PhD position in Logic at Utrecht University, the Netherlands

We are looking for a talented and dedicated student with a master's degree or equivalent degree in mathematics, computer science, or philosophy, specializing in logic or a related area.The PhD position is embedded in the research project “Optimal Proofs” funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and led by Prof. R. Iemhoff, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Utrecht University. The project in mathematical and philosophical logic is concerned with formalization in general and proof systems as a form of formalization in particular.

Its mathematical aim is to develop methods to describe the possible proof systems of a given logic and establish, given various criteria of optimality, what the optimal proof systems of the logic are. Its philosophical aim is to develop general criteria for faithful formalization in logic and to thereby distinguish good formalizations from bad ones. The research of the PhD student lies mainly within the mathematical part of the project, but can, depending on the interests of the candidate, be extended to the philosophical part of the project as well.