Call for Papers

The Center for Inquiry announces a call for papers for its popular magazine Free Inquiry or its philosophy journal Philo. The invited topic is “What is Naturalism?” as part of the Naturalism Research Project.

Specifically, we encourage authors to undertake any one, or combination of, the following questions:

  1. What should be the most accurate and useful definition of philosophical naturalism?
  2. Are there popular or philosophical understandings of philosophical naturalism or its implications which require substantial criticism and revision?
  3. What are some important practical implications of philosophical naturalism?
  4. How can we better understand the relationships between kinds of naturalisms, such as epistemological naturalism, methodological naturalism, ontological naturalism, and scientism?
  5. What is the relationship between naturalism and physicalism?
  6. Is there some variety of philosophical naturalism which deserves closer examination and possibly wider acceptance?
  7. Does some criticism of philosophical naturalism deserve closer examination and development so it might seriously challenge the naturalistic worldview?
  8. Do any recent developments in philosophy of science suggest a needed revision to commonly accepted understandings of philosophical naturalism?

Submission of a paper is understood to imply that it is original, has not already been published in whole or in substantial part elsewhere, and is not currently under consideration by any other journal. We are accepting submissions by e-mail attachment in .rtf or .doc format. Submissions are peer reviewed, so your paper should omit self-identifying information. An abstract of not more than 100 words should be placed at the start of the paper. There is no deadline for submissions, as we will be regularly publishing papers about naturalism in both journals during the coming years.

Papers for Free Inquiry, www.secularhumanism.org, may be between 1500 and 3000 words, should avoid a technical style, and not use footnotes (text references to items listed in a bibliography is ok). Submissions to Free Inquiry go to John Shook, jshook@centerforinquiry.net . Papers intended for Philo will be held to the usual standards of philosophical sophistication and contribution to advancing knowledge. Information for authors is at www.philoonline.org/submit.htm . Submissions to Philo go to Paul Draper, pdraper@purdue.edu .