Focus and Scope
What we publish
Philosophy of Science aims to publish the best original work in philosophy of science, broadly construed. This work will advance the discussion in some area of philosophy of science or the philosophy of a particular science in a way that is of direct interest to experts in the field, and in a way that explicitly acknowledges and responds to existing work in the area.
Professional standards
Submissions that do not take into account the existing literature on the topic of the paper and related topics are not publishable in Philosophy of Science.
Editorial Policies
Submission requirements
Articles and discussion notes must be submitted in a readable format and prepared for anonymous review; accepted manuscripts must be formatted according to the journal’s style guidelines prior to publication. Policies concerning each submission type, including word limits and frequency of submission, are described below. For detailed instructions on how to prepare your manuscript for initial submission and final publication, see the journal's Preparing your materials page.
Authors are also encouraged to consult the journal's Publishing ethics page while preparing your materials for submission to ensure you comply with the relevant policies.
Submission Types Accepted
- Article*
- Discussion Note*
- Book Review
- Essay Review*
- Contributed Paper* (PSA Meeting Proceedings)
- Symposia Paper* (PSA Meeting Proceedings)
* If publishing Gold Open Access, all or part of the publication costs for these article types may be covered by one of the agreements Cambridge University Press has made to support open access.
Articles
Articles make novel contributions to current research and debates in contemporary philosophy of science and locate this new work in relation to existing literature in the field.
- Articles are limited to 9000 words, inclusive of abstract, footnotes, in-text citations, and appendices intended to appear with the manuscript. Reference sections and online-only appendices are not included in the word count.
- Authors may have no more than one peer-reviewed submission (article or discussion note) under consideration at any time.*
- Authors who have published an article or discussion note in Philosophy of Science (not including essay reviews or book reviews) in the past 12 months may not submit another article or discussion note until 12 months after the date of acceptance.*
- Authors may submit no more than one article or discussion note every 6 months to the journal. Co-authored papers may excepted from this policy at the discretion of the Editorial team.*
Discussion Notes
Discussion Notes provide focused commentary on a recently published article or result of high interest to the philosophy of science community. Though it is not a strict condition for publication, discussion notes that engage articles recently published in the journal are especially encouraged. Though they are more restricted in scope than an article, discussions notes are expected to advance the literature by contributing a novel result or argument. Merely expressing disagreement with a published article or discussion note does not meet the journal’s standards for this submission type.
- Discussion Notes are normally limited to 4000 words inclusive of abstract, footnotes, and in-text citations. References are not included in the word count.
- Authors may have no more than one peer-reviewed submission (article or discussion note) under consideration at any time.*
- Authors who have published an article or discussion note in Philosophy of Science (not including essay reviews or book reviews) in the past 12 months may not submit another article or discussion note until 12 months after the date of acceptance.*
- Authors may submit no more than one article or discussion note every 6 months to the journal. Co-authored papers may excepted from this policy at the discretion of the Editorial team.*
*Note that these rules do not include submissions related to the PSA biennial meetings, which are handled separately by the PSA Program Chair and do not count against ordinary article submission quotas.
Book Reviews
Book reviews provide helpful summary and brief discussion of a recent book publication for the journal’s readership.
- Book reviews are solicited, but members of the PSA may offer to review books.
- Book reviews are normally limited to 1500 words.
- Book reviews are checked by the Editorial team, and modest revisions are frequently requested.
- Book reviews are subject to approval by the Editor-in-Chief.
Essay Reviews
Essay reviews, longer than standard book reviews, critically engage with the content of a recent book publication. Essay reviews may also sometimes focus on a cluster of related works or themes that are of interest to the journal’s readership.
- Essay reviews are solicited, but members of the PSA may suggest topics for essay reviews.
- Essay reviews are normally limited to 4000 words.
- Essay reviews are checked by the Editorial team, and modest revisions are frequently requested.
- Essay reviews are subject to approval by the Editor-in-Chief.
Other Submission Types
Contributed Papers and Symposia Papers are submitted to the PSA Biennial Meeting and subject to the editorial policies of the relevant Program Chair. For guidance regarding these submissions, please refer to the calls for submissions to the relevant meeting.
Author Hub
You can find guides for many aspects of publishing with Cambridge at Author Hub, our suite of resources for Cambridge authors.