Submissions
The journal SYMPHILOSOPHIE publishes original research articles, book reviews, and new translations of primary sources, in the English, French, German and Italian languages.
SYMPHILOSOPHIE does not charge any fees at all to either authors or readers. The journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Share-Alike international license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode). This grants readers free open-access to the entirety of each issue published online on the journal’s website. In line with the Creative Commons Share-Alike international license, authors retain the copyright of their work.
Texts submitted to SYMPHILOSOPHIE for publication must comply with the following indications:
Editorial Guidelines
The language of the submitted research article, book review, or translation, must be thoroughly checked and corrected by a native speaker of that language in order to be at a publishable academic level. Any submitted text not complying with this language criterion will not be accepted.
Articles should be no longer than 12,000 words (including footnotes). Book reviews should not exceed 2,000 words, and review articles 6,000 words.
Submissions in English should adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style. See:
https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html
Please send the contribution in MS Word format (.docx or .doc) to either of the following email addresses: editors@symphilosophie.com or symphilosophie2018@gmail.com
Articles must be accompanied by a short abstract (150 words maximum) in English and in one of the other three languages of the journal, as well as a selection of 5 keywords, also in these two languages.
Please prepare your article for blind refereeing by removing all personal references. All articles submitted for peer-review will be evaluated in a timely manner, first by members of the international editorial team, and then by external experts selected by them. SYMPHILOSOPHIE does not accept multiple submissions.
Code of Ethics
The following Code of Ethics for publication in SYMPHILOSOPHIE is based on the COPE Code of Conduct: https://publicationethics.org/files/Code_of_conduct_for_journal_editors.pdf.
1. Editorial Team and Editorial Board
The publishing ethics of SYMPHILOSOPHIE is safeguarded by the editors and editorial board. The editors of SYMPHILOSOPHIE have the authority to reject or accept an article, and undertake to ensure they have no conflicts of interest in making such decisions. The editorial decision complies with the legal provisions on defamation, copyright infringement and plagiarism. If required, in the cases of insufficiently sourced articles, questionable authorship practices, plagiarism etc., the journal will undertake to publish corrections, rectifications, and/or retractions.
2. Authors
SYMPHILOSOPHIE expects authors to adhere to the highest scientific standards and ethics of academic publishing and to supply original and genuine research: not published elsewhere (even in other languages), no unacknowledged sources, insufficient citation practices, plagiarism, or misappropriation of another author’s work. To ascertain the absence of plagiarism, all articles sent to the editorial staff will be subject to verification using the software ‘Magister by compilatio.net’ (https://www.compilatio.net/en/magister/)
3. Peer-Reviewers
Research articles for SYMPHILOSOPHIE are subject to double-blind peer review. Translations, review articles, and book reviews, are evaluated by the editors. Peer-reviewers should endeavor to comply with the highest reviewing standards of confidentiality and impartiality. They should furthermore have no conflicts of interest, with regard to either the author, research topic, or sources of funding.
Publication Conditions and Evaluation Procedures
Manuscripts sent to the journal (editors@symphilosophie.com or symphilosophie2018@gmail.com) are subject to various selection and evaluation processes.
Research Articles
SYMPHILOSOPHIE only accepts original submissions that are not under review by other journals or publishers, or that have not already been published elsewhere (including in other languages). Once the article is submitted, an email will be sent to the author indicating that it has been received.
1. Initial Preselection
Submitted research articles are subject to an initial evaluation by the editors and editorial team. The purpose of this initial evaluation is to ensure that the article meets the following criteria:
- Relevance to the editorial objectives and areas of interest of the journal (above all the field of German romantic philosophy)
- Originality, including good publication practices, and unpublished nature of the text (at this stage of the process measures are taken to detect possible cases of plagiarism or falsification; the editors also ensure that the submitted manuscripts have not been previously published elsewhere, including online on personal websites, conference sites, or philosophical societies, or the same article in other languages);
- Language level: the research article’s language should be of the highest academic standard; in addition to grammatical and spelling accuracy, articles written in languages other than the mother tongue of the author must be checked and corrected by a native speaker of the language in question. Any texts that do not meet this language standard will not be accepted;
- Format: submissions must adhere to the publication format of the journal, including the limits on the length of texts and abstracts; as well as the formal presentation of the manuscripts etc.
- Scientific standards: submitted articles must include full and accurate references to the primary and secondary literature discussed in the text, including some of the latest relevant publications on the topic.
At the end of this initial examination, the editors may decide to:
- accept the article without modification for peer-review
- request the author to undertake modifications and then re-submit it for a further internal evaluation
- decline the article
Authors are usually informed of the decision of this initial preselection within four weeks.
2. Double-Blind Peer-Review
Articles accepted for peer-review will be sent to two expert reviewers. The reviewers are neither members of the journal’s editorial team or of the editorial board. The two experts are chosen on the basis of their expertise in the field covered by the submitted article.
The process is double-blind peer-review. The identity of the reviewers and the author remains confidential. Before transmitting an article to a reviewer, the editorial staff will ensure that the manuscript is anonymised by removing any information or references that could reveal the identity of the author.
The two experts evaluate the article and provide reasons for one of the following decisions:
- the article is publishable without modifications
- the article is publishable subject to minor revisions
- publication of the article is conditioned upon major revisions
- the text is not publishable
In the event of conflicting assessments, the editors will arbitrate on the basis of both the merits and shortcomings indicated by the expert reviewers.
The double-blind peer-review process is usually completed within three months. The journal’s editors will inform the author in the event of a delay. The author is sent an evaluation report with reasons for the editorial decision, regardless of whether the text is accepted or rejected.
Translations of Primary Source Texts
SYMPHILOSOPHIE also publishes translations from the original source texts of the German romantic philosophers. In this case, it is advisable to send to the editors a proposal of the translation in advance. As a general rule, translations into a language that is not the translator’s mother tongue will not be accepted.
Translations of source texts that have never been translated before are particularly welcome. Translations of previously translated source texts may also be considered. Translations that have already been published elsewhere by the same translator will not be accepted.
The editors will evaluate the quality of the translation and make the final decision regarding publication.
Review Articles and Book Reviews
In the case of book reviews and review articles, the author of the book review is invited to first contact the editors before submitting a contribution. The journal’s editorial team will assess the relevance of the proposal. Once a book review is submitted, the editors will evaluate the quality of the text received and decide whether it should be published.
Preprints
Pre-print versions of certain articles and book reviews will be made available after they have completed the peer reviewing or refereeing process. They will then be published in the complete journal issue with full page numbering when it is put online.