Zeitschrift Open Access

KRITERION – Journal of Philosophy

Editors-in-Chief: Christian J. Feldbacher-Escamilla und Alexander Gebharter

Sprache: Englisch

Erstveröffentlichung: 1. Januar 1991

Erscheinungsweise: 4 Hefte pro Jahr

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KRITERION - Journal of Philosophy provides a forum for rational discussion in any field of philosophy. As dedicated to the analytic tradition, it publishes highly understandable and criticisable work making use of clear and thorough argumentation. We believe that this is the only possible way of contributing to progress in philosophy, which is the journal's main objective.

The journal was founded in 1991. Since 2021, it is published and distributed as an open access journal by De Gruyter. We are convinced that this collaboration will further increase the quality and visibility of the journal.

KRITERION - Journal of Philosophy accepts contributions in English language. All contributions go through a double-blind peer review process. Since we especially want to encourage early career authors, the journal's policy is to reach a decision on every submission within five weeks of receipt. The journal is known for providing friendly and helpful reviewer comments and suggestions of how to improve manuscripts. This becomes manifest also in our current statistics: The initial acceptance rate is 5%, the overall acceptance rate is almost 30%, and over 90% of authors receive reports from external reviewers.

KRITERION - Journal of Philosophy also publishes special issues and monographic sections. For more information on guest-editing a special issue or monographic section, please see the supplementary material below.

Open Access
Agency as Normative Kind: Constitutivism as Aristotelianism

8. Oktober 2025

Aloysius Aquinas Ventham

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This paper argues that constitutivism is not a novel account but rather collapses into Aristotelianism albeit with new, conceptually clear and philosophically rich, terminology. The paper explores the Aristotelian structure of constitutivism and responds to objections from some constitutivists (Katsafanas 2013. Agency and the Foundations of Ethics: Nietzschean Constitutivism . Oxford University Press) that Aristotelian metaethical accounts cannot meet the practicality requirement in ethics. The author concludes that if the constitutivist can respond to Enoch’s ‘schmagency’ objection, then the Aristotelian can accommodate the practicality requirement by invoking the same mechanism. This paper thus presents constitutivism as an inherently Aristotelian theory, capable of meeting the challenges posed by externalist objections, and not simply that an Aristotelian version of constitutivism can be articulated.
Open Access
What Wittgenstein did and what He Said: Commentary to David Hommen’s ‘Wittgenstein, Ordinary Language, and Poeticity’

31. Juli 2025

Keld Stehr Nielsen

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In his article ‘Wittgenstein, Ordinary Language and Poeticity’, David Hommen addresses the apparent inconsistency in the role that ordinary language or ‘language of everyday life’ plays in the later Wittgenstein’s works. While dissolving this inconsistency Hommen provides an inspiring account of what he calls Wittgenstein’s poetics and its role in the perspicuous representations that the later Wittgenstein’s sought. According to Hommen, Wittgenstein’s analogies and metaphors are deployed to let us see language in a new light that dissolves the puzzles that had a grip on us. But Hommen gives it too much weight. Though important, the poetic approach cannot alone dissolve the puzzles that concerned Wittgenstein. Seeing new connections between previously unrelated familiar phenomena can both be illuminating and misleading. Wittgenstein distinguished between helpful and misleading analogies, and he did so not by measuring their aesthetic qualities, but through observation and the implications of those observations. Furthermore, Hommen’s interpretation of ‘ordinary language’ is problematic and it forms an important underlying assumption for both the apparent inconsistency and the resolution of it. Although his interpretation might appear to respect what Wittgenstein wrote, at least on certain occasions, it cannot be reconciled with Wittgenstein’s practice, what he did. Adopting a different, prevalent interpretation of ‘ordinary language’ that accommodates some of these challenges and thereby arguably fits better to Wittgenstein’s use of the term also has the consequence that the initial inconsistency is removed.
Open Access
The Aesthetic Risk of AI: The Threat of Recommender Systems to Aesthetic Welfare

8. Juli 2025

Samuel Walker Bennett

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Recommender systems (RSs) on platforms like Netflix and Spotify personalize user experiences