Postdoctoral Researcher Buddhist Ethics for a Systemic Answer to the Attention Economy

Short introduction

Are you interested in exploring systemic solutions to the challenges posed by the attention economy? Do you have a scholarly interest in Buddhist ethics? Are you enthusiastic about engaging in collaborative research within a large network of philosophers of technology as part of the ESDiT project?

In this postdoctoral position:

• You will apply Buddhist ethics to critically examine and reinterpret the concept of attention, viewing it as a systemic, embedded, and political phenomenon.
• You will actively participate in ongoing societal and political debates surrounding the attention economy, both to contribute meaningfully to these discussions and potentially to gather empirical insights for your research.
• You will leverage your reconceptualization of attention to generate broader insights into how concepts related to disruptive technologies can be reimagined more generally.

Job Description

There is an exponential growth of critiques to the attention economy (the socio-technical system - combining users, organisations such as tech-companies and governments, devices and AI-systems, laws, regulations and business models, and more - that uses attention of individuals and groups to produce outputs - such as interactive software, profit, and influence).

This project starts from the hypothesis that many current critiques of the attention economy are insightful, but lack transformative strength because they frame attention as an individual, neutral and a-political technical concept with an isolated cognitive function, detached from ethics and neutral to political structures.

This project will reinterpret attention as a systemic concept in relation to socially disruptive technologies. It will develop a more ecology-focussed approach by developing an “ecology of attending” as a moral, political and social orientation leading towards action committed to the alleviation of avoidable suffering rather than to personal gratification.

It will use Buddhist philosophy and ethics to do so. Attention in Buddhism is a practice that cannot be considered as neutral or in isolation, but needs to be seen as embedded. It is part of an 'ecology', a system of moral and epistemic meaning that emerges from its natural objects, individual beings, and collective constituents. To this end, Buddhist philosophies offer numerous valuable insights to grasp the ethical implications of attention economy. For example, the core teachings of the four noble truths and the eightfold path outline a practical path towards ending suffering. Several Sutta’s present attention and mindfulness (manasikārā and sati) to describe that it is impossible to conceive of right attention, let alone practice it, without referring to ethical and wisdom cultivation.

Studying how one can re-conceptualise the notion of attention, may also allow to draw insights into the broader question, how ethical concepts can and should be re-evaluated from a non-Western perspective. The project will therefore extrapolate insights to other ethical theories and other socially disruptive technologies (SDT) in the ESDiT project.

This research position will focus on the following two research questions:

1. How can insights from Buddhist philosophies help us to reconceptualize attention as a systemic, embedded, and political mechanism in SDTs that fosters an ecology of attending?
2. What can this one particular study of attention add to the general insights of systemic-focused reconceptualizations?

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will

• develop an ethical theory on attention using Buddhist intellectual resources;
• engage actively in societal discussion and reaching out to policy makers and companies; and
• contribute to two ESDiT research lines (intercultural philosophy and conceptual disruption).

You will achieve this goal in a team, together with Gunter Bombaerts, Wijnand IJsselsteijn, Andreas Spahn (TU Eindhoven, the Netherlands) and Elena Ziliotti (TU Delft, the Netherlands).

Job Requirements

• Motivated researcher, with a PhD (obtained or defense planned in the near future) in research on Philosophy or Ethics or a comparable domain.
• Ability to conduct high quality academic research, reflected in demonstrable outputs.
• Motivated to actively engage in public and political debates on your topic.
• Good academic writing skills and excellent (written and verbal) proficiency in English, good communication and coordination skills.
• A team player who enjoys working in a dynamic, interdisciplinary team.
• A proven ability to manage complex projects to completion on schedule.
• Being a practitioner (meditation, …) yourself is not a must, but is certainly seen as a strength.

Conditions of Employment

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• Full-time employment for 3 years. An alternative schedule (for example: 4 years 75%) is possible. 
• Salary in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale 10 (min. € 3,378 max. € 5,331).
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• High-quality training programs on general skills, didactics and topics related to research and valorization.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• Partially paid parental leave and an allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs. 
• A TU/e Postdoc Association that helps you to build a stronger and broader academic and personal network, and offers tailored support, training and workshops.
• A Staff Immigration Team is available for international candidates, as are a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) and a compensation for moving expenses.

Information

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager Gunter Bombaerts (g.bombaerts@tue.nl) for general questions about the project and the content.

Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. You can also contact our HR Advisor (hradvice.ieis@tue.nl).

Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page.

Application

We invite you to submit a complete application using the apply-button. The application should include a:

• Cover letter in which you describe your motivation, qualifications for the position, and your first ideas about what you would like to do in this project.
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of three references.
• List of self-selected ‘best publications’.

We look forward to receiving your application. We will start screening applications after Monday June 23rd 2025 and plan to have interviews in the week of July 7-11, 2025. The vacancy will remain open until the position is filled.