At the Chair of Philosophy of Language and Cognition, Ruhr University Bochum, we are looking for a
Postdoc (m/f/x) in Philosophy of Mind/Cognitive Science on Memory
- fixed-term position full-time (100% TV-L E13)
- starting 01.01.2027
- ending 31.12.2030
- apply by 26.10.2026
- legally binding job announcement: https://jobs.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/jobposting/2c684e3326b7d25cc7ad5096768d28ce8aec7e560
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 research project A11 „The role of episodic memory in non-factual scenario construction: An application of trace minimalism to instructive imaginative and counterfactual causal reasoning“. The CRC is an interdisciplinary consortium consisting of researchers from philosophy, psychology, and computational/cognitive neuroscience. We conceptualize scenarios as mental simulations of past, counterfactual, and hypothetical episodes and investigate whether and how (minimal) memory traces contribute to their construction. 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.
On the the postdoc (m/f/x) position, you will pursue the project A11 within the envisaged timeline, including work on the (dis)continuims debate in memory research as well as theoretical, experimental, and modelling work on the role of episodic memory for instructive imagination (II) and counterfactual causal reasoning (CCR). You will in particular also perform an online experiments on the role of episodic memory for II and CCR in the general population and across the lifespan and contribute to a computational modelling study using probabilistic models.
Your tasks:
- theoretical work on the role of episodic memory for instructive imagination and counterfactual causal reasoning
- performing various online experiments on EM, II, and CCR using Qualtrix (or similar)
- contribute to a computational modelling study (assistance will be provided)
- cooperate with neuroimaging and neurocompuational studies within the CRC
- (co-)publication of research results
- (co-)supervision of Master and PhD theses
- reporting, organization, and adminstrative tasks in the context of the CRC
- no teaching obligations
Your profile:
- PhD in philosophy, cognitive science, or a related discipline
- Background in the philosophy of mind/epistemology, in psychology, or in computational modelling
- Research interest in memory, imagination, causal cognition, predictive processing, or related areas
- Willingness to acquire some statistical and programming skills (Qualtrix, Matlab and/or Python)
- Very good writing skills
Please submit the following application documents:
- CV (incl. list of publications)
- Letter of interest (max. 1 page)
- Writing sample
- 2 letters of reference
For further information please contact Professor Dr. Markus Werning (markus.werning@rub.de).