Focus and Scope

The title of the journal – Philosophical Problems in Science – since the very beginning has been a kind of manifesto of philosophy practiced in the context of science. The journal covers a wide range of topics of general interest to those working on philosophical problems involved in and intertwined with modern science, of which the most important are philosophical implications of natural sciences (mainly exact sciences); history, methodology and philosophy of science; broadly understood philosophy of nature; philosophy of physics, philosophy of chemistry, philosophy of biology, philosophy of economics; logic and philosophy of logic; foundations, philosophy and history of mathematics; philosophy of computer science and informatics; philosophical aspects of cognitive science, philosophy of mind as well as the relationships between religion and science.

One of the main focus of the magazine is an interdisciplinary research on the border between sciences, such as physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, logic, computer science, and others. The journal also supports studies on the intersection between science and theology, as well as at the interface between science and technology.

The journal publishes original, unpublished works in philosophy and science as well as reviews of recent books in these fields, reissues of old seminal works, and translations of major texts related to the philosophy in science.

Peer Review Process

The journal is peer-reviewed and uses double-blind evaluation process with at least two referees for an article. The aim of the review process is the expert evaluation of submitted manuscripts for their relevance, correctness of language, and technical soundness. Reviews are an essential tool for ensuring the excellence of the journal.

Editorial staff of ZFN carries out a preliminary assessment of the text and qualify it for further review. The editor reserves the right to reject:

• works violating the rules of scientific ethics,
• works without significant substantive content,
• works raising serious concerns about their methodology,
• papers with theses of questionable quality, and
• works unrelated to the profile of the magazine.

If the editorial staff recognizes that the topic of the text corresponds to the magazine profile and satisfies other specified criteria, it is then submitted for review.

The review process evaluates the text for its academic merits and formal and linguistic correctness. (The review form, which clearly outlines conditions for the acceptance for publication, can be obtained from the journal’s website.)

If the reviewers recommend the text for publications without any changes, the editorial staff will immediately inform the author via email. At that point, the author cannot withdraw the submitted work or decline its publication.

If at least one of the reviewers recommends the text for publication under the condition of introducing specific changes, the editorial staff informs the author about the decision and sets a deadline for submission of the corrected work. If the corrected work is not submitted within the specified timeframe, the text is rejected, unless the author can justify a request for a new, extended deadline.

The reviewer has no access to the author’s personal information. The author of the submitted paper does not have access to the reviewer’s information, except under special circumstances. Any decisions regarding release of the reviewer’s or author’s personal data are made by the editorial staff.

After the text has been accepted for publication, it is sent for proofreading.

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

The Editorial Board as well as the publisher  of ZFN are committed to meeting and upholding expected ethical standards and take all possible measures against publication malpractices. Moreover, they take their duties of guardianship over all stages of the publication process extremely seriously and undertake to deal with any form of publishing ethics abuse.

The full statement can be found here.

APC-free Policy Declaration

Philosophical Problems in Science journal do not charge Article Processing Charges (neither submission charges, page charges nor any publication fees) to its Authors.

See Journal Sponsorship for the information about funding.

Copyright in Materials Submitted to ZFN

By submitting a manuscript and/or supplementary files the Authors are granting to the publisher of ZFN a non-exclusive, charge-free, worldwide licence, for the duration of the applicable jurisdiction’s copyright protection, to reproduce submitted materials in any medium (including electronic and printed format of the journal) for all purposes relating to the journal activities, or to those related activities of which ZFN approves. Such licence shall become effective from the date of submission to ZFN.

The non-exclusive license allows the Authors to hold their respective copyrights and to retain publishing rights without restrictions.

Open Access Policy

Editors and the publisher of this journal provide open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of ideas and knowledge as well as verifiability of results.

The content of this journal is made available in accordance with the principles of BOAI Budapest Declaration.

All articles published in Philosophical Problems in Science are made freely and permanently accessible online upon publication without access or subscription charges, embargo periods, or user registration.

Licensing

The articles published within the journal are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Publication Frequency

The journal is published semiannually (two issues per year: June - December).

