Both “Matthew Yglesias”:http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2011/01/the-great-stagnation/ and “Ben Goldacre”:http://bengoldacre.posterous.com/i-hope-this-is-the-beginning-of-more-short-bo had posts up today talking up the idea of short electronic books. (By short I mean something like 15000 to 25000 words.) Amazon is starting to promote this market with its “Kindle Singles”:http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=amb_link_355126882_3?ie=UTF8&node=2486013011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=hero-quick-promo&pf_rd_r=0DH80ZF8CR7BHSHNS7MA&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=1287272562&pf_rd_i=B004KSREFC collection. And it seems like a great idea, one that should be imported into philosophy.

There are a lot of philosophical works these days that naturally fit into the fifteen to twenty-five thousand word range. Some of them get published as is, in journals that are happy with long papers (such as Philosophical Review or Philosophers’ Imprint), or in edited collections. Some of them get padded out to make short books. And several of them get broken up into chunks and published disjointedly. (Note for instance that I recently posted “two”:http://brian.weatherson.org/DIRI.pdf “papers”:http://brian.weatherson.org/KBI.pdf on interest-relative invariantism; together they make one reasonably coherent 20000 word paper, but there’s really nowhere to publish that.)

Having an outlet for pieces that are too long for regular journals, but too short for books, would solve a lot of problems. As Amazon says in their promotion of Kindle Singles, we should look for ways in which a good idea can be “expressed at its natural length”. The mechanics of print publication, especially as it developed in the second half of the twentieth century, produced natural ways to publish ideas that were naturally expressed in under 15000 or over 40000 words, but left a large gap. Hopefully electronic publication can fill that gap.

It’s “here”:http://myweb.facstaff.wwu.edu/nmarkos/BSPC/BSPC2011/BSPC_2011/Call_for_Papers.html.

It’s been a while since I posted one of these updates. There is a ton of interesting stuff in the links below.

Aesthetics & Philosophy of Art

Contemporary Finnish Aesthetics (volume 6, pages 1–10) – Arto Haapala
Article first published online: 4 JAN 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00371.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(78K), References

The Philosophy of Creativity (volume 5, pages 1034–1046) – Berys Gaut
Article first published online: 1 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00351.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(94K), References

Forgery and Appropriation in Art (volume 5, pages 1047–1056) – Darren Hudson Hick
Article first published online: 1 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00353.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(80K), References

Epistemology

Epistemic Luck (volume 6, pages 11–21) – Joshue Orozco
Article first published online: 4 JAN 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00365.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(80K), References

Judgment Aggregation (volume 6, pages 22–32) – Fabrizio Cariani
Article first published online: 4 JAN 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00366.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(153K), References

The Ethics of Belief (volume 6, pages 33–43) – Berislav Marušić
Article first published online: 4 JAN 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00368.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(84K), References

Ethics

The Normativity of Rationality (volume 5, pages 1057–1068) – Jonathan Way
Article first published online: 1 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00357.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(84K), References

Intuitional Epistemology in Ethics (volume 5, pages 1069–1083) – Matthew S. Bedke
Article first published online: 1 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00359.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(100K), References

History of Philosophy

A Wolff in Kant’s Clothing: Christian Wolff’s Influence on Kant’s Accounts of Consciousness, Self-Consciousness, and Psychology (volume 6, pages 44–53) – Corey W. Dyck
Article first published online: 4 JAN 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00370.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(78K), References

The Aesthetics of Morality: Schiller’s Critique of Kantian Rationalism (volume 5, pages 1084–1095) – Anne Margaret Baxley
Article first published online: 1 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00350.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(95K), References

Aristotle’s Teleology (volume 5, pages 1096–1106) – Rich Cameron
Article first published online: 1 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00354.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(86K), References

Leibniz’s Metaphysics and Metametaphysics: Idealism, Realism, and the Nature of Substance (volume 5, pages 871–879) – Brandon C. Look
Article first published online: 29 OCT 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00338.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(75K), References

The Tripartite Theory of Motivation in Plato’s Republic (volume 5, pages 880–892) – Rachel Singpurwalla
Article first published online: 29 OCT 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00343.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(93K), References

Legal & Political

Ethical Issues Surrounding Intellectual Property Rights (volume 5, pages 1107–1115) – Jorn Sonderholm
Article first published online: 1 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00358.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(69K), References

Theories of Political Justification (volume 5, pages 893–903) – Simone Chambers
Article first published online: 29 OCT 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00344.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(83K), References

W.E.B. Du Bois (volume 5, pages 904–915) – Paul C. Taylor
Article first published online: 29 OCT 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00347.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(87K), References

Logic & Language

Probability Operators (volume 5, pages 916–937) – Seth Yalcin
Article first published online: 29 OCT 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00360.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(140K), References

Metaphysics

Essentialism vis-à-vis Possibilia, Modal Logic, and Necessitism (volume 6, pages 54–64) – Sonia Roca-Royes
Article first published online: 4 JAN 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00363.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(99K), References

Essential Properties and Individual Essences (volume 6, pages 65–77) – Sonia Roca-Royes
Article first published online: 4 JAN 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00364.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(101K), References

Contemporary Approaches to Statistical Mechanical Probabilities: A Critical Commentary – Part I: The Indifference Approach (volume 5, pages 1116–1126) – Christopher J. G. Meacham
Article first published online: 1 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00356.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(79K), References

Contemporary Approaches to Statistical Mechanical Probabilities: A Critical Commentary – Part II: The Regularity Approach (volume 5, pages 1127–1136) – Christopher J. G. Meacham
Article first published online: 1 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00362.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(78K), References

The Metaphysics of Chance (volume 5, pages 938–952) – Rachael Briggs
Article first published online: 29 OCT 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00345.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(219K), References

Arguments Against Metaphysical Indeterminacy and Vagueness (volume 5, pages 953–964) – Elizabeth Barnes
Article first published online: 29 OCT 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00348.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(92K), References

Three Routes to Contingentism in Metaphysics (volume 5, pages 965–977) – Kristie Miller
Article first published online: 29 OCT 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00349.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(90K), References

Mind & Cognitive Science

Olfactory Experience I: The Content of Olfactory Experience (volume 5, pages 1137–1146) – Clare Batty
Article first published online: 1 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00355.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(132K), References

Olfactory Experience II: Objects and Properties (volume 5, pages 1147–1156) – Clare Batty
Article first published online: 1 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00352.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(77K), References

Music, Emotions and the Influence of the Cognitive Sciences (volume 5, pages 978–988) – Tom Cochrane
Article first published online: 29 OCT 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00337.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(82K), References

Metacognition (volume 5, pages 989–998) – Joëlle Proust
Article first published online: 29 OCT 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00340.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(77K), References

Naturalistic Philosophy

What Experimental Evidence Shows Us about the Role of Emotions in Moral Judgement (volume 5, pages 999–1012) – Heidi Maibom
Article first published online: 29 OCT 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00341.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(95K), References

Philosophy of Religion

The Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism (volume 6, pages 78–89) – Omar Mirza
Article first published online: 4 JAN 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00372.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(91K), References

The Later Wittgenstein and the Philosophy of Religion (volume 5, pages 1013–1022) – Stig Børsen Hansen
Article first published online: 29 OCT 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00339.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(78K), References

Levinas and the Philosophy of Religion (volume 5, pages 1023–1033) – Stephen Minister and Jackson Murtha
Article first published online: 29 OCT 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00342.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(80K), References

Philosophy of Science

Symmetry and the Metaphysics of Physics (volume 5, pages 1157–1166) – David John Baker
Article first published online: 1 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00361.x
Abstract, Full Article (HTML), PDF(84K), References

I am pleased to announce the imminent publication of the winning essay from the 2009 Oxford Studies in Metaphysics Younger Scholars Prize: “Ontological Nihilism”, by Jason Turner (University of Leeds). It will be the lead article in Vol. 6 of OSM, due early 2011 from Oxford University Press. I am also happy to report that Karen Bennett and I are now co-editors of OSM; Karen has been breathing new life into the series, and the results will already be apparent with Vol. 6.

It is also time to remind all the younger metaphysicians out there that the due date for submission to the 2011 competition is fast approaching! It is NOT January 15 (as last OSM reported), but January 30. The winning essay will be published in OSM (often alongside runners-up) and the author receives an $8,000 prize. You still have a whole month in which to prepare your submissions. Get to it!

The competition is supported by the Ammonius Foundation — which supports a similar $8,000 award for the Younger Scholars Prize for Philosophical Theology, a parallel competition associated with Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion (with a deadline of August 31). “Younger” metaphysicians and philosophers of religion (in grad school or within ten years of receiving a Ph.D.) should check out the details at: “http://www.ammonius.org/index.php”:http://www.ammonius.org/index.php.

Both prizes were dreamt up and are financed by the Ammonius Foundation. The Foundation’s grants have encouraged many younger metaphysicians with generous essay awards (past winners are Rachel Briggs, Graeme A. Forbes, Jason Turner, Jeff Russell, Bradford Skow, Stephan Leuenberger, Matthew McGrath, Cody Gilmore, and Thomas Hofweber), and more senior metaphysicians with individual research grants for projects in metaphysics and philosophy of religion (past recipients include Derek Parfit, Jonathan Schaffer, Mark Johnston, John Hawthorne, Alvin Plantinga, George Bealer, and Jan Cover).

If you just go to the main Ammonius Foundation web site, however, you won’t find any link to a really interesting, closely related page: “http://www.comingtounderstanding.com/”:http://www.comingtounderstanding.com/, the home of Coming to Understanding, the grand metaphysical system constructed by the founder of the Ammonius Foundation, Marc Sanders. The author, aka “Ammonius”, has developed an elaborate monistic, neo-platonic ontological scheme described in a (free!) downloadable book (which includes a critical essay by yours truly, and another by Gordon Graham). There are a lot of interesting ideas in his carefully crafted system, and the religious thrust of the book will resonate with those attracted to a deity like “the Highest One” of Mark Johnston’s recent book, Saving God. (After the manner of philosophers and junior high students, I show my respect for Ammonius’s system by relentlessly attacking it along multiple fronts.)

Marc Sanders is retiring from his role as head of the Ammonius Foundation, and passing the reins to his son, Eric Sanders, who plans to continue the two Younger Scholar Prize competitions, among other things. It has been a real privilege and pleasure to work with Marc and his Foundation over many years. Although Ammonius has a distinctive mission (“http://www.ammonius.org/mission.php”:http://www.ammonius.org/mission.php), much of what the Foundation does has no goal other than to promote serious work in metaphysics (and, now, philosophical theology), no matter the conclusions reached. The Foundation’s grants to the Younger Scholars program have been absolutely “no strings attached”; a committee of three judges, culled from editorial board members of OSM, makes the call, not me (committees have included Karen Bennett, Hud Hudson, Trenton Merricks, Ted Sider, Andrew Cortens, Yuri Balashov, and John Hawthorne, among others). I can’t imagine a pleasanter relationship with a grantor than mine with Ammonius.

As Marc steps down, I want to thank him publically for his steadfast support of excellence in metaphysics. But I know that public praise and attention is the last thing he wants — he wants our attention drawn, not to him, but to the ideas in his metaphysical system. So the only way I can adequately say “thanks” is to encourage you to check it out for yourself: “Coming to Understanding”:http://www.comingtounderstanding.com/.

— Dean Zimmerman