.jpg) Aug/Sept 2017 cover | |
| Editor | Rick Lewis,Grant Bartley |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Bimonthly |
| Founded | 1991; 34 years ago (1991) |
| Company | Anja Publications |
| Country | United Kingdom / United States |
| Based in | London |
| Website | philosophynow |
| ISSN | 0961-5970 |
| OCLC | 743049565 |
Philosophy Now is a bimonthly philosophy magazine sold from news-stands and book stores in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and Canada; it is also available on digital devices, and online. It aims to appeal to the general educated public, as well as to students and philosophy teachers. It was established in 1991 and was the first general philosophy magazine.[1][2]
Philosophy Now was established in May 1991 as a quarterly magazine byRick Lewis. The first issue included an article onfree will by thenatheist philosopherAntony Flew, who remained an occasional contributor for many years.[1][3]
The magazine was initially published in Lewis' home town ofIpswich (England). Peter Rickman soon became one of the most regular contributors.[4] In 1997, a group of American philosophers including Raymond Pfeiffer and Charles Echelbarger lobbied theAmerican Philosophical Association to start a similar magazine in the United States.[5] The APA executive director Eric Hoffman arranged a meeting inPhiladelphia in 1997, to which Lewis was invited.[5] At the meeting, it was decided that the American group should join forces with Lewis to further developPhilosophy Now. Since that time, the magazine has been produced jointly by two editorial boards, in the UK and US.[6] The magazine is distributed in the US by thePhilosophy Documentation Center.
In 2000,Philosophy Now increased its frequency to appear bimonthly; Lewis is now the Editor in Chief, while Grant Bartley is Editor of the print edition and Bora Dogan edits the digital editions.[6][7]
Philosophy Now won theBertrand Russell Society Award for 2016.[8]Rick Lewis also translated and publish the Philosophy Now in Persian for the first time with AmirAli Maleki,[9] the founder and editor of Praxis Publication.[10]
The magazine contains articles on most areas of philosophy. Most are written by academics, though some are by postgraduate students or independent writers. Although it aims at a non-specialist audience,Philosophy Now has frequently attracted articles by well-known thinkers.
Philosophy Now also regularly features book reviews, interviews, fiction, a film column, cartoons, and readers' letters. Its regular columnists includeRaymond Tallis (Tallis in Wonderland) andPeter Adamson (Philosophy Then). For some years there was a philosophical agony-aunt column calledDear Socrates, supposedly written by areincarnation of theAthenian sage. There is an online forum for discussion of the magazine's contents.[11]
The philosophy professorAntony Flew, noted for his arguments in favour of atheism, published a letter inPhilosophy Now's August/September 2004 issue in which he first indicated that his position regarding God's existence had changed.[12] The news of Flew's change-of-mind was carried in many newspapers worldwide, most of them referencing Flew'sPhilosophy Now letter.[13][14][15]
APhilosophy Now interview with the Canadian philosopherCharles Taylor in 2009[16] created controversy in Canadian newspapers because of Taylor's dismissive remarks about an atheist poster campaign on buses.[17][18][undue weight? –discuss]
The magazine is abstracted and indexed in:
The magazine organised a philosophy festival for the general public every two years from 2011 to 2020. It was held atConway Hall inBloomsbury in central London.[19] The first festival, in 2011,[20] was held partly to mark the 20th anniversary of the magazine's launch.[21] It became a regular biannual event, with festivals held in 2013,[22] 2015, January 2018[23] and 2020. Each festival was a one-day event involving contributions from more than a dozen philosophy organisations includingPhilosophy For All and theRoyal Institute of Philosophy.
Also in 2011, the magazine launched an annual award, thePhilosophy Now Award for Contributions in the Fight Against Stupidity.[24][25] The first winner was the philosopherMary Midgley. Each year since, there has been an award ceremony atConway Hall, including an acceptance speech. In 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2018 this was part of thePhilosophy Now Festival.
In October 2015Philosophy Now announced that the 2015 Award would for the first time be given to a children's author,Cressida Cowell.[26][27] The full list of winners is: