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Frequency: 2/year. Circulation: 600. Focus: General. Editorial address: P.O. Box 21572, U.P.R. Sta., Río Piedras, Puerto Rico 00931. Send two doublespaced copies in Spanish or English. Processing time: 6 months, and half that for obviously good manuscripts. Authors' names not concealed from reviewers, reviewers' names always concealed from authors. Average wait till publication: 1 year. Accepted authors should wait: not necessarily. Special topic issues: none. No invited papers. Book reviews: yes.
Questionnaire summary: Especially seeks work on original issues and work by well-known philosophers; somewhat prefers work on traditional or neglected issues. Journal tries to keep a balance between articles in English and in Spanish. As the latter are rarer, authors who can write in both languages should submit in Spanish.
To pass initial screening, manuscript "must make philosophical sense and not fall too widely off the standards of contemporary philosophical literature." Editor looks over each incoming manuscripts and passes it to one of his advisors, who submits a report. Only exceptionally, when no agreement reached on an article, does journal use outside reviewers. Manuscripts most commonly rejected for insufficient quality.
Journal uses volunteers for book reviews and would consider printing an unrequested review if the book seems worth reviewing and the review apt. No invited reviews rejected; few or none sent back for revision.
In the past year, journal printed 16 regular articles, about 23 pages each and 10 book reviews, about four pages each.
Reviewer's comments: Dialogos, not to be confused with other journals of the same or similar name, is produced by the Philosophy Department of the University of Puerto Rico. The two issues per year contain six to 10 articles of quite varied lengths, half in English and the rest in Spanish. There is considerable diversity in the subjects of essays and perspectives of authors, though the bulk of articles are on historical topics and the writers represent mainly Continental orientations. A typical recent issue had papers on Hume, Kant, Hegel, Sartre, quantum mechanics, French philosophy of science, divine omnipotence and the logic of reference. Issues usually also include book reviews and occasionally lengthier discussions of books. (RP)
DIALOGUE: Canadian Philosophical Review/Revue Canadienne de Philosophie
Frequency: 4/year. Circulation: 1,400. Focus: most areas of philosophy. Editorial
address: English submissions to Michael McDonald, Philosophy Department, University
of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1. Processing time: 3-4 months.
Blind reviewing. Referees' comments almost always sent to contributors. Acceptance
rate: 15%. Average wait till publication: 1 to 1-1/2 years. Accepted authors
should wait: no. Special topic issues: no. No invited articles. Book reviews:
yes.
Questionnaire summary: Journal seeks work on new and traditional issues and replies to articles published in Dialogue; somewhat prefers work on currently popular or neglected issues, history of philosophy articles and work by Canadian philosophers; especially interested in bilingual interchanges between francophone and anglophone philosophers. Editor scrutinizes incoming manuscripts for "minimum level of professional competence" and sends 90% out to two or three reviewers. After receiving referees' reports, the appropriate editor (anglophone or francophone or both for bilingual symposia) rejects or accepts. Some papers rejected for inappropriate subject matter or excessive length. Major revisions rarely requested. Journal would use volunteers for book reviews and would print unrequested reviews if it wanted to review the book and referees' comments were favorable. In the past year, journal printed 24 regular articles, about 15 pages each, 7 replies, about 5 pages each, 57 book reviews, averaging 3 pages each and 16 critical notices of about 10 pages each.
Reviewer's comments: (initials)
Frequency: 4/year. Circulation: 2,000. Focus: Philosophy of education in a broad sense. Editorial address: College of Education, 1310 S. 6th St., University of Illinois, Champaign, IL 61820. Send original and three clear, doublespaced copies. Processing time: 70 days. Blind reviewing. Contributors receive referees' comments unless excessively harsh or reviewers request otherwise. Acceptance rate: 15%. Average wait till publication: 9 months after submission. Accepted authors should wait: no. Special topic issues: less than once every five years, with 80% of articles invited, topics not announced in advance. Ratio of contributed to invited pieces: 20/1. Book reviews: only review-essays, procedurally treated like articles.
Editorial statement: The general purposes of this journal are to foster the continuing development of educational theory and to encourage wide and effective discussion of theoretical problems within the educational profession. In order to achieve these purposes, the journal will be devoted to publishing scholarly articles and studies in the foundations of education, and in related disciplines outside the field of education, which contribute to the advancement of educational theory. It is the policy of the sponsoring organizations to maintain the journal as an open channel of communication and as an open forum of discussion.
Questionnaire summary: Philosophy of education journal, with emphasis on issues within philosophy of mind, social philosophy, ethics and philosophy of science; seeks more philosophical analyses of fields or inquiry or disciplines, such as literature, history, biology and mathematics, with developed implications for teaching goals, materials and methods. Also seeks postmodern analyses of culture. Editors acknowledge and screen incoming manuscripts for appropriateness to journal (not predominantly empirical research, significant to some area of educational theory or process), and send 70% to three external reviewers. Around 30% of submissions rejected for inappropriate subject matter, a few others for inappropriate manuscript submission or excessive length. In the past year, journal published 24 regular articles, averaging 20 pages each, four replies, about 8 pages each, and four review-essays, about 15 pages each.
Reviewer's comments: Educational Theory publishes articles ranging in length from nine to 16 journal pages, with the average length around 10 pages. Occasionally it offers critical commentaries on previous articles in the journal, along with the original author's reply. Shorter review articles, on topics such as "Recent American and Australian Approaches to the Sociology and Politics of Education" are occasional special features. Material is scholarly in nature and style, with piece containing an average number of footnotes but no formal bibliographies to speak of. Most pieces contain numerous references to works in fields other than philosophy and education (e.g., psychology, political science, economics). All material focusses on educational theory, philosophy of education or theoretical problems in the education profession. Of interest to philosophers are recent pieces on Piaget, Whitehead, Dewey, values, Nietzsche, freedom and education and Marx. There seems to be a particular emphasis on articles and studies in the general area of morality and education or moral issues in education. Philosophers with specialties in these areas should consider this journal seriously. No particular philosophic school, ideology, style or historical period predominates. Most authors are individuals from schools or departments of education, with a few philosophers per se. Some material comes from people in math, computers, psychology, sociology and other fields. (REH)
Frequency: 4/year. Circulation: 1,300. Focus: Environmental ethics. Editorial address: Department of Philosophy, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. Send three nonreturnable clear, clean copies, completely doublespaced with footnotes at end. All who are not individual subscribers or employees of institutional subscribers must enclose $3.00 postage fee. Processing time: 4 months. Blind reviewing. Extensive comments, usually, from referees and editor. Acceptance rate: 21%. Average wait till publication: 6-8 months. Accepted authors should wait: no. Special topic issues: every 2-3 years, with all papers refereed and topics announced in advance. Ratio of contributed to invited pieces: 99.5/0.05. Book reviews: yes.
Editorial statement: Environmental Ethics is intended as a forum for diverse interests and attitudes, and seeks to bring together the nonprofessional environmental philosophy tradition with the newly emerging professional interest in the subject. Articles are welcome in any area of philosophy or environmental affairs. Manuscripts are judged on their philosophical merit and their relevance to environmental affairs. Normally they should deal with questions of value or with problems of concept clarification. Since many readers have only a marginal background in professional philosophy, authors should explain technical philosophical terms and ideas more fully when introducing them than is normally required in other philosophy journals.
Questionnaire summary: In addition to papers on environmental ethics and history of philosophy as it bears on environmental ethics, journal seeks articles on aesthetics and economics; animal rights articles only if they have an environmental dimension. Editor sends almost all incoming manuscripts to two outside reviewers and decides on basis of referee comments and his own reading of the manuscript. Most papers rejected for poor argumentation or research. Few papers accepted subject to major revisions. No unsolicited book reviews accepted; almost no invited reviews rejected or sent back for revision. People interested in reviewing books must volunteer in principle, not for a specific book. In the past year, 18 regular articles, averaging 16 pages each, 11 book reviews of about 5 pages each and 8 other pieces, averaging 3 pages each appeared in the journal.
Reviewer's comments: Volume 7 (1985, four issues) contains 18 articles, five comments and 11 book reviews. Each issue also contains "News and Notes" and an editorial (since dropped). The articles appear either as "Features" (nine to 27 pages long) or as "Discussions" (six to 14 pages long). The reviews vary from two to eight pages; most are three pages. Since the journal is interdisciplinary, the editor tries to keep it non-technical. Contributors include environmentalists, research ecologists, political scientists and others, but most are philosophers (15 of the 18 papers and 9 of the 11 book reviews are by philosophers -- including one undergraduate philosophy student). Judging by the published comments, this ratio of philosopher to non-philosopher appears to be an issue for the non-philosophers. The editor wishes to increase the participation of non-philosophers. Most contributors have an institutional affiliation. The philosopher-contributors explore concepts specific to environmentalism (e.g., wilderness and heritage values), discuss the implications of issues in ethical theory (e.g., fact-value, intrinsic value), argue a position on now standard issues of applied ethics (e.g., future generations, animal rights) or bring to bear the views of major philosophers (e.g., Schopenhauer, Heidegger, Spinoza). (FOC)
ERKENNTNIS: An International Journal of Analytic Philosophy
Frequency: 3/year. Circulation: 700. Focus: Foundational studies and philosophy
of science. Editorial address: Professor Wilhelm Essler, Fachbereich Philosophie,
Universität Frankfurt, Dantestrasse 4-6, D-6000 Frankfurt 1, West Germany.
Send three copies prepared according to detailed instructions in journal. Processing
time: 30 minutes-4 hours. Blind reviewing. Acceptance rate: 30%. Average wait
till publication: 9 months. Accepted authors should wait: no. Special topic
issues: once a year at most, with no articles invited, topics not announced
in advance. Ratio of contributed to invited pieces: 19/1. Book reviews: yes.
Editorial statement: Erkenntnis is a philosophical journal for foundational studies and scientific methodology. Its contributions cover the following areas: that field of philosophy associated today with the notions of "Philosophy of Science" and "Analytic Philosophy" (in a wide sense); the philosophy of language, of logic and mathematics; the foundational problems of physics and of other natural sciences; the foundations of normative disciplines such as ethics, philosophy of law and aesthetics; the methodology of the social sciences and the humanities; the history of scientific method. Erkenntnis sees one of its objectives as the provision of a suitable platform for the discussion of controversial issues; and other in being a reliable source of timely, competent reviews of important publications in an ever-growing field of research. Inasmuch as over recent years philosophy standing quite outside the pale of analytic philosophy have also paid careful, and indeed most welcome, attention both to precision of concept and language, and to well-grounded foundations, it is intended that Erkenntnis will be a place of meeting, of discussion and of disputation for philosophers of different persuasions.
Questionnaire summary: Journal especially seeks work on original issues in analytic philosophy; don't send non-analytic philosophy or replies to articles in other journals. Editor checks incoming manuscripts to see if they are at all acceptable and sends 90 percent to one or two referees (except when editor can act as referee). Five percent of submitted articles rejected for being too long. Most common reasons for rejection are imprecision and unclarity, ignorance of literature and lack of substance or new ideas. Major revisions requested of 10 of all submitted papers. Journal uses volunteer book reviewers, among others and would print unrequested reviews if referees recommended them. Of invited reviews, five percent rejected, 15 percent sent back for revision. In the past year, journal published 20 regular articles, totalling 316 pages, one note, two pages long and three book reviews, totalling 33 pages. Reviewer's comments: Erkenntnis has recently published highly specialized articles on probability, decision theory, history of logic, logic, rationality and mathematics. (AJ)
ETHICS: An International Journal of Social, Political and Legal Philosophy
Frequency: 4/year. Circulation: 3,367. Focus: Social, political and legal philosophy. Editorial address: University of Chicago, 5828 S. University Ave., Chicago, IL 60637. Send four nonreturnable copies of double-spaced paper with wide margins and 250-word-or-less abstract, and one copy of a biographical note, 50 words or less. Processing time: 2 months. Blind reviewing. Contributors receive referees' comments and sometimes associate editors' comments. Acceptance rate: 5%. Average wait till publication: 1 year. Accepted authors should wait: no. Special topic issues: yes, with 70% of articles invited, topics not announced in advance. Ratio of contributed to invited pieces: 50/50. Book reviews: yes. Editorial statement: Ethics is an international journal of social, political and legal philosophy devoted to the study of the ideas and principles that form the basis of individual and collective action. It publishes work arising from a variety of disciplines and intellectual perspectives, including philosophy, social and political theory, theories of individual and collective choice, social and economic policy analysis, jurisprudence and international relations. It is especially concerned to foster work that draws on more than one disciplinary approach. The Editor would welcome the opportunity to publish a larger proportion of contributions from outside the United States. Ethics is not the organ of any group and is not committed to any policy or program.
Questionnaire summary: No simultaneous submissions; no unsolicited book reviews. Journal seeks more articles in legal philosophy, in addition to those on metaethics, ethical theory, political philosophy, social theory and current political problems such as nuclear deterrence. No replies to articles published in other journals, history of philosophy or exegetical papers. Papers on Rawls, abortion or some other similarly popular topic must be very original to pass initial screening. Of all unsolicited incoming manuscripts, 15% rejected by the editor for inappropriate subject matter, 37% rejected by editor and associate editor, 48% sent out to two external reviewers. Afterwards, all associate editors review about 9% of all manuscripts and accept about 50% of these. Expeditious handling of papers under eight pages. About 20 manuscripts a year rejected with invitation to resubmit after major revisions. In the past year, Ethics published 46 regular articles, 9 replies, 200 book reviews and 10 review essays.
