''Ethics: An International Journal of Social, Political, and Legal Philosophy'' is a
peer-reviewed
Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...
academic journal
An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...
established in 1890 as the ''International Journal of Ethics'', renamed in 1938, and published since 1923 by the
University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including '' The Chicago Manual of Style' ...
. The journal covers scholarly work in
moral
A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. ...
,
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...
, and
legal
Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
from a variety of intellectual perspectives, including social and
political theory
Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, ...
,
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
, and
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...
. It publishes both theory and application of theory to contemporary
moral issues, as well as historical essays, provided they have significant implications for contemporary theory. The journal also publishes review essays, discussion articles, and book reviews. The journal employs a
double-blind peer review
Scholarly peer review or academic peer review (also known as refereeing) is the process of having a draft version of a researcher's methods and findings reviewed (usually anonymously) by experts (or "peers") in the same field. Peer review is w ...
process.
According to the ''
Journal Citation Reports
''Journal Citation Reports'' (''JCR'') is an annual publicationby Clarivate Analytics (previously the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters). It has been integrated with the Web of Science and is accessed from the Web of Science-Core Colle ...
'', the journal has a 2019
impact factor
The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a scientometric index calculated by Clarivate that reflects the yearly mean number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a given journal, as ...
of 1.892.
History
''Ethics'' is the direct continuation of the ''International Journal of Ethics'', established in October 1890. Its first volume included contributions by many leading moral philosophers, including the pragmatists
John Dewey
John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the fi ...
and
William James
William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States.
James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...
, idealists
Bernard Bosanquet, and
Josiah Royce
Josiah Royce (; November 20, 1855 – September 14, 1916) was an American objective idealist philosopher and the founder of American idealism. His philosophical ideas included his version of personalism, defense of absolutism, idealism and his ...
, and the utilitarian
Henry Sidgwick
Henry Sidgwick (; 31 May 1838 – 28 August 1900) was an English utilitarian
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected i ...
.
The journal was established by the leaders of the
humanist
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "human ...
Ethical Movement
The Ethical movement, also referred to as the Ethical Culture movement, Ethical Humanism or simply Ethical Culture, is an ethical, educational, and religious movement that is usually traced back to Felix Adler (1851–1933). , most notably
Felix Adler, who was involved in the
American Ethical Union
The Ethical movement, also referred to as the Ethical Culture movement, Ethical Humanism or simply Ethical Culture, is an ethical, educational, and religious movement that is usually traced back to Felix Adler (1851–1933). , but also his humanist counterparts in the
British Ethical Union such as
Stanton Coit Stanton may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
;Populated places
* Stanton, Derbyshire, near Swadlincote
* Stanton, Gloucestershire
* Stanton, Northumberland
* Stanton, Staffordshire
* Stanton, Suffolk
* New Stanton, Derbyshire
* Stanton by Br ...
,
John Stuart Mackenzie
John Stuart Mackenzie (1860–1935) was a British philosopher, born near Glasgow, and educated at Glasgow, Cambridge, and Berlin. In 1884-89 he was a fellow at Edinburgh and from 1890 to 1896 fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He lectured ...
, and
J.H. Muirhead, as part of an
editorial board
The editorial board is a group of experts, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take.
Mass media
At a newspaper, the editorial board usually consists of the editorial page editor, ...
which also featured philosophers from Paris, Berlin, and Prague. The journal's first editor was S. Burns Weston, who assembled an international editorial committee.
From its first issue in October, 1890 the journal published articles on ethics, discussions, and book reviews. It also served another function, which was to report on the activities of ethical culture societies around the world. Examples include the 1891 "book review" summarizing the annual report of the Workingman’s School that was being operated by the New York Ethical Society and
Jane Addam's 1898 report and commentary on her reformist social work at
Hull House
Hull House was a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, United States that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located on the Near West Side of the city, Hull House (named after the original house's first owner Ch ...
in Chicago.
In 1914,
James Hayden Tufts became the editor of the journal, and brought on
John Dewey
John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the fi ...
as an associate editor. Under his leadership, the journal gradually shifted away from the Ethical Culture Movement and became a leading journal of philosophy. It was sold to the
University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including '' The Chicago Manual of Style' ...
in 1923.
Thomas Vernor Smith
Thomas Vernor Smith (April 26, 1890 – May 24, 1964), who wrote under the byline T. V. Smith, was an American philosopher, scholar, and politician from Illinois, as well as an officer in the United States Army.
Biography
Smith was born in ...
became editor of the journal in 1932, and brought on a number of new members to the editorial committee, including
Herbert James Paton,
Ralph Barton Perry, and
W.D. Ross
WD may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''The Walking Dead'' (TV series)
* ''White Dwarf'' (magazine)
Businesses and organizations Government agencies
* Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division
* War Department (United Kingdom)
Oth ...
.
[
Under the leadership of ]Brian Barry
Brian Barry, (7 August 1936 – 10 March 2009) was a moral and political philosopher. He was educated at the Queen's College, Oxford, obtaining the degrees of B.A. and D.Phil. under the direction of H. L. A. Hart.
Along with David Braybrooke ...
in 1979, the journal became more interdisciplinary and once again quite international, and the editorial board grew to fifty-two members. Editor Gerald Dworkin instituted a double-blind review process in 1991. In 2017, the then editor, Henry S. Richardson, removed the remaining qualifications resulting in a review process in which none of the editors learn the authors' names until after the final decision has been reached on their submission. In 2018, Julia L Driver and Connie S. Rosati became co-editors of the journal, the first women to do so in its history.
Notable articles
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See also
* List of ethics journals
* List of philosophy journals
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
English-language journals
Ethics journals
Humanist literature
Philosophy journals
Publications established in 1890
Quarterly journals
University of Chicago Press academic journals