# British Journal for the Philosophy of Science

British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (BJPS) is a peer-reviewed, academic journal of philosophy, owned by the British Society for the Philosophy of Science (BSPS) and published by University of Chicago Press. The journal publishes work that uses philosophical methods in addressing issues raised in the natural and human sciences.

## Overview

The leading international journal in the field, 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.
The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science operates a triple-anonymized peer review process and receives over 600 submissions a year. It is fully compliant with the RCUK open access policy, and is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
In 2016, book reviews were moved to online-only publication in the BJPS Review of Books.
In 2021, the journal launched BJPS Short Reads, essays and a podcast featuring introductions to their published articles.
The journal also runs a blog, Auxiliary Hypotheses.

## Editorial board

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

### Editors-in-Chief

Professor Tim Lewens (University of Cambridge) and Professor Robert D. Rupert (University of Colorado Boulder)

### Deputy Editor

Dr Elizabeth Hannon (LSE)

### Associate Editors

* Jon Bain (NYU)
* Cameron Buckner (University of Houston)
* Pierrick Bouratt (Macquarie University)
* Igor Douven (Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University)
* Shane N. Glackin (University of Exeter)
* Nick Huggett (University of Illinois, Chicago)
* Mary Leng (University of York)
* Peter J. Lewis (Dartmouth College)
* Greg Lusk (University of Durham)
* Caterina Marchionni (University of Helsinki)
* Kerry McKenzie (UCSD)
* Cédric Patternotte (Université Paris-Sorbonne)
* Lauren N. Ross (University of California, Irvine)
* Jonah N. Schupbach (University of Utah)
* Daniel Steel (University of British Columbia)
* Emily Sullivan (Eindhoven University of Technology)
* Jackie Sullivan (University of Western Ontario)
* Dana Tulodziecki (Purdue University)
* Alistair Wilson (University of Leeds)
Past Editors-in-Chief :
| Wendy Parker | 2017-2024 |
| Steven French | 2011-2020 |
| Michela Massimi | 2011-2017 |
| Alexander Bird & James Ladyman | 2005-2011 |
| Peter Clark | 1999-2004 |
| David Papineau | 1993-1998 |
| G M K Hunt | 1986-1993 |
| 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).

### 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. 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.

### Previous winners

| Year | Author | Title |
| 2023 | James DiFrisco | 'Toward a Theory of Homology: Development and the De-coupling of Morphological and Molecular Evolution' |
| 2022 | Zina B. Ward | 'Registration Pluralism and the Cartographic Approach to Data Aggregation across Brains' |
| 2021 | Eddy Keming Chen | 'Quantum Mechanics in a Time-Asymmetric Universe: On the Nature of the Initial Quantum State' |
| 2020 | Jessica Laimann | 'Capricious Kinds' |
| 2019 | Carlos Santana | 'Waiting for the Anthropocene' |
| 2018 | Jonah N. Schupbach | 'Robustness Analysis as Explanatory Reasoning' |
| 2017 | Grant Ramsey and Andreas de Block | 'Is Cultural Fitness Hopelessly Confused?' |
| 2016 | Co-winner: Elizabeth Irvine | 'Model-Based Theorizing in Cognitive Neuroscience' |
| 2016 | Co-winner: Eran Tal | 'Making Time: A Study in the Epistemology of Measurement' |
| 2015 | Matthew Slater | 'Natural Kindness' |
| 2014 | Rachael L. Brown | 'What Evolvability Really Is' |
| 2013 | Charles Pence and Grant Ramsey | 'A New Foundation for the Propensity Interpretation of Fitness' |
| 2012 | Elliott Wagner | 'Deterministic Chaos and the Evolution of Meaning' |
| 2011 | No award made | N/A |
| 2010 | Daniel Greco | 'Significance Testing in Theory and Practice' |
| 2009 | Sebastian Lutz | 'Criteria of Empirical Significance: a Success Story' |
| 2008 | Antoni Diller | 'On Critical and Pancritical Rationalism' |
| 2007 | No award made | N/A |
| 2006 | Maria Kronfeldner | 'Darwinian Hypothesis Formation Revisited' |
| 2005 | No award made | N/A |
| 2004 | Benjamin Elliott | 'Falsifiable Statements in Theology: Karl Popper and Christian Thought' |

## Impact factor

The 2023 impact factor for BJPS was 3.2, while its five-year impact factor was 2.92, making it the leading philosophy of science journal and 5th in the history and philosophy of science category.
| Year | Impact Factor |
| 2023 | 3.2 |
| 2022 | 3.4 |
| 2021 | 3.282 |
| 2020 | 3.978 |
| 2019 | 2.605 |
| 2018 | 1.768 |
| 2017 | 2.053 |
| 2016 | 1.985 |
| 2015 | 1.738 |
| 2014 | 1.281 |
| 2013 | 1.017 |
| 2012 | 0.919 |
| 2011 | 1.097 |
| 2010 | 1.048 |
| 2009 | 1.109 |
| 2008 | 0.867 |
| 2007 | 0.884 |
| 2006 | 0.689 |