''British Journal for the Philosophy of Science'' (''BJPS'') is a

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

, owned by the British Society for the Philosophy of Science (BSPS) and published by

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including '' The Chicago Manual of Style' ...

. The journal publishes work that uses philosophical methods in addressing issues raised in the natural and human sciences.

Overview

The leading international journal in the field, ''BJPS'' publishes outstanding new work on a variety of traditional and 'cutting edge' topics, from issues of explanation and realism to the applicability of mathematics, from the metaphysics of science to the nature of models and simulations, as well as foundational issues in the physical, life, and social sciences. Recent topics covered in the journal include the epistemology of measurement, mathematical non-causal explanations, signalling games, the nature of biochemical kinds, and approaches to human cognitive development, among many others. The journal seeks to advance the field by publishing innovative and thought-provoking papers, discussion notes and book reviews that open up new directions or shed new light on well-known issues. ''The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science'' operates a triple-anonymized peer review process and receives over 600 submissions a year. It is fully compliant with the

RCUK Research Councils UK, sometimes known as RCUK, was a non-departmental public body which coordinated science policy in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2018. It was an umbrella organisation that coordinated the seven separate research councils th ...

open access policy, and is a member of the

Committee on Publication Ethics The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) is a nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to define best practice in the ethics of scholarly publishing and to assist editors and publishers to achieve this. Mission COPE educates and su ...

(COPE). In 2016, book reviews were moved to online-only publication in the ''BJPS Review of Books''. The journal also runs a blog, ''Auxiliary Hypotheses''.

Editorial board

Past editors include J. O. Wisdom, Alexander Bird, Peter Clark, Mary Hesse, James Ladyman, Imre Lakatos, and

David Papineau David Papineau (; born 1947) is a British academic philosopher, born in Como, Italy. He works as Professor of Philosophy of Science at King's College London and the City University of New York Graduate Center, and previously taught for several ...

Editors-in-Chief

Professor Robert D. Rupert (

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

) and Professor Wendy Parker (

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

)

Deputy Editor

Dr Elizabeth Hannon (LSE)

Associate Editors

* Jonathan Birch (

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...

) * Cameron Buckner (

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

) * Shane N. Glackin (

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

) * Elizabeth Irvine (

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

) * Mary Leng (

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for post-nominals) is a collegiate research university, located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, co ...

) * Peter Lewis (

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

) * Alyssa Ney (

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

) * Anya Plutynski ( Washington University in St. Louis) * Juha Saatsi (

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

) * H. Orri Stefánsson (

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, ...

) * Daniel Steel (

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thr ...

) * Paul Weirich ( University of Missouri-Columbia) * Christian Wüthrich (

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...

)

The BJPS Popper Prize

The prize is awarded to the best paper appearing in ''The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science'' as determined by the Editors-in-Chief and the BSPS Committee. The prize includes a £500 award to the winner(s).

History of the prize

The Sir Karl Popper Essay Prize was originally established at the wish of the late Dr Laurence B. Briskman, formerly of the Department of Philosophy,

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

, who died on 8 May 2002, having endowed an essay prize fund to encourage work in any area falling under the general description of the critical rationalist philosophy of

Karl Popper Sir Karl Raimund Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was an Austrian-British philosopher, academic and social commentator. One of the 20th century's most influential philosophers of science, Popper is known for his rejection of the ...

. Briskman was greatly influenced by Popper, who remained the dominant intellectual influence on his philosophical outlook throughout his career. While originally open for submissions, since 2011 the prize is only awarded to papers having appeared in ''The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science''. The endowment ended in 2017, at which point the BSPS took over funding the prize. The decision was also taken to widen the prize's remit, to include all papers published in the BJPS and not just those concerned with Popper's work. At the same time, the prize's name was changed to the BJPS Popper Prize.

Previous winners

Impact factor

The 2019 impact factor for ''BJPS'' was 2.605, while its five-year impact factor was 2.510, making it the leading philosophy of science journal, 3rd in the

Science Citation Index The Science Citation Index Expanded – previously entitled Science Citation Index – is a citation index originally produced by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) and created by Eugene Garfield. It was officially launched in 1964 ...

, and 4th in the

Social Sciences Citation Index The Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) is a commercial citation index product of Clarivate Analytics. It was originally developed by the Institute for Scientific Information from the Science Citation Index. The Social Sciences Citation Index ...

References

External links

* * Print: * Online: *
BJPS Review of Books
' *
Auxiliary Hypotheses: The BJPS Blog
'
British Society for the Philosophy of Science
{{Philosophy journals, state=collapsed Philosophy of science journals Oxford University Press academic journals Academic journals associated with learned and professional societies of the United Kingdom Publications established in 1950 Quarterly journals Philosophy Documentation Center academic journals