British Journal for the Philosophy of Science

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Overview

The leading international journal in the field, [3] 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. [4]

The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science operates a triple-anonymized peer review process and receives over 600 submissions a year. [3] It is fully compliant with the RCUK open access policy, [5] and is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). [6]

In 2016, book reviews were moved to online-only publication in the BJPS Review of Books. [7]

The journal also runs a blog, Auxiliary Hypotheses. [8]

Editorial board

Past editors include J. O. Wisdom, [9] Alexander Bird, Peter Clark, Mary Hesse, James Ladyman, Imre Lakatos, and David Papineau. [1]

Editors-in-Chief

Professor Robert D. Rupert (University of Colorado Boulder) and Professor Wendy Parker (Virginia Tech) [10]

Deputy Editor

Dr Elizabeth Hannon (LSE)

Associate Editors


Past Editors-in-Chief
Steven French2011-2020
Michela Massimi 2011-2017
Alexander Bird & James Ladyman2005-2011
Peter Clark1999-2004
David Papineau 1993-1998
G M K Hunt1986-1993
Donald A. Gillies 1983-1985
John Worrall 1980-1981
John W. N. Watkins & John Worrall 1974-1979
Imre Lakatos 1971-1973
David Hugh Mellor 1969-1971
Mary Hesse & David Hugh Mellor 1969
Mary Hesse 1965-1969
John Oulton Wisdom 1956-1964
Alistair Cameron Crombie 1950-1955

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). [12]

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, 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. 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. [12] 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. [13]

Previous winners

YearAuthorTitle
2022Zina B. Ward'Registration Pluralism and the Cartographic Approach to Data Aggregation across Brains'
2021Eddy Keming Chen'Quantum Mechanics in a Time-Asymmetric Universe: On the Nature of the Initial Quantum State'
2020Jessica Laimann'Capricious Kinds'
2019Carlos Santana'Waiting for the Anthropocene'
2018Jonah N. Schupbach'Robustness Analysis as Explanatory Reasoning'
2017Grant Ramsey and Andreas de Block'Is Cultural Fitness Hopelessly Confused?'
2016Co-winner: Elizabeth Irvine'Model-Based Theorizing in Cognitive Neuroscience'
2016Co-winner: Eran Tal'Making Time: A Study in the Epistemology of Measurement'
2015Matthew Slater'Natural Kindness'
2014Rachael L. Brown'What Evolvability Really Is'
2013Charles Pence and Grant Ramsey'A New Foundation for the Propensity Interpretation of Fitness'
2012Elliott Wagner'Deterministic Chaos and the Evolution of Meaning'
2011No award madeN/A
2010Daniel Greco'Significance Testing in Theory and Practice'
2009Sebastian Lutz'Criteria of Empirical Significance: a Success Story'
2008Antoni Diller'On Critical and Pancritical Rationalism'
2007No award madeN/A
2006Maria Kronfeldner'Darwinian Hypothesis Formation Revisited'
2005No award madeN/A
2004Benjamin Elliott'Falsifiable Statements in Theology: Karl Popper and Christian Thought'

Impact factor

The 2021 impact factor for BJPS was 3.282, while its five-year impact factor was 3.144, making it the leading philosophy of science journal, 3rd in the Science Citation Index, and 4th in the Social Sciences Citation Index. [3]

YearImpact Factor
20213.282
20203.978
20192.605
20181.768
20172.053
20161.985
20151.738
20141.281
20131.017
20120.919
20111.097
20101.048
20091.109
20080.867
20070.884
20060.689

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References

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  3. 1 2 3 "British Journal for the Philosophy of Science Editorial Statistics".
  4. "The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science | Vol 73, No 2".
  5. Open Access at Chicago.
  6. "The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science". Committee on Publication Ethics, COPE. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  7. "BJPS Review of Books". BJPS Review of Books.
  8. "Auxiliary Hypotheses". Auxiliary Hypotheses.
  9. "Obituary: J. O. Wisdom". The Independent. 4 March 1993. Retrieved 1 February 2019. John Oulton Wisdom, philosopher, born Dublin 29 December 1908.. editor British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 1952–63 transforming it from a newcomer into a world-class journal..
  10. "Editorial Board".
  11. "BJPS History".
  12. 1 2 "The Sir Karl Popper Essay Prize". British Society for the Philosophy of Science. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  13. "BJPS Popper Prize 2017". Auxiliary Hypotheses. 8 January 2018.