The texts are published in a following issue (according to the decision of the editorial staff). If the work is accepted for publication, the author can request the certificate of intended publication by contacting the editor by email.

Archiving

This journal utilizes the PKP PN LOCKSS system to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration. The journal is also archived by the Polish History Museum, Central and Eastern European Online Library, The Central European Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanities and Biblioteka Nauki.

In addition, authors are encouraged to archive pre-print, post-print as well as publisher's version of their papers in their institution's repositories and, if they wish, on their personal websites.

The Reference Version of the Journal

The reference (basic) version of the magazine is a printed format. The electronic format corresponds fully to the basic format.

Sources of Support

Scientific Committee

1. Robert Audi (University of Notre Dame, United States)

2. Marek  Demiański (University of Warsaw, Poland)

3. Jacek Dębiec (University of Michigan, United States)

4. Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic (Mälardalen University & Chalmers University of Technology)

5. Willem B. Drees (Tilburg University, Netherlands)

6. James Ladyman (University of Bristol, United Kingdom)

7. Dominique Lambert (Université de Namur, Belgium)

8. Marcin Miłkowski (Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland)

9. Robert Poczobut (University of Białystok, Poland)

10. Andrzej  Staruszkiewicz (Jagiellonian University, Poland)

11. January M. Weiner (Jagiellonian University, Poland)

12. Cory Wright (California State University, Long Beach)

Journal History

The journal was established in 1978 by Michael Heller and Joseph Życiński, initially as a newsletter for interdisciplinary seminars held monthly by the Institute of Philosophy at the Pontifical Faculty of Theology in Krakow. These seminars, originally convened in the Palace of the Archbishops of Krakow at the behest of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, were dedicated i.a. to exploring the intersections of science and faith. They built upon a longstanding tradition of Krakow's philosophy of nature dating back to the late nineteenth century.

Following Wojtyla's election as Pope John Paul II in 1978, the seminars evolved significantly, leading to the publication of the proceedings under the title “Philosophical Problems in Science.” Due to the political climate in Poland at the time, early editions were circulated unofficially, marked "for internal use" to circumvent censorship.

In 1981, after the establishment of the Pontifical Academy of Theology (PAT), the journal found a new publisher in PAT’s Faculty of Philosophy. From its twelfth edition in 1990, it was published as the Journal of the Center of Interdisciplinary Research (OBI) of PAT's Faculty of Philosophy. The following edition marked its independence from the seminars, which were then managed by OBI.

In 2002, the journal’s influence expanded with the launch of Semina Scientiarum, initially a supplement to the journal, and from 2011, an independent publication managed by graduate and doctoral students linked to OBI.

The journal embraced digital publication in 2004 adopting an Open Access model and establishing a precedent among Polish philosophical journals.

The formation of the Copernicus Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in 2008, a collaboration between the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow and the Jagiellonian University, marked another evolution, with the Center continuing the publication of the journal.

In 2011, the death of Archbishop Józef Życiński, a significant figure in the journal’s history, was honored with a special edition of the journal.

Since 2013, the journal has been associated with the Copernicus Center Press, introducing significant changes including the appointment of Piotr Urbańczyk as editorial secretary. In 2015, further changes were made with Michael Heller being appointed as the honorary chief editor and Paweł Polak as chief editor, alongside a revitalization of the editorial board and review process.

From 2023, the journal has been published by the Copernicus Center Foundation under the Copernicus Center Press brand. It continues to be issued semiannually, maintaining its commitment to fostering and disseminating research in the philosophy of science.

More about the history of the magazine and its philosophy can be found in:

• Michał Heller, Zagadnienia Filozoficzne w Nauce (1979)
• Małgorzata Głódź, ZFWN a OBI: dwom panom służyć (1999)
• Michał Heller, Spojrzenie w przyszłosc (2013)
• Małgorzata Głódź, Zagadnienia po raz pięćdziesiąty (2013)
• Michał Heller, 40 lat – sprężystość młodości i doświadczenie wieku (2019)