Guest Editor: Prof. Stephen Gardiner (University of Washington, University of St Andrews)
Deadline for Submissions: June 30, 2027
Call for Papers:
How does the evolving climate situation challenge us to think more deeply about issues at the boundaries of conventional ethics, science, politics, and social life? Which philosophical ideas ought to be central as we seek to navigate the emerging crisis? Should the threat of climate disruption press us to rethink standard theories, concepts, and institutions? Can philosophy be useful in resolving disputes, or should it defer to discussions outside of philosophy of issues such as economics and power?
This Special Issue is directed at challenges facing philosophical work on climate in an era of accelerating change and social divisions. It also emphasizes that climate philosophy has a history and takes place within a broader context. Philosophical discussion specifically about climate change has been ongoing for at least four decades and related literatures have been around for much longer. Submissions should build on existing literatures by extending their reach or productively questioning their adequacy. Contributions may focus on how philosophy fosters productive climate change thinking or on how thinking about climate change contributes to progress in philosophy.
We welcome contributions in any of, but not limited to, the following areas:
- The place of climate philosophy: How does climate change impact how philosophy should approach central questions? Is climate philosophy just “applied philosophy”? Or is it in important respects also foundational and theoretical philosophy?
- Climate and justice: Does the climate crisis require us to reconsider the strength and limits of conventional theories of justice and responsibility? Should we isolate climate justice or subsume it within global and environmental justice broadly conceived? Is climate justice primarily about managing economic growth, or resisting capitalism and colonialism, or something else?
- Climate-related values: Do values other than justice and responsibility deserve greater emphasis in climate discussions? Does global environmental change require new virtues, or transformations of familiar virtues? How is climate discourse enriched by perspectives such as “multi-species justice” and broader concepts in environmental philosophy?
- Science within climate crises: Does the emerging climate crisis challenge conventional norms within science? What does climate change reveal about the roles of scientific models and their limitations? Is it a problem if the mechanisms underlying climate models are not well understood (for example, because the models are designed by AI)? What is the appropriate role for values in climate science? How do alternatives to dominant philosophical concepts challenge and reframe our understandings of key topics? For example, should indigenous conceptions of time inform understandings of climate crisis and the formulation of solutions?
Submission Information
Papers should be sent to pq@st-andrews.ac.uk and must comply with the general guidelines for submissions to The Philosophical Quarterly, which can be found here. Please indicate in the subject line that your submission is for the Philosophy and Climate Change Special Issue.
All submissions will be peer-reviewed. We aim at providing reports by early 2028, but aim for early reports for submissions coming ahead of deadline. The Philosophical Quarterly has a one-shot revision policy by default. The Special Issue will be published in 2028.
If you have questions please contact our Journal Manager at pq@st-andrews.ac.uk. Please do not contact the Guest Editor as this may risk de-anonymising your submission.