The Philosophy section of the University of Twente is looking for a highly motivated and excellent researcher for a 4-year, full-time PhD project on Human Capabilities, Diversity and Technological Disruptions: A New Ethical Approach as part of the Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies programme, a ten-year long international research programme of seven academic institutions in the Netherlands.
Key takeaways
The aim of this research project is to develop an approach for ethically assessing the disruptive impact of technologies on individuals. The project centers on two key ideas. The first is that the personal interests of individuals center on not only the protection of rights, but also on support for the development of capabilities. Therefore, we need to develop an ethics of capability development in relation to technology. This approach should consider various impact dimensions of technology on human capabilities – both positive and negative – and should develop approaches for ethically assessing these dimensions. For example, impacts on health, social relations, cognition and learning, self-understanding, work and play, etc.
The second key idea is that one should take into account human diversity in ethically assessing capabilities. Ethics – including ethics of technology – too often assumes a generic individual with generic needs and capabilities, as the subject of ethical analysis. We need an ethics of diversity and technology that considers human differences, both social, psychological and physiological, and allows us to identify and analyze ethical issues in relation to different individuals and groups, rather than “the human being” in general. But what kinds of diversity are relevant for ethical analysis may differ for different technologies and contexts of application, which should also be taken into account. The objective, then, is to develop a context-sensitive ethics of diversity that is able to take into account differential impacts of technology on human capabilities, and that supports equality, equity and inclusion.
To connect these key ideas, the candidate might consider capability approaches to technology such as capability sensitive design, intersectional theory and critical disability studies, as well as extension theories of technology to come to a deeper understanding of human diversity and the ways in which technology could disrupt people’s capabilities differently with different impacts.
While the emphasis is on developing a theoretical and methodological framework for ethically assessing disruptive effects of technology on individuals, there will be (smaller) case studies to develop and (empirically) test this approach. In a concluding chapter, implications for engineering design and technology policy can also be touched upon.
This project will be supervised by dr. Naomi Jacobs (first daily supervisor), dr. Janna van Grunsven (second daily supervisor) and prof. dr. Philip Brey (promotor).
The challenge
This PhD position will be part of the Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies programme, a ten-year long international research programme of seven academic institutions in the Netherlands. This programme is funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research in the Gravitation funding scheme for excellent research, and by matching funds from the participating institutions. The programme aims to achieve breakthrough research at the intersection of ethics, philosophy, technology/engineering and social sciences, and to position its consortium at the top of its field internationally. A key objective is to investigate how new technologies challenge moral values and ontological concepts (like “nature”, “human being” and “community”), and how these challenges necessitate a revision of these concepts. The programme includes four research lines, “Nature, life and human intervention”, “The future of a free and fair society”, “The Human Condition” and “Synthesis: Ethics of Technology, Practical Philosophy, and Modern Technology-Driven Societies”.
INFORMATION AND APPLICATION
Are you interested to be part of our team? Please submit your application no later than the 11th of June 2024 and include:
- A cover letter (maximum 2 pages A4), emphasizing your specific interest, qualifications, and motivations to apply for this position;
- A Curriculum Vitae, including a list of all courses attended and grades obtained, and, if applicable, a list of publications and references;
- A writing sample (e.g. Master’s thesis/chapter) that reflects your suitability for this position
Additional information can be acquired via email from dr. Naomi Jacobs (n.jacobs@utwente.nl).
