"Research Fellow - AR3233"

University of St Andrews - Department of Philosophy

Location: St Andrews

Salary: £38,784 to £42,254 pa Grade 6

Hours: Full Time

Contract Type: Fixed-Term/Contract

Placed On: 8th January 2026

Closes: 30th January 2026

Job Ref: 462449

Full time Fixed term: 24 months

Applications are sought for a Post-doctoral Research Fellow to work with Dr. Alice Murphy, conducting research at the Arché Research Centre at the Department of Philosophy. This will be a full-time, 2 year post.

The post-doctoral researcher will work on a DFG-funded project, entitled “Aesthetic Values and the Social Dimensions of Science.” A short description of the project:

Philosophers now widely agree that if we are to understand science, we need to understand its social dimensions. This has given rise to hugely productive studies into the legitimacy of the influence of social values on research, the collective production of scientific knowledge, and the communication of results and methodologies to other scientists and to the public. Discussions on the role of aesthetic values in science have had a resurgence in recent years. Moving beyond the traditional focus of beauty in physics, various aesthetic properties and judgements have been shown to be embedded within many scientific practices, impacting their epistemic goals. Yet these topics have been explored almost entirely independently from the collective aspects of scientific inquiry and knowledge production. The aim of this project is to develop a novel perspective on aesthetics in science, one which better reflects scientific practice, by centring its social dimensions. In doing so, the project also targets an underlying source of scepticism: the aesthetic is not an anti-social, wholly personal, or subjective sphere; it is intimately connected with the judgements and choices of a scientific community.

Possible research focuses include (but are not limited to):

i) Values in Science where the postdoc will have expertise on the value-ladeness of scientific inquiry. They will be interested in considering how aesthetic values fit within existing accounts of the legitimate impact of social (moral and political) values as developed in philosophy of science, or

ii) Aesthetics and Social Epistemology where the postdoc will have expertise in collective aesthetic judgement and aesthetic practices, especially where these intersect with topics in social epistemology. They will be interested in bringing this to bear on questions arising within the scientific context.

The post is available for 24 months starting 01.05.2026 or as soon as possible thereafter. The successful applicant will have (or be near to completion of) a PhD in Philosophy with expertise in philosophy of science and/or aesthetics and social epistemology. PhD must be completed by the start date.

Further details of the project can be found at the project page or by contacting amlm2@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Closing Date: 30 January 2026

Interview Date: Mid-February (TBC)

Please quote ref: AR3233RS