The Collaborative Research Centre 1759 “Habitability as a Fundamental Planetary Process: Towards a Paradigm Shift Away from Our Perception of the Uniqueness of Earth” (CRC 1759 https://www.geo.fu-berlin.de/en/geol/fachrichtungen/planet/projects/SFB1759/index.html), funded by the German Research Foundation, investigates planetary habitability as a fundamental process shaped by the physical, geological, chemical, biological, and societal conditions of planetary bodies. By bringing together researchers from the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, the CRC seeks to develop an interdisciplinary understanding of habitable environments beyond Earth and of the scientific, ethical, cultural, and societal implications of their exploration. Within project C05, “Colonisation,” a part-time doctoral researcher position in the field of Theology, Religious Studies, Philosophy, Ethics, or a closely related discipline is available. The position is fixed-term until June 30, 2030.
Project C05 investigates the scientific, societal, ethical, philosophical, and religious dimensions of establishing a sustained human presence beyond Earth. The successful candidate (m/f/x) will conduct a doctoral research project within Work Package 3. The project will provide a systematic historical and hermeneutical analysis of religious, theological, philosophical, and ethical thought concerning human space exploration, planetary protection, and settlement beyond Earth. It will investigate how different models of exploration and colonisation have been conceptualised, justified, criticised, and related to broader understandings of humanity, nature, responsibility, and the future of society. On the basis of this analysis, the doctoral project will identify and categorise ethical, philosophical, and theological models that may inform future scenarios of human settlement. The successful candidate (m/f/x) will pursue a doctoral degree on this topic and complete a dissertation in the form of a monograph written either in German or in English.
