Res Philosophica is an international, quarterly journal of philosophy that publishes research in all areas of philosophy, historical and topical. Founded as The Modern Schoolman by Jesuit Scholastics in 1925, the journal is edited by members of the Philosophy Department at Saint Louis University. The journal is pluralistic, reflecting the department, and publishes philosophical research from a wide range of perspectives.


CURRENT ISSUE




NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS




Res Phil (Fall) 2024 Speaker Series

Professor Jennifer Hawkins (Duke University)
Nov. 8, 2024 (2 pm), Xavier Hall, Rm 332


CFP

Res Philosophica invites papers on the topic of “Rationality and the First Person” for the
2024 Res Philosophica Essay Prize. The deadline is December 1, 2024. (More info)


RP Announces the 2023 Essay Prize

The journal's prize selection committee recently voted "Jürgen Habermas: A Political Pacifist?” as the winning essay of the 2023 Res Philosophica essay contest. 

The author, 
Michael Haiden, is to receive the $3,000 prize. The paper is available online and appears in the special issue on The Work of Jürgen Habermas (Res Philosophica v.101-2).

More information is available 
here




Res Phil (Spring) 2024 Speaker Series

Professor Kyla Ebels-Duggan (Northwestern University)
March 8, 2024 (3-5 pm), Xavier Hall, Rm 332

Professor Hannah Kim (University of Arizona)
April 12, 2024 (3-5 pm), Xavier Hall, Rm 332


CFP

Res Philosophica invites papers on the topic of “The work of Jürgen Habermas” for the
2023 Res Philosophica Essay Prize. The deadline is August 1, 2023. (More info)





Res Phil (Spring) 2023 Speaker Series

Professor Anna Alexandrova (University of Cambridge; Fellow of King's College)
"In the Pursuit of a Definition of 'Social Science'"
April 14, 2023 (3-5 pm), Xavier Hall, Rm 332 (
More info)

2023 Res Phil Conference:
Alienation & the Virtues: Personal, Social, & Spiritual

The 2023 conference is organized by Gregory Beabout. It will take place March 30-31, 2023. Participants include Daniel De Haan, Celeste Harvey, F. Russell Hittinger, Anne Jeffrey, David McPherson, and John Stein, S.J.

(More info)


Res Phil (Fall) 2022 Speaker Series


Professor Elliot Samuel Paul (Queen's University)
"Clarity and Cartesian Freedom"
December 2, 2022 (3-5 pm)
Xavier Hall, Rm 332

Professor John Heil (Washington University)
"The Last Word on Emergence"
September 23, 2022 (3-5 pm)
Xavier Hall, Rm 332


Scholarly Works Honorable Mention

Res Philosophica special editors Scott Berman and Chad Flanders received a senior faculty honorable mention in the 2021 Scholarly Works Awards category for the special issue on Mass Incarceration and Racial Justice that they co-edited in 2020. [click for more info]
Saint Louis University's Office of the Vice President for Research hosted the annual Scholarly Works and Grant Winners reception Wednesday, May 18, recognizing SLU faculty and research administrators for outstanding research contributions from 2020 and 2021.

The papers that made up this issue represented the fruits of a conference held over two days in March 2019, and a subsequent call for papers on the conference’s theme: racial justice and mass incarceration. One day of the conference was held at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center, a state correctional facility, in Bonne Terre, Mo., before a group of people in the facility, inmates and staff alike. The panel presentation featured six people: four professional philosophers and two incarcerated students enrolled in Saint Louis University’s Prison Education Program, which graciously helped us in hosting the event. The second half was held at the Saint Louis city campus of Saint Louis University. Three of the papers in this issue were given in front of students, faculty, and members of the Saint Louis community, along with responses.

RP Announces the 2021 Essay Prize

The journal's prize selection committee recently voted "The Changing Role of Theological Authority in Ockham's Razor" as the winning essay of the 2021 Res Phil essay contest.

The author, Eric Hagedorn is to receive the $3,000 prize. The paper is available online and appears in the special issue on Theological Dogma and Philosophical Innovation in Medieval Philosophy (Res Phil. v.99-2).

More information is available here.


2021 Res Phil Conference: Globalizing Empirically-Informed Philosophy

The 2021 conference is organized by Helen De Cruz and will be online Nov. 18-19, 2021. Participants are Julianne N. Chung, Alexis Elder, Bryce Huebner, Edouard Machinery, Ryan Nichols, Nicholaos Jones, and Hagop Sarkissian. (More info)

CFP

Res Philosophica invites papers on the topic of “Theological Dogma and Philosophical Innovation in Medieval Philosophy” for the 2021 Res Philosophica Essay Prize. The deadline has been extended to August 1, 2021. (More info)

Res Phil Speaker Series, Online Public Event


Professor Robert Gooding-Williams (Columbia)
"The Moral Psychology of White Supremacy and the Theory of Democratic Despotism"
March 5, 2021 (3-5 pm, central time)
(More info)


Register in advance for this meeting


RP Announces the 2020 Essay Prize

The journal's prize selection committee recently voted "Knowledge Second" as the winning essay of the 2020 Res Phil essay contest.

