Journal profile · PHILOSOPHY
Erkenntnis
ISSN 0165-0106 · eISSN 1572-8420 · Springer Nature · 6 issues per year
Erkenntnis: CAS Zone 2 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.7 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,290; median 280 days to acceptance (102 articles, last 24 months); 136 articles in 2025; indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Erkenntnis is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 2 of Philosophy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Philosophy and Theoretical Science, Philosophy and History of Science and Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics, together about 54.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Philosophy. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Erkenntnis is a philosophical journal publishing papers committed to the philosophical attitude signified by the label "scientific philosophy", which includes the use of mathematical and empirical methods in philosophy. It concentrates on philosophical fields particularly inspired by this attitude, although no sub-discipline of systematic analytical philosophy lies outside the scope of the journal. Our main fields are: - Epistemology - Philosophy of Science, foundations and methodology of science in general and of natural and human sciences such as physics, biology, psychology, economics, social sciences in particular - Philosophy of Mathematics - Logic, philosophy of logic, and all kinds of philosophical logics - Philosophy of Language - Philosophy of Mind, including philosophical psychology, neurophilosophy - Metaphysics and Ontology - Moral Philosophy and Ethics (pure and applied), including philosophy of action, philosophy of law, political and social philosophy - Decision Theory and Game Theory We welcome original research contributions (limit: 12.000 words, contact editor for exceptions), as well as short discussion notes (limit: 4.000 words) of articles that have originally appeared in Erkenntnis. The journal Erkenntnis was originally founded in 1930 by Rudolf Carnap and Hans Reichenbach. It was revived in 1975 by Carl G. Hempel, Wolfgang Stegmüller, and Wilhelm K. Essler. Today, Erkenntnis is one of the leading journals in philosophy worldwide and attracts first-class authors at all stages of career; from young philosophers at the PhD level up to established academic philosophers and highly renowned senior scholars. We pride ourselves on supplying our authors with substantial referee reports, subject to a speedy turnaround time. The acceptance rate for publications in the journal is presently below 20%.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PHILOSOPHY
Editor-in-chief Leon HorstenPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Germany 19, United States 13, Italy 3, United Kingdom 2, Netherlands 2 (44 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Philosophy and Theoretical SciencePsychology20.9%
- Philosophy and History of ScienceArts and Humanities17.3%
- Epistemology, Ethics, and MetaphysicsArts and Humanities16.2%
- Logic, Reasoning, and KnowledgeComputer Science5.6%
- Philosophy, Science, and HistoryArts and Humanities4.2%
- Free Will and AgencyNeuroscience4.2%
- Philosophical Ethics and TheoryArts and Humanities3.8%
- Psychology of Moral and Emotional JudgmentNeuroscience3.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Philosophy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Philosophy | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Philosophy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Philosophy | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Philosophy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
AHCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
zbMATHERIH PLUSCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.9LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.88LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.65LetPub ·
- h-index
- 94OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,270OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.9OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 59.1%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 134LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 621,400Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,028 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 108 | 65 | 7 |
| 2025 | 136 | 96 | 84 |
| 2024 | 142 | 102 | 258 |
| 2023 | 116 | 80 | 340 |
| 2022 | 143 | 104 | 966 |
| 2021 | 156 | 106 | 1,234 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
280 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 207 days – 373 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 33 days (102 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 322 days
- Sample
- 102 articles with submission and acceptance dates (280 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Submission to first decision
- 13 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 2,290 / EUR 3,190 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- Charged; see the journal's website for the amount
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 10,000 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted1
- editorialDouble-blind peer review This journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. This means that the author will remain anonymous to the reviewers throughout p…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
Word limit: articles rarely exceed 10,000 words; discussions max 4,000 words. Model summary
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data transparency: data, materials, software and code should support published claims. Model summary
All authors are requested to make sure that all data and materials as well as software application or custom code support their published claims and comply with field standards.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles retain copyright with authors under a Creative Commons license. Model summary
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Erkenntnis, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Double-blind peer review
Double-blind peer review: authors remain anonymous to reviewers throughout peer review. Model summary
This journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. This means that the author will remain anonymous to the reviewers throughout peer review. It is the responsibility of the author to anonymize the manuscript and any associated materials. Author names, affiliations and any other potentially identifying information should be removed from the manuscript text and any accompanying files (such as …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Frequency
- 6 issues per year
- ISSN
- 0165-0106
- Electronic ISSN
- 1572-8420
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 91, Issue 6 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Erkenntnis
What CAS zone is Erkenntnis in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Erkenntnis is in Zone 2 of Philosophy, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Philosophy. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Philosophy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Erkenntnis?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.7 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2.9, h-index 94.
How long does peer review take at Erkenntnis?
Based on the dates recorded on 102 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 280 days (interquartile range 207–373 days). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Erkenntnis?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 10,000 words; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Erkenntnis based?
Of the 44 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Germany (19), United States (13) and Italy (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Erkenntnis?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Erkenntnis is indexed in AHCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists zbMATH, ERIH PLUS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Erkenntnis open access, and what is the APC?
Erkenntnis is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,290.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .