Author Guidelines for Initial Submission

Please read these guidelines carefully to help avoid delays in processing your manuscript.  In addition to the guidelines here, 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.

Submissions should not have been previously published and should not be currently under review by another journal. Though we do not enforce formatting standards at the time of submission, manuscripts should be in a readable format with adequate font size and spacing and no comments/markup. The submission should include an abstract of 100 words. The manuscript should conform to the word limits for its submission type.

Preparing your Paper for Anonymous Review

As a step toward avoiding bias in the review process, the journal makes every effort to review papers without communicating the author's identity to the reviewers. To this end, please ensure that your paper does not contain identifying information. We will be unable to begin the review process until we feel that this has been suitably accomplished.

To prepare your paper for anonymous review, please follow these guidelines:

There is no need for a title page. The first page of the paper should contain the title, immediately followed by the abstract, immediately followed by text of the paper. Your name should not appear on this page as the author.

Generic references to 'I' or 'me' (or other first-person pronouns) are permitted, unless they appear in conjunction with evidence that would lead the reader to infer to whom the pronoun refers. References to one’s own work should be made in the third person in such a way that does not reveal the author’s identity, and cited in the reference section. Do not use placeholders (e.g., “[Redacted],” “[Author]”, “[Blinded for review],” “XXXX”).

Acceptable:

"In this paper, I will show that adaptationism is a grave sin."

"My argument in section 2 applies here as well."

Not Acceptable:

"As I have argued elsewhere..."
Correction: "As Jones (2001) has argued..."

"As I argue in (Jones 2001)."
Correction: "As Jones (2001) argues."

"This argument is fleshed out in my (2001)."
Correction: "Jones (2001) makes this argument in more detail."

Check that the paper has no running headers or footers with your name.

Omit acknowledgements or references to personal communication with other academics.

Copyright Notice

Manuscripts should be submitted to Philosophy of Science with the understanding that upon publication an exclusive license to publish will be granted to the Philosophy of Science Association. The author will retain the right to self-archive an electronic pre-print copy of the paper, as well as the non-exclusive right to reuse their paper in any future work authored or edited by themselves. For more information, please see the journal's Publishing agreement page.

File Format for Initial Submission

Acceptable submission formats are determined by the Editorial Manager software. Editorial Manager must be able to build an Adobe PDF from your files. You will be required to preview and approve the built file before the submission is complete. When you view the file, make sure that it has all figures, illustrations, references, footnotes, and the bibliography. The submission will only be forwarded to the editor after you have approved the submitted files.

File formats may be PDF (for submission only), Microsoft Word, TeX, or LaTeX. If you are using TeX or LaTeX, please ensure that your source file can be compiled using only standard libraries.

Figures and Illustrations

For initial submission, figures, illustrations, and tables should be incorporated into the main file.  Be attentive to whether you have permission to use any figure taken from another source. If your manuscript is accepted for publication, you will be responsible for securing those permissions.

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Formatting Guidelines and Policies for Accepted Manuscripts

To simplify the formatting process, Philosophy of Science provide several downloadable guidelines with detailed instructions, as well as templates for LaTeX users. Instructions for manual formatting are included below.

Download the Philosophy of Science Artwork Guidelines here: (1 MB)

Download the Philosophy of Science LaTeX Guidelines here: (263 KB)

Download the Philosophy of Science Math Guidelines here: (276 KB)

Download the Philosophy of Science Table Guidelines here: (615 KB)

To view the PDF files linked above, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Download the Philosophy of Science LaTeX Source files here.

Accepted Manuscripts

Philosophy of Science follows Chicago Manual of Style guidelines. A bibliographical list of cited references (in alphabetical order) should be headed "References." Within this list, each reference should begin with the author's surname, given name, the year of publication, followed by a period and the rest of the bibliographic information. (See below for detailed instructions and examples.) In the text, simple citations or attributions should be made by supplying the author and year of publication, for example, "Jones (1958) claims ..." or "New evidence overturns this theory (Smith 1974, 46)." Footnotes should not be used for simple citations. Discursive footnotes (consecutively numbered) should be kept to an absolute minimum. 

When you submit your final materials on the Philosophy of Science Editorial Manager website, the paper will once again be built as an Adobe PDF which you must view and approve. When you view the file, make sure that it has all figures, illustrations, references, footnotes, and the bibliography, as the published version will be based on the version you submit at this stage. When you submit your final materials on the Philosophy of Science Editorial Manager website, the paper will once again be built as an Adobe PDF which you must view and approve. When you view the file, make sure that it has all figures, illustrations, references, footnotes, and the bibliography, as the published version will be based on the version you submit at this stage.

File Format for Accepted Manuscripts

Accepted manuscripts must be submitted in an editable format (Microsoft Word, TeX, or LaTeX). Online-only supplementary material must appear in a separate, editable file. A PDF preprint should be included in addition to the editable manuscript file.

For information on acceptable submission formats and figures and illustrations, please see the section Figures and Illustrations.

Copyrighted Material

If your article contains any material in which you do not own copyright, including figures, charts, tables, photographs or excerpts of text, please see the Seeking permission to use copyrighted material page for instruction.

Additional Formatting Guidelines for Accepted Manuscripts

Below are additional conventions used by Philosophy of Science. For anything not covered below, consult the Chicago Manual of Style. The instructions below sometimes refer to sections in the 17th edition (abbreviated CMS).

• Margins should be ample, approximately 1-1/2" (4 cm) top and bottom, 1-1/4" (3 cm) left and 1" (2.5 cm) right.
• Justification: Please left-justify the text. The right margin should be ragged.
• Typeface: Times or Times New Roman is best for proofreading and for computer translation.
• Typesize: 12 point. Type size should be full size at all times, including in footnotes, references, picture legends, etc.
• Spacing: All text should be double-spaced, including the text in footnotes, references, picture legends, etc.
• Page numbers: Please include page numbers.

If you are using LaTeX, we advise you to use the template provided above.

Structure of the Paper

The final version of the paper should have the following parts, in this order:

• abstract
• main text
• appendices [when necessary]
• references
• acknowledgements, declarations, and funding information (if you wish, these sections may be included on the first page instead)

Abstract

If you use the LaTeX template provided, the abstract will be placed automatically.  Otherwise, place the abstract at the beginning of the document on its own page (i.e., insert a page break after the abstract).

Main Text

The first section is normally numbered and titled "1. Introduction." Use software "styles" to create sections/subsections or put a blank line between each section and subsection. Section titles use headline capitalization, for instance, "Explanation of Anomalies," not "Explanation of anomalies." Uses of "section," like "figure," "table," and so on, are always lowercase.

Italics and Boldface

We do not italicize foreign or technical terms commonly used by philosophers of science. Examples:
"ipso facto," "i.e.," "ad hoc," "a priori"

Unfamiliar terms may be in italics. Examples:

"The now obsolete Japanese term warifu was used to designate the tearing of pieces of material or paper to record an economic transaction.

Indicate italicized words, phrases requiring emphasis, and titles of published books and journals by italic typeface, not underlining. Indicate boldface by bold typeface, not wavy underlining.

Formulas, Equations, and Special Symbols

See Guidelines for Math, linked above.

Equations and symbols should be fully legible. Give any variables the style they should display, e.g., italics, bold, or unusual fonts.

Where possible, formulas and equations should be put in a form that helps to minimize the number of printed lines. For example: p = -dx/dy = -dz/dt.

When possible, an alternative symbol or sign should be provided if the symbol required is rare. To avoid confusion between similar symbols such as the letter O and zero, mu and u, subset and less than, clearly identify the symbol to the typesetter, for example, in a note to the typesetter at the beginning of the paper.

Proofs, theorems, propositions, and so on should be entered as block quotes with any heading (e.g., "Theorem 1.”) in bold (but not italic) and followed by a period.

The journal typesetters will endeavor to reproduce mathematical equations exactly as they appear in the submitted manuscript.  However, some external LaTeX packages are incompatible with the tools our typesetters use to automatically convert LaTeX to XML, which can introduce errors that must be identified and fixed by hand.  To minimize those errors, and avoid significant changes at the proof stage, we ask that whenever possible, mathematical expressions should be coded using native LaTeX commands rather than external packages or user-defined macros. If external packages are necessary to generate specific output, the following options are compatible with our publishing operations: mediawiki-texvc, amssymb, cancel, mhchem, color, amsmath, enclose, extpfeil.

Footnotes

Footnotes should be used, not endnotes. The font should be the same size (12 point) as the main text.

Discursive footnotes should be avoided; incorporate material in the body of the text whenever possible. Remaining footnotes should be numbered consecutively throughout the typescript.

Figures and Tables

See Guidelines for Artwork and Guidelines for Tables, linked above.

Digital art should be submitted as high resolution .tiff, .eps, or .jpg files, or as a clean, high resolution PDF file. A figure that looks good on your computer monitor may not look good when printed in high resolution. The minimum resolution for graphics files should be 300 dpi. Please consult with local support if you are unsure how to produce high quality graphical images. The editorial office and Cambridge University Press cannot redraw images for you.

Tables should be typed with a minimum of borders and other features enabled. The journal has a standard style for printing tables, and in general will use this style when printing your table.

Please include separate files for each of your tables and figures with your submission. To ensure proper placement, we also ask you to include the tables and figures within the text. If doing so in impracticable, you may indicate their approximate location with a note such as "[Include Figure 1 here]". In either case, labels ("Figure 1.") and any captions should be included. Figures within the text are centered, but captions are left-justified. Captions are punctuated and capitalized as sentences.

If you do not own the copyright on figures or tables in your manuscript, you will need to secure permission to publish them. Please see the seeking permission to use copyrighted material page for instructions. If you do not own the copyright on figures or tables in your manuscript, you will need to secure permission to publish them. Please see the Seeking permission to use copyrighted material page for instructions.

References

Authors are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of their bibliography and citations. Please cross-check your citations against your bibliography; the journal’s copyeditors often run across inconsistencies or incompleteness. In this case, you will be asked to fix the problem. Please double-check your references prior to submission.

We use the author-date system. See the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style chapter 15, but be sure to follow the specifications below. Be sure that the References include page numbers for all articles in journals and edited volumes. Uses of inclusive numbers (in run of text, article page ranges, etc.) are abridged following CMS 9.61 (e.g., 123–27, not 123–7 or 123–127). Use fully realized (unabridged) numbers in book or article titles only (e.g., “History of Genetics, 1945–1990”). In both the reference list and in-text citations, simply give the numbers, without "page" or "pg."

To ensure accuracy in references and facilitate navigating the literature, we ask authors to include Document Object Identifiers (DOIs) for all references for which they exist. Include the full URL with protocol, e.g. "https://doi.org/..."

Acknowledgements, Declarations, and Funding Information

Philosophy of Science asks authors to include Acknowledgments, Declarations (of competing interests), and Funding Information in your typeset manuscript. For more information on the Declarations and Funding Information sections, please see our publishing ethics page. On the first page or following the main text, include separate sections for Acknowledgments, Funding Statement, and Declarations (if using PSA class file, see section 7). These sections should include the following:

• Acknowledgements: any acknowledgements you wish to include.
• Funding Statement: Funding that directly supported the submission, as entered during the Funding Information step of article submission; if none to declare write "None to declare."
• Declarations: Any restricted funding sources not already declared in Funding Statement, unrestricted funding if applicable, and other competing interests if applicable, as entered in the Declarations field during article submission; if none to declare, write "None to declare."

In-Text Citations

Simple citations or quotation attributions should be made by citation within the text, rather than by footnote. Cite author and year of publication, for example, (Jones 1974) and, when appropriate, page numbers (Jones 1974, 25). Note the comma between year and page but not between author and year. There is no "p." or "page" preceding the page number.

If the context clearly specifies the reference, the year and page number are sufficient:

Jones's theory (1974, 25) contradicts his earlier account (1965).

Regardless of whether the subject of the sentence is the author or the book or article itself, the citation is in parentheses (or in brackets, for discursive text already within parentheses), with a comma between date and page.

Examples with author as subject:

Hegel (1787, 344) argued that ...

Hegel argued that ... philosophy (1787, 344).

Example in which the book or article itself is what is being referred to:

This argument was refuted (see Hegel 1787). [See CMS 15.28 regarding how a locution such as “This argument was refuted in Hegel 1787,” although technically proper, is best avoided and should be worded as in the example shown here.]

Note that within the text, the period comes after the closing parenthesis of the citation.

At the end of a block extract, place the citation after the period.

No more causes of natural things should be admitted than are both true and sufficient to explain their phenomena. ... Therefore, the causes assigned to natural effects of the same kind must be, so far as possible, the same. (Newton 1999, 794–95)

When citing a reprint, give the original year followed by a slash and then the year for the new edition
... as argued by Duhem (1906/1954).

In places where you are referring to multiple texts by a single author, separate years with commas:
(Marx 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986)

For many texts by multiple authors, use semicolons to separate authors:

(Marx 1982; Eliot 1983; Fudd 1992; Duck 1993)

(Marx 1982, 1983; Fudd 1992, 1995; Fudd and Hare 1996; Duck 1999)

See CMS 15.30.

List of References

The bibliographical list of cited references must be headed “References”. If you use the LaTeX template provided, the list of references will be placed automatically.  Otherwise, we ask that it be placed on a new page after the main text. List references alphabetically by first author surname. More than one reference by the same author should be listed in chronological order. Please include a DOI in each entry for which one is available. Include the full URL with protocol, e.g. "https://doi.org/..."

Whenever possible, please use complete first and last names for authors, not just initials and surnames. (If you cannot readily ascertain a first name, the initials will suffice.) If there are two or more authors, use "and" not "&." Only for the first author does the surname precede the given name. If the reference list has two or more works by the same author(s), please include full citation information, including full author name, in each entry.

For multiple authors, list the surname of the first author, comma, given name of first author, then given name before surname of subsequent authors, separated by commas with the word "and" before the last one. Even if there are only two authors, use a comma before the word "and". Example:

Burian, Richard M., Jean Gayon, and Doris Zallen. 1988. "The Singular Fate of Genetics in the History of French Biology, 1900–1940." Journal of the History of Biology 21:357–402.

Titles

For all titles of English-language works (articles, books, chapters, etc.) use headline ("up") capitalization (CMS 8.159). For foreign book titles, see CMS section 11.6. Book and journal titles are italicized.

Books

Include author or editor, period, publication year, period, title (including subtitle) italicized (if needed: period, volume or edition), period (translator and editor if in addition to author), city of publication (if needed: comma, state), colon, publisher, period. Example:

Harding, Sandra G. 1987. Feminism and Methodology: Social Science Issues. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Dissertations

Include author, period, publication year, period, open quote, title (including subtitle) nonitalicized, period, closing quote, then "PhD diss.” comma, name of university, period.

Craver, Carl F. 1998. “Neural Mechanisms: On the Structure, Function, and Development of Theories in Neurobiology.” PhD diss., University of Pittsburgh.

Reprints

For a reprinted edition of a book that requires both dates (which is the exception; most need one publication date only), include author, period, original date, slash, new edition date, period, title italicized (if needed: period, volume or edition), period (translator and editor if in addition to author), "Repr." city of publication (if needed: comma, state), colon, publisher, period. Example:

Duhem, Pierre. 1906/1954. The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory. Repr. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

If you cite page numbers in the text, please include both publication dates (as, e.g., Duhem 1906/1954, 24).

Technical Reports, Working Papers, and Similar Publications

Include author, period, year, period, open quote, title (including subtitle) nonitalicized, period, closing quote, name and number of series, general editor(s) if a series, comma, name of department, comma, name of university, period (or, if not a university, then name of institution, comma, city, period). Example:

Titiev, Robert J. 1969. “Some Model- Theoretic Results in Measurement Theory.” Technical Report 146, Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences, Stanford University.

Journal Articles

Include author of article, period, publication year, period, open quote, title (including subtitle) nonitalicized, period, closing quote, name of journal italicized (do not abbreviate journal titles), space, volume number (if issue number: space, opening parenthesis, issue number, closing parenthesis), colon, no space (if issue number: space), page numbers. Italicize the journal name, but not the volume and issue number. Example:

Mayo, Deborah G. 1991. "Novel Evidence and Severe Tests." Philosophy of Science 58:523–52.

For book reviews, add the name and author of the reviewed book after the title of the review.

Fodor, Jerry A. 1995. "West Coast Fuzzy: Why We Don't Know How Brains Work." Review of The Engine of Reason, the Seat of the Soul: A Philosophical Journey into the Brain, by Paul M. Churchland. Literary Journal 4821:5–6.

Edited Volumes

For articles in a book-length collection, include author(s) of article, period, publication year, period, nonitalicized title of article in quotation marks, period, followed by “In” title of collection italicized, comma, “ed.” name of book's editor(s) (all surname last), comma, page range, period, city of publication (if needed: comma, state), colon, publisher, period. Example:

Oppenheim, Paul, and Hilary Putnam. 1958. "Unity of Science as a Working Hypothesis.” In Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol. 2, ed. Herbert Feigl, Grover Maxwell, and Michael Scriven, 3–36. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

If you refer to many articles in the same edited volume and cite the book itself in text, give the book its own entry in the reference list and use a short citation in the entries for the articles. Example:

Feigl, Herbert, Grover Maxwell, and Michael Scriven, eds. 1958. Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science. Vol. 2. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Oppenheim, Paul, and Hilary Putnam. 1958. "Unity of Science as a Working Hypothesis." In Feigl et al. 1958, 3–36.

PSA Proceedings

The Proceedings have appeared in several forms, which call for different styles of citation.

Through 1995 (PSA 1994 Symposia), the Proceedings were published as an edited volume and should be listed as such.

1996–2002 (PSA 1996 Contributed Papers through PSA 2000 Symposia), the Proceedings were published as a supplement to the journal Philosophy of Science. Example:

Keeley, Brian L. 2000. "Neuroethology and the Philosophy of Cognitive Science." Philosophy of Science 67 (Proceedings): S404–S417.

Starting in 2003, the Proceedings are no longer a supplement but rather a fifth issue of the journal. They should be cited in the same style as immediately above, except that the page numbers no longer include the letter S.