The author, Adam Bjorndahl is to receive the $3,000 prize. The paper is available online and appears in the special issue on Modal Epistemology (Res Phil. v.97-4).

More information is available here.


Online Event (open to the public)

Professor Uriah Kriegel (Rice)
"Nominalism and Material Plentitude"
October 23, 2020 (3-5 pm, central time)
(More info)


Register in advance for this meeting:
https://slu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJclduGrrDMvGtAGYXmZScFpwQiGFQdOkWNx

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.


Professor Scott MacDonald (Cornell)
" 'Memory' in Augustine's Philosophy of Mind"
October 2, 2020 (3-5 pm, central time)
(More info)


Register in advance for this meeting:
https://slu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIud--uqj4tGNcy7ujkb3mLgSOYhGigyS1k

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Now Accepting Paper Submissions

The temporary moratorium on paper submissions is now lifted. We are happy to receive new submissions as the journal moves toward standard operating procedures. Please navigate to the Submissions page for more information.

RP Announces the 2019 Essay Prize

The journal's prize selection committee recently voted "Drug War Reparations" as the winning essay of the 2019 Res Phil essay contest.

The authors, Jessica Flanigan and Christopher Freiman were awarded the $3,000 prize. The paper is available online and appears in the special issue on Mass Incarceration and Racial Justice (Res Phil. v.97-2).

More information is available here.

Temporary Moratorium

As of March 17th, 2020, The journal is imposing a temporary moratorium on paper submissions.
There is a disruption in the normal review process that is being caused by the global health crisis. We aim to give our desk reviewers, external referees, and staff less voluntary service as they make changes at work and at home to adapt to new formats.


We will revisit the policy on the first of every month. Papers already submitted will be reviewed. We do not foreshadow a delay in the publication of the journal.


The 2019-20 Speaker Series

RP talks by Scott McDonald and Uriah Kriegel are postponed. See our speaker series page for more information and updates.


RP speakers in the Spring of 2020 include Scott McDonald (Cornell) and Uriah Kriegel (Rice). See our speaker series page for more information and updates.


In the Fall of 2019, we hosted Sarah McGrath (Princeton), who delivered her paper, "How Does Observation Contribute to Moral Knowledge?," and Jamie Dreier (Brown), who delivered his paper, "Two Models of Agent-Centered Value."


Journal Sponsors Conference on Mass Incarceration and Racial Justice

The philosophy department at Saint Louis University and its sponsored journal, Res Philosophica, successfully concluded a two-day event on “Mass Incarceration and Racial Justice” at the end of March.

MORE (show/hide)
The event began on Thursday, with a panel presentation at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Mo., where the SLU Prison Program operates. Faculty panelists from Harvard University, Tufts University, Loyola School of Law–Los Angeles, Cardozo School of Law, as well as two incarcerated students enrolled in the SLU prison program had a roundtable discussion on the topic, “What is the value of knowledge?” The discussion ranged widely, from the definition of knowledge to the relationship of knowledge, to goodness. Members of the audience, which was composed entirely of members of the incarcerated population and staff at the prison, asked questions about the nature of knowledge and also spoke movingly of the value they saw in the SLU prison program.

On Friday, three papers were presented at a conference on the themes of mass incarceration and racial justice, followed by formal comments and questions and answers from the audience. The papers were on “The Duties to Resist the Police on the Street,” “Harm Reduction in Criminal Justice,” and “Punishing the Polity,” and featured comments by philosophy faculty from Howard University, the University of California–Riverside, and Louisiana State University. The conference concluded with a keynote address by
Tommie Shelby, professor of African American studies and philosophy at Harvard University, titled “Prison Abolition? The Limits of Functional Critique.” Over 75 people attended the day-long event. The papers will be published in a future issue of Res Philosophica.

Journal Announces 2018 Essay Prize Winner

The journal's prize selection committee recently announced that Jack Woods is the winner of the 2018 Res Philosophica essay contest on Reasons and Rationality. He was awarded $3,000 for his paper, "The Self-Effacement Gambit." The paper is currently available online and will also appear in the Reasons and Rationality special issue that publishes in late April.

September 1, 2019 is the new extended deadline for the next essay contest, which is on the topic of
Mass Incarceration and Racial Justice.