Reviewer's comments: From January 1985 to April 1986 Ethics published an average of four main articles (ranging from 10 to 20 journal pages) per issue. Of the six issues, four included essays on symposium topics: "Ethics and Nuclear Deterrence," "Rationality and Morality," "Metaethics" and "Excuses." In addition, the journal devoted a great deal of space to short and medium length discussions. Articles usually discussed contemporary philosophical problems, such as abortion, nuclear deterrence and environmental issues, from the standpoint of traditional ethical perspectives, e.g., utilitarianism or Aristotelian ethics. Issues discussed in Ethics intersect with those discussed in Philosophical Forum. (GW)
ETHICS AND ANIMALS Has ceased publication.
FAITH AND PHILOSOPHY: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers
Frequency: 4/year. Focus: Christian philosophy. Editorial address: William P. Alston, Department of Philosophy, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244- 1170. Send two doublespaced copies of manuscript and 100-word abstract, in MLA style, with wide margins and footnotes at end and return postage. Processing time: 80 days. Blind reviewing. (And referees' comments?) Acceptance rate: 30%. Average wait till publication: 6 months. Accepted authors should wait: no. Special topic issues: once a year, with 25% of articles invited, topics announced in advance. Ratio of contributed to invited pieces: 3/1. Book reviews: yes.
Editorial statement: Faith and Philosophy is designed primarily for articles which address philosophical issues from a Christian perspective, for discussions of philosophical issues which arise within the Christian faith and for articles from any perspective which deal critically with the philosophical credentials of the Christian faith. Along with full-length articles, the journal will publish back-and- forth critical discussions, symposia and book reviews. The journal welcomes submissions in all areas of philosophy, from those who do as well as those who do not share its Christian commitment. Although a large proportion of its contents will, no doubt, fall within what is currently called the "philosophy of religion," the journal is not specifically devoted to that branch of philosophy.
Questionnaire summary: mss/bkreviews/stats
Reviewer's comments: (Based on July 1985 through April 1986 issues.) Two kinds of expertise recur frequently in this journal's authors: knowledge of medieval philosophy and knowledge of current work in broadly analytic philosophy. About once every other issue there appears an article on how Christians might do philosophy; the remaining articles are generally in philosophy of religion. The journal publishes articles in which the Christian religion is taken seriously, but authors frequently display no commitment to Christianity. In any event, its audience is composed of philosophers who do take that religion seriously as an intellectual concern. The journal's articles are sometimes technical theologically, but clarity of style rather than "profundity" makes for publishability here. Each article -- even ones that focus on historical positions -- defends a thesis philosophically; there are no simple surveys or historical studies. The most popular topics have been the nature of God (e.g., developments of medieval positions) and the rationality of theism (in particular, applications of current epistemology; also theism's relation to mystical experience, to faith, etc.). Other topics that have been treated are revelation, miracles, evil and religious ethics. This range of topics is narrower than the range of topics to which books reviewed in the journal are devoted; that suggests that the editors would accept articles ranging beyond these topics. Style is almost exclusively Anglo- American, with very little concern with current Continental work. One issue was devoted to a symposium composed of five articles and seven responses; the other three were devoted to an average of five articles, one discussion and five reviews. Excluding notes, a short article in this journal will contain 4,000 words, a long article 12,000; the mean is 7,000 words. The typical article is not heavy with notes; the median number is 14. The layout is very attractive. Proofreading is excellent. Each issue contains a lengthy "Notes and News" section, announcing forthcoming special issues of the journal, as well as conferences, fellowships, etc. (SHV)
Frequency: 3/year. Circulation: 7,000. Focus: Women's Studies. Editorial address: Women's Studies Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. Send two copies of papers, double spaced, with a 200-word abstract and a self-addressed stamped envelope for the return of the manuscript. Processing time: 3-4 months. Blind reviewing. Contributors always receive referees' comments. Acceptance rate: 7%. Average wait till publication: 6 months. Accepted authors should wait: no. Special topic issues: no. No invited pieces. Book reviews: yes.
Editorial statement: Feminist Studies publishes serious writing of a critical, scholarly, speculative and political nature; creative work, particularly poetry and art; and reports from the women's movement, such as manifestos, position papers and strategies for change.
Questionnaire summary: Interdisciplinary journal; seeks articles that advance feminist scholarship or research and communicate with broad audience. A member of the editorial board sends incoming manuscripts to one to three reviewers in the author's field. All editors participate in final publication decisions. Many accepted manuscripts require editing. For review essays authors should submit a proposal (guidelines available from journal) that will be discussed at one of the editorial board's three yearly meetings. Invited reviews "not uncommonly' sent back for revision. In the past year, Feminist Studies published 15 articles, about 25 pages each, 6 review essays, about 15 pages each, and 6 others. Reviewer's comments: (initials)