The Philosophical Society Review

The Review is published annually in November, and is the opportunity for members to get their philosophical work into print. It is distributed free to all members, and a copy is held by the Rewley House library. If you join the Society after the mailing date, a copy of the most recent Review will be sent to you.

The quality of each year's Review is entirely dependent on the contributions of members – so you are strongly encouraged to submit your work for consideration. New contributors are especially welcome.

After several years under the editorship of Phil Rees, the 2009 Review was edited by Peter Townsend. In a spirit of sharing the workload, the 2010 Review will be edited by Steve Chinn. Steve will work with a small editorial board to select pieces for inclusion and give feedback to contributors.

Steve would like, of course, to make the 2010 Review the best ever – and so, he encourages you to submit a broad range of pieces. Please consider writing:

The 'normal' philosophical essays and articles. These will remain the backbone of the Review, and previous editions give a good indication of the standard. The limit is up to 4000 words, including any footnotes and bibliography – although that is a maximum, and shorter pieces are equally welcome (after all, Wittgenstein changed the trajectory of philosophy in very few words indeed!) Longer pieces will be considered if (and only if) in the editor's opinion, which is final, their content warrants the word count. Please send to Steve in the normal way for feedback.
Write-ups and reviews of OUDCE or other courses (of course, without giving away all of the content – these would need to be in the style of a theatre review).
Points-of-view on philosophical issues covered on courses or in discussion groups – or in any other venue, such as a radio programme or a magazine article.
A guide to philosophy on the Internet – there is a huge amount of it, and we would all benefit from not just the familiar list of sites, but a 'travel guide' to help us find our way.
Debates between two or more members on philosophical issues – perhaps those raised at Members' Day, or any philosophical issue that you know you disagree about. These could be extensions of debates started in the Discussion Forum.
Interviews with philosophers. Bryan Magee did this brilliantly in the 1970s and 80s, and an interview with a contemporary philosopher provides them with a good way to publicise their ideas to the Society's 230+ members.
Book reviews – the number of philosophy books is daunting, and we all have our favourites. A review is a good way to enthuse others.
Other, even better ideas that no one has thought of yet.

Please feel free to contact Steve to discuss anything you would like to write, even if it is only at the ideas stage.

The deadline for submission is the end of September 2010, for publication in November. Please try to submit earlier if possible. Please submit (preferably in Word format) to Steve.Chinn@oxfordphilsoc.org with your contact details. Properly proof-read submissions are much appreciated. Paper submission is also possible, to:

Steve Chinn
Apt. 1, Glebe Court
9 Glebe Avenue
Stirling
FK8 2HZ
United Kingdom

Please note that arrangements for Chadwick Prize entries are different – see the Chadwick Prize page. The winner and runner-up will be published in the Review, and other entries may be – subject to the decisions of the editorial board and editor.

The success of the Review is entirely dependent on your submissions – so please submit.

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