Philosophical Studies - Guidelines for Special Issues and Thematic Symposia
Guidelines for Special Issues and Symposia
Special Issues generally comprise approximately 15 to 20 papers on a single topic. The journal sets no limit on the length of individual papers but the length of a paper must be justified by its contents. Papers do not ordinarily exceed 10,000 words.
Symposia consist of a precís by the author of a recently published book (1600 words), typically three critical discussions of the book (4000 words each), and a set of replies by the author (totaling 6000 words). Symposia are published as a separate section within a regular issue of the journal.
Proposals for Special Issues should be submitted to the Editors-in-Chief
Wayne Davis
Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
Wayne.Davis@georgetown.edu (this opens in a new tab)
Jennifer Lackey
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
j-lackey@northwestern.edu (this opens in a new tab)
Proposals for Symposia should be submitted to the Book Symposium Editor:
Tom Blackson
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
tom.blackson@asu.edu (this opens in a new tab)
Requirements
The governing objectives of the Journal Philosophical Studies (PHIL) for Special Issues or Symposia are (a) scholarly excellence, (b) relevance to PHIL, and (c) newness and significance of topic.
For both Special Issues and Symposia, submissions must receive blind peer reviews conducted through the Editorial Manager to promote transparency and objectivity. At least two referee reports are ordinarily required for Special Issues, one for Symposia.
For Special Issues, calls for papers must be openly and widely circulated; submission must not be restricted (e.g., to people who attend a particular conference).
A Symposium will not be published in PHIL if the book is the subject of a symposium published or to-be-published elsewhere.
Authors contributing to a Special Issue or Symposium may post an earlier draft of their paper on an institutional repository, provided that repository is either the author's institutional repository or that of the society or institution hosting the conference. However, upon publication of the paper online, the author and/or hosting institution or society is required to reduce the posting to an abstract only and then link to the online version on SpringerLink. Twelve months after online publication, the accepted manuscript (prior to copy-editing and typesetting) may be deposited in a repository meeting the conditions above. Authors should provide a link from the accepted manuscript version to the URL of the published article on the journal's website
General Guidelines for Submitting a Proposal
The proposal should be submitted as a Word document and should clearly indicate whether it is a proposal for a Special Issue or a Symposium. Proposals should include:
1. The title of the Special Issue or Symposium
2. An abstract or summary of the proposed topic
3. A justification for why the Special Issue or Symposium is needed
4. An explanation of the suitability of the topic for the journal
Further Elements of Special Issue Proposals
5. The name and contact details of the Guest Editor(s)
6. Backgrounds of the proposed Guest Editor(s) (including visibility on the topic in question and editorial experience).
7. Names of authors the Guest Editor(s) expect will submit papers.
8. A proposed schedule for each stage of the process including timelines and deadlines for receiving, reviewing and revising manuscripts into final publishable form. It is expected that collections of papers will be submitted for publication within 18 months of the submission deadline given in the Call for Papers or the conference at which the papers were presented.
9. A copy of the call for papers
10. A strategy for promoting the call for papers (including details of any conference or workshop with which the Special Issue might be associated).
11. Upon approval by the handling Editor-in-Chief, the call for papers should be circulated widely by the Guest Editor(s) in venues besides the journal.
The submission and reviewing process for Special Issues
Once a Special Issue is agreed upon, the Guest Editor(s) will be in charge of inviting and selecting papers for the Special Issue, and for selecting reviewers and handling the review process. Papers must adhere to the Editorial style of PHIL which can be found at Philosophical Studies (this opens in a new tab). All reviews must be double-blind.
All papers must be submitted through the journal’s on-line submission system (Editorial Manager® (this opens in a new tab)) as “original research.” The Editor-in-Chief overseeing the Special Issue will put the Guest Editor(s) in touch with the relevant parties at Springer to make the necessary arrangements.
Guest Editors and invited authors should follow Springer Nature’s Editorial Policies carefully before they submit their paper. This information can be found here: Editorial Policies (this opens in a new tab). In addition, Guest Editor(s) should declare their role as Guest Editor of the special issue in the Competing Interests section of the final article.”
Reviewers should follow Springer Nature’s more detailed Peer-Review Policy, Process and Guidance (this opens in a new tab)
The Guest Editor(s) should submit an introductory essay that provides a substantive and critical overview of the topic. This essay will be submitted through the Editorial Manager system to the Editor-in-Chief for review and approval.
Any other paper for the Special Issue authored by Guest Editor(s) will be submitted through the Editorial Manager system to the Editor-in-Chief, who will handle the peer review process
Final acceptance decisions in Editorial Manager will be made by the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with the Guest Editor(s). The Editor-in-Chief ordinarily accepts the decisions of the Guest Editor(s), but may request additional reviews for particular papers or further revisions, and has the right in consultation with the Guest Editor(s), to reject papers if they do not fulfill standards of scholarly excellence.
Final approval and clearance for the collection to go to press are given by the Editor-in-Chief.
The Editor-in-Chief can decide to cancel a Special Issue if the Guest Editor(s) fails to deliver the Special Issue by the submission deadline (as indicated in the Rules above) or fails to negotiate an extension of the submission deadline with the Editor-in-Chief.
If, in the view of the Guest Editor(s), a paper is not selected for a special issue or symposium, but is of a suitably high standard to warrant being assessed as a regular paper by the journal, it should be transferred to the Editor-in-Chief to be considered as a regular submission to the journal.
The Submission and Reviewing Process for Symposia
The submission and reviewing process for Symposia is the same as for Special Issues except that the Book Symposium Editor is the handling Editor, and will make final decisions rather than an Editor-in-Chief.