The Philosopher
| Discipline | Philosophy |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publication details | |
| Publisher | |
Publication history | 1923–present |
| Frequency | Biannually |
| Indexing | |
| ISSN |
0967-6074 |
| Links | |
The Philosopher is a learned, peer-reviewed journal that was established in 1923, in order to provide a forum for new ideas across the entire range of philosophical topics, in the clearest and plainest language. Its first issue proudly quoted A. S. Rappoport in A Primer of Philosophy(1904) that:
'There is a prevalent notion that philosophy is a pursuit to be followed only by expert thinkers on abstract subjects, that it deals with the pale ghosts of conceptions whose domain is abstract thought, but which have no application to real life. This is a mistake... Man sees the various phenomena of life and nature, forms conceptions and ideas, and then tries to reason and to find out the relation existing between these various facts and phenomena... When man acts in this way we say he philosophises.'
It has published more or less continually since then, with only a very slight reduction during the Second World War. As its website explains, its history was for many years entwined with that of the Philosophical Society of England, founded ten years earlier in 1913. The Society intended 'to promote the study of practical philosophy among the general public', to bring together professional philosophers and non-professionals, to bring philosophical ideas and problems to the public attention, and to encourage wider discussion of both traditional and topical philosophical issues and so it was to carry out this function, that the Society founded The Philosopher, as its own Journal, in addition to its local groups that hosted lectures and discussions, and its conferences. Over the years, the needs of the Society changed, as membership declined and the general public shifted to informal, web-based groups. In 2011, the Society formally separated the functions of the printed Journal, which became a members' newsletter, and the web edition, which had long been the key publication in terms of both submissions and readers, and made it fully autonomous.
Notable articles
Historically interesting or notable articles include:
- G. K. Chesterton on "The Need for a Philosophy", Volume 1, 1923;
- Erwin Schrödinger on "Science, Art and Play", Volume XIII 1935;
- Moritz Schlick on 'Unanswerable Questions", Volume XIII, 1935;
- "Individual Psychology and Education", by John Dewey, Volume XIII, 1936;
- Richard Norman on "Philosophy in the Twentieth Century: How the Wider World Impinged", Volume 101 No. 1 Spring 2013;
- George MacDonald Ross on "100 Years of Philosophy", Volume 101 No. 1 Spring 2013;
- Peter Hubral, on "The Tao: Modern Pathway to Ancient Wisdom", from Volume LXXXXIX No. 2 Autumn 2011;
- Manoj Thulasidas on "Perception, Physics and the Role of Light in Philosophy", Volume LXXXXVI No. 1 Spring 2008;
- Kelsey Wood on "The Mystery of Plato's Parmenides", Volume LXXXXV No. 1 Spring 2007;
- James Danaher on "The Laws of Thought", From Volume LXXXXII No. 1 Spring 2004.
Editors
The past editors-in-chief of the journal are:[1]
- First series, 1923–1948: Ada Sheridan, W.H.S. Dumphreys, Thomas Greenwood
- Second series, marked by emphasis on Philosophy and Religion, 1949–1972: C.S. Flick, Victor Rienaecker, A.J. Sinclair-Burton
- Third series, marked by a return to "general philosophy", 1973–1988: George Colbran, Alan Holloway, Geoffrey Brown
- Fourth series, marked by a return to "academic philosophy", 1989–present: Keith Dowling, Michael Bavidge, Martin Cohen