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Panel 4 – Languages / Philosophy
and part-time members. A distinguished foreign colleague said of it: ‘One
of the two best philosophy departments in Continental Europe’. (The
other one referred to was Barcelona.) We lack the means to substantiate
the statement, but are inclined to think it not implausible. To the best of
our knowledge, the Institute’s great international presence and the impact
of its top-level research make it the foremost Philosophy department in
Sweden. Its research contribution deserves to be called outstanding.
The Institute rightly notes that (lack of) funding constitutes a serious
obstacle to the development of Ph D training; the number of available
positions is very low indeed. This means that neither a Nachwuchs nor
continuation of the present high level of research can be guaranteed – a
lost opportunity and a grave threat. The lack of Ph D students might also
be the cause of grave injustice to otherwise perfectly competent candidates
for promotion to professorships. We have been given to understand that
one requirement for such promotion, supervision of a successful doctoral
candidate, is – in practice – impossible to satisfy. To maintain this requirement
in a situation where there has been a four year (plus) moratorium of
Faculty supported PhD positions appears to be monstrously unjust.
Furthermore, many (perhaps even most) members of the Institute are
employed, either part-time, or on a temporary (project-related) basis that
is externally financed. Also a number of researchers hold permanent
part-time teaching positions in the department and supplement this with
external research funding. According to the most recent information
given to us about 50 % of the staff-members are employed on a temporary
basis, on contracts that will terminate in the immediate future,
during the calendar year 2008. It is therefore impossible for us to make a
considered judgement about the - in themselves quite reasonable – plans
for future research. From the information available to us it is very unclear
which staff-members will continue to be employed. As the Institute itself
notes, this is a most unsatisfactory situation and one which patently
constitutes a serious threat to effective planning and realization of its
research potential.
The present outstanding level of research is to a very large extent due
to the presence of outstanding leaders; both were recruited prior to the
recent reforms of the Swedish corps of Professors. Both leaders will, in the
normal course of affairs, reach retirement age, either within the coming
five-year period, or shortly thereafter. It is obviously a sine qua non for
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