Journal profile · History & Philosophy Of Science
HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES
ISSN 0391-9714 · eISSN 1742-6316 · Springer International Publishing · ENGLAND · Quarterly · Founded 2014
HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES: CAS Zone 3 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.96; hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,190; median 322 days to acceptance (83 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 61 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI, AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES is published by Springer International Publishing and is in Zone 3 of Philosophy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Philosophy and History of Science, History of Science and Medicine and Diverse Historical and Scientific Studies, together about 42.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are History and Philosophy of Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences publishes interdisciplinary perspectives on biology, biomedicine, or the environmental sciences. We particularly invite research that offers: foundational research, local and regional contexts, or implications of scientific practices and related developments History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences is an interdisciplinary journal committed to providing an integrative approach to understanding the practices, knowledge, and impact of life sciences. It welcomes submissions in English from historians, philosophers, biologists, medical practitioners and scholars in the social studies of science in all geographical latitudes.. Papers should engage meaningfully with contemporary debates and relevant scholarly literature in history, sociology, or philosophy of the life and biomedical sciences. Submissions that are collaborative and feature different disciplinary approaches are especially encouraged, as are submissions written by junior scholars (including graduate students). HPLS aims to provide authors with a decision within 3 months after submission. Articles are published continuously, this means authors of accepted articles do not have to wait and are directly published in an issue. HPLS publishes research papers, essay reviews, notes & comments, as well as book reviews (we are particularly interested in reviews of non-English-language books). See submission guidance for details. HPLS welcomes shorter commentaries on articles previously published in the journal, as well as submissions featuring novel formats. This includes essays on contemporary issues or perspectives, results of unique workshops, and/or discussions featuring a wide range of perspectives within studies of the life sciences. We are very interested in topical collections, particularly those which take a cross-disciplinary perspective and open new arenas in the history, philosophy or social science of the life sciences. Proposals for topical collections should be sent to the managing editors.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): History & Philosophy Of Science
Editor-in-chief Adrian CurriePublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 9, United Kingdom 7, Italy 3, Canada 3, Netherlands 2 (35 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Philosophy and History of ScienceArts and Humanities18%
- History of Science and MedicineArts and Humanities15.3%
- Diverse Historical and Scientific StudiesArts and Humanities9.3%
- Evolutionary Game Theory and CooperationSocial Sciences5.1%
- History of Science and Natural HistoryArts and Humanities4.9%
- Evolution and Science EducationArts and Humanities3.8%
- Race, Genetics, and SocietyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology3.6%
- Evolution and Genetic DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology3.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Philosophy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | History & Philosophy Of Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Philosophy Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 4 |
| Minor | History & Philosophy Of Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Philosophy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | History & Philosophy Of Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIAHCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPublisher 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
- 0.96LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.1LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.32LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.68LetPub ·
- h-index
- 21LetPub ·
- h-index
- 35OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 190OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.2OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 57.14%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 50LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 266,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 906 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 52 | 32 | 10 |
| 2025 | 61 | 39 | 79 |
| 2024 | 48 | 30 | 104 |
| 2023 | 46 | 24 | 117 |
| 2022 | 72 | 43 | 368 |
| 2021 | 128 | 95 | 1,210 |
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
322 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 177 days – 430 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 39 days (101 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 357 days
- Sample
- 83 articles with submission and acceptance dates (126 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
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Open peer review, Single anonymous 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 2,190 / EUR 3,090 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare9 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 12,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted7, with length limits
- book reviewResearch papers These are detailed studies reporting original research. They are typically structured around a core argument or question, which constitutes a no…main text ≤ 1,500 words
- essay reviewsEssay reviews These papers provide a comprehensive and critical analysis of the existing published literature on a topic of interest of the HPLS readersLength not stated
- notes & commentsNotes & Comments These are either a shorter version of a Research Paper, or a comment on a previously published paper.Length not stated
- original researchResearch papers These are detailed studies reporting original research. They are typically structured around a core argument or question, which constitutes a no…Length not stated
- research paperResearch papers These are detailed studies reporting original research. They are typically structured around a core argument or question, which constitutes a no…Length not stated
- research papersResearch papers These are detailed studies reporting original research.Length not stated
- reviewResearch papers These are detailed studies reporting original research. They are typically structured around a core argument or question, which constitutes a no…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, 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
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 Competing Interests
Authors are requested to disclose interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Interests within the last 3 years of beginning the work (conducting the research and preparing the work for submission) should be reported. Interests outside the 3-year time frame must be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work. Disclo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
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 History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Taxonomy
Peer review: single anonymized; reviewer interacts with editor; no review information published. Model summary
History & Philosophy of the Life Sciences and Springer Nature are participating in a pilot of NISO/STM's Working Group on Peer Review Terminology. The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and STM, the International Association of Scientific, Technology and Medical Publishers have recognized a need to identify and standardize definitions and terminology in peer review practices in ord…
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 International Publishing
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- Multi-Language
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 2014
- ISSN
- 0391-9714
- Electronic ISSN
- 1742-6316
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES
What CAS zone is HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES is in Zone 3 of Philosophy, and in Zone 4 of the minor category History & Philosophy Of Science. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Philosophy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 0.96; CiteScore 2.1, h-index 35.
How long does peer review take at HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES?
Based on the dates recorded on 83 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 322 days (interquartile range 177–430 days); the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. 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 HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Manuscript length: ≤ 12,000 words; Reference style: APA; Templates: LaTeX and Word; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Required. 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 HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES based?
Of the 35 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (9), United Kingdom (7) and Italy (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES is indexed in SCIE, SSCI, AHCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES open access, and what is the APC?
HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,190.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .