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“Flourishing for friendship” – research on the interplay between deep friendship and moral development

Dr. paed. Manuels Hoakins Fernandess-Gonsaless manuels.fernandezs@lu.lv

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7088-672X

“Flourishing for friendship” – research on the interplay between deep friendship and moral development. 

The research project “Flourishing for Friendship” aims at developing further a novel moral theory that places deep friendship at the core of moral development and human flourishing. Bringing together virtue ethics, personalist philosophy, and transcendental anthropology, the project investigates whether friendship should be understood merely as a by-product of moral virtue, or rather as its highest expression and ultimate goal. The project aims (1) to elaborate further a recently published conceptual model of moral development—the “Person of Friendship”; and (2) to establish solid theoretical foundations for future empirical research and educational practice on virtue-based friendship, particularly in adolescence. The research combines AI-assisted conceptual literature review, philosophical analysis, and collaborative expert dialogue, and is embedded in ongoing international debates in moral philosophy, philosophy of education, and character education. We are looking for postdoctoral candidates whose research interests connect with one or more of the following areas: moral philosophy and virtue ethics; philosophy of friendship; philosophical anthropology (including personalism or transcendental anthropology); moral education; or conceptual foundations of empirical research in ethics and education. Ideal candidates are interested in interdisciplinary dialogue between philosophy and education, and in developing theoretically grounded approaches with long-term societal relevance. The candidate is expected to:

  • contribute to the project through high-quality international publications;
  • actively participate in the research group’s academic discussions and dissemination activities;
  • demonstrate excellent command of English (additional languages are an asset);
  • show openness to diverse philosophical traditions and interdisciplinary collaboration.