Maria Lasonen
Just Landed
New Today
Two Postdoctoral Researchers in Theoretical Philosophy University of Helsinki in Finland
Degree Level
Postdoc
Field of study
Psychology
Funding
Research Council of Finland-funded postdoctoral positions with a starting salary of approximately 4000–4400 €/month before taxes and a travel budget of 2000 euros per year.
Deadline
Nov 30, 2026
Country
Finland
University
University of Helsinki
Apply for this position
Keywords
Suggested positions
About this position
Two postdoctoral researchers are sought for the Research Council of Finland-funded project “the Epistemic Significance of Concepts” at the University of Helsinki’s Theoretical Philosophy unit. The project is led by Academy Professor Maria Lasonen and is situated within a broader research environment in epistemology, logic, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, and history of philosophy.
The project investigates the epistemic role of concepts from a broadly philosophical perspective that is explicitly informed by work in psychology, cognitive science, and linguistics. Its central concern is how concepts help us ask the right questions, generate hypotheses, explain phenomena, support induction, and acquire knowledge and understanding. It also examines how concepts relate to linguistic meaning, recognitional abilities, social practices, unawareness, ignorance, inference, moral epistemology, and the use of concepts in AI and in social and political critique.
The successful candidates will join a collaborative project team and are expected to contribute through peer-reviewed publications, joint work with project members, conferences, workshops, seminars, grant preparation, research-based teaching, and broader societal engagement. The positions are based at the University of Helsinki City Centre Campus, within a unit that collaborates widely across the university and across disciplinary boundaries.
The project especially welcomes candidates whose research sits at the intersection of philosophy with psychology, cognitive science, and linguistics, especially work on concepts, categorization, and word meaning.
Funding details
Research Council of Finland-funded postdoctoral positions with a starting salary of approximately 4000–4400 €/month before taxes and a travel budget of 2000 euros per year.
What's required
Applicants should hold a doctoral degree in philosophy by the start date, or complete the doctorate by then; in exceptional cases, doctorates in related fields such as cognitive science, psychology, or linguistics may be considered if accompanied by adequate expertise in philosophy. Candidates should normally have no more than three years of previous postdoctoral experience, although exceptions may be considered. A pre-existing interest and, depending on career stage, a publication record on topics within the project theme is required. The project especially seeks expertise at the intersection of psychology, cognitive science, linguistics (pragmatics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics), and philosophy concerning concepts and word meaning, with at least one hire having deep knowledge of concepts and categorization in psychology and cognitive science. Applicants must be able to write and publish high-quality peer-reviewed articles independently and collaboratively, have excellent written and oral English, and possess sufficient teaching skills to teach undergraduate and master’s level philosophy courses.
How to apply
Submit the application through the University of Helsinki electronic recruitment system. Include a CV with publication list and referee contacts, a one-page cover letter, a writing sample of up to 10,000 words, and a three-page research plan. Current University of Helsinki employees must apply via SAP Fiori’s Suffeli recruitment portal.
Make your next move.
Prepare your application
Review drafts and confirm requirements with the university.
Professors
Academy Professor at University of Helsinki
Finland
Research Interests
Epistemology
Philosophy Of Mind
Linguistics
Psychology
Philosophy Of Languag
Make your next move.
Prepare your application
Review drafts and confirm requirements with the university.