Who got that job?

Luc Bovens
Professorship in Philosophy, LSE
Job advertised in The Times Higher September 12 2003

For someone interested in the links between philosophy and economics, the London School of Economics and Political Science would appear to be an ideal employer.

So it has proved for Luc Bovens who has secured a professorship of philosophy at the department of philosophy, logic and scientific method.

Before taking up the job on January 1, the Belgian-born academic had been at Colorado University in Boulder since 1990, where he taught classes in topics including ethical theory, metaphysics, philo-sophy of science, logic and critical thinking.

His research interests include moral psychology, such as weakness of the will and character formation, and probabilistic models and simulations in social choice theory, as well as applying modelling techniques to social sciences.

Professor Bovens, who is a joint editor of the journal Economics and Philosophy , said the LSE was an exciting place to be for someone interested in the continuity between philosophy and economics.

He will lead the MSc in philosophy, policy and social value in the internationally recognised department, which was founded in 1946 by the famous philosopher, Sir Karl Popper and which earned a 5* rating in the last research assessment exercise.

While he is enjoying being close to Europe once more, Professor Bovens said he has found living in London "quite exhausting" after Boulder, which has a population of 100,000.

And after the shock of property prices in the capital, he elected to rent a flat in Bloomsbury, 20 minutes walk from the LSE.