Memory” (CRC 1844). They will pursue the philosophy-of-mind and cognitive science part of the research project A05 "Mnemic referential dependencies: Specificity and the role of traces in scenario construction". The CRC is an interdisciplinary consortium consisting of researchers from philosophy, psychology, and (computational) neuroscience. The basis for our research is Trace Minimalism (Werning, 2020) and the Scenario Construction Framework (Cheng, Werning, Suddendorf, 2016), which conceptualize scenarios as mental simulations of past episodes, constructed from minimal memory traces and semantic information. The Chair of Philosophy of Language and Cognition (rub.de/phil-lang) belongs to one of the largest and most research-active philosophy departments in Germany and is member of the Center for Theoretical and Integrative Neuro- and Cognitive Science THINK as well as the Center of Mind and Cognition at Ruhr University Bochum. Our agenda is deeply rooted in a naturalistic understanding of philosophy. We approach questions in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science with exact theoretical and advanced empirical methods.

On a funded PhD position (m/f/x), you will investigate the relationship between minimal memory traces and reference relations in various types of memories, including episodic memories from perceptions and dreams as well as generic memories with an episodic-like phenomenology. You will closely interact with, and contribute to studies that involve computational modelling, neuroimaging (fMRI), and experimental linguistic research. The overarching goal is the theoretical question of how to chart the boarders of episodic memory as a natural kind (Werning, 2026). The starting point of our account of reference is the theory of referential parasitism (Werning & Liefke, 2024, 2025).

Scope: part-time

Duration: fixed-term, 31.12.2030

Start: 01.01.2027

Apply by: 2026-10-19

Your tasks:

• Attest, survey, and classify cases of memories with an episodic-like phenomenology
• Develop a theory of mnemic reference on the basis of evidence about memory traces, engrams, and scenario construction from psychology, neuroscience, compuational modelling, and phenomenology
• Generate and test hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying trace formation, modulation, multiplication, and semanticization in the different cases of memory
• Address the question of whether and to which extent the different cases of memory are subserved by a uniform underlying mechanism and can be subsumed under a natural kind of episodic memory
• (Co-)author publications on the project and related topics
• Support reporting, organization, and adminstrative tasks in the context of the CRC

Your profile:

• You have an MA/MSc in Cognitive Science, Philosophy, Psychology, or Computational/Cognitive Neuroscience
• A background in philosophical or psychological theories of memory, mental representation, and/or reference is desirable.
• Mathematical progamming skills are an advantage.
• Very good scientific/philosophical writing skills are required.

https://jobs.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/jobposting/a97a97cb820015e916780e984ef39659950874510?ref=AfA