Journal profile · Multiple
PHILOSOPHY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
ISSN 0048-3915 · eISSN 1088-4963 · Wiley-Blackwell
PHILOSOPHY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS: CAS Zone 1 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 2.23; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,460; median 116 days to acceptance (44 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 6% (journal website); 31 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
PHILOSOPHY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 1 of Philosophy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Political Philosophy and Ethics, Human auditory perception and evaluation and Legal case studies and regulations, together about 40.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Philosophy. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Issues of public concern often have an important philosophical dimension. Philosophy & Public Affairs is published in the belief that a philosophical examination of these issues can contribute to their clarification and to their resolution. It welcomes philosophical discussion of substantive legal, social, and political problems, as well as discussions of the more abstract questions to which they give rise. In addition, it aims to publish studies of the moral and intellectual history of such problems. Philosophy & Public Affairs is designed to fill the need for a venue in which philosophers with different viewpoints and philosophically inclined writers from various disciplines-including law, political science, economics, and sociology-can bring their distinctive methods to bear on problems that concern everyone.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Jason BrennanPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Political Philosophy and EthicsSocial Sciences18.9%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering12.9%
- Legal case studies and regulationsSocial Sciences8.3%
- Legal Cases and CommentaryMedicine7.8%
- Philosophical Ethics and TheoryArts and Humanities6.5%
- Free Will and AgencyNeuroscience6.4%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance6.1%
- War, Ethics, and JustificationArts and Humanities5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Philosophy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Philosophy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Philosophy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Current ContentsPublisher website
Other: ProQuest
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
- 2.23LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.2LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0LetPub ·
- h-index
- 130OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 426OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.2OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 80.39%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 21LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 23Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 120,854Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 897 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 27 | 18 | 1 |
| 2025 | 31 | 22 | 39 |
| 2024 | 27 | 22 | 62 |
| 2023 | 26 | 18 | 185 |
| 2022 | 26 | 11 | 312 |
| 2021 | 25 | 12 | 533 |
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
116 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 74 days – 216 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (44 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 148 days
- Sample
- 44 articles with submission and acceptance dates (53 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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 6%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 6%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 105 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 26 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Triple 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 3,460 / EUR 2,890 / GBP 2,330 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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 prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Templates
- LaTeX
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted5, with length limits
- articlesIn addition to normal, full-length articles, Philosophy & Public Affairs welcomes the submission of critical exchanges, letters, and review essays.Length not stated
- critical exchangesP&PA welcomes the dual submission of pairs of articles in dialogue with each other on a specific issue of public concern or a matter of current debate in ethics…Length not stated
- letterPublic Affairs welcomes submission of “Letters,” short articles of 4,000 words or less. Letters should develop a single argument and needmain text ≤ 4,000 words
- lettersPhilosophy & Public Affairs welcomes submission of “Letters,” short articles of 4,000 words or less.Length not stated
- review essaysOver the years, Philosophy & Public Affairs has periodically published long review essays about new or recent books, or about emerging literatures that are like…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Peer review, Plagiarism, Self-archiving
- AI use Artificial Intelligence and LLM policy
Academic journals serve at least two functions: the promulgation of new knowledge, and identification and credentialing of talented researchers. There are many other means available to share new knowledge, but few for credentialing talented researchers, where "talented" means roughly: able, on their own or together with other researchers, to make and communicate significant progress on fundamental…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship
The list of authors should accurately illustrate who contributed to the work and how.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest Statement
Authors will be asked to provide a conflict of interest statement during the submission process. For details on what to include, see the section ‘Conflict of Interest’ in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section below. Submitting authors should ensure they liaise with all co-authors to confirm agreement with the final statement.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Publication Ethics
Member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Model summary
This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Note this journal uses iThenticate’s CrossCheck software to detect instances of overlapping and similar text in submitted manuscripts. Read Wiley'sTop 10 Publishing Ethics Tips for Authors here. Wiley’s Publication Ethics Guidelines can be found here.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright For authors signing the copyright transfer agreement
If the open access option is not selected the corresponding author will be presented with the copyright transfer agreement (CTA) to sign. The terms and conditions of the CTA can be previewed in the samples associated with the Copyright FAQs.Open AccessThis journal is a subscription journal that offers an open access option. You’ll have the option to choose to make your article open access after ac…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review and Acceptance
Triple-blind peer review Model summary
The acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to the journal's readership. Philosophy & Public Affairs emphasizes work that is well-written and accessible to a broad audience (i.e., not narrowly specialized or highly technical in character), that engages important issues of public relevance, and that breaks significant new ground while …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Uses iThenticate's CrossCheck software to detect overlapping and similar text in submitted manuscripts Model summary
Note this journal uses iThenticate’s CrossCheck software to detect instances of overlapping and similar text in submitted manuscripts.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Self-Archiving Definitions and Policies
Note that the journal’s standard copyright agreement allows for self-archiving of different versions of the article under specific conditions. Please click here for more detailed information about self-archiving definitions and policies.
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0048-3915
- Electronic ISSN
- 1088-4963
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 54, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about PHILOSOPHY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
What CAS zone is PHILOSOPHY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, PHILOSOPHY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS is in Zone 1 of Philosophy, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Ethics / Political Science; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Philosophy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of PHILOSOPHY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.23; CiteScore 4.2, h-index 130.
How long does peer review take at PHILOSOPHY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS?
Based on the dates recorded on 44 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 116 days (interquartile range 74–216 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 6% (2025). 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 PHILOSOPHY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Templates: LaTeX; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not 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.
Which databases index PHILOSOPHY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, PHILOSOPHY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is PHILOSOPHY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS open access, and what is the APC?
PHILOSOPHY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,460.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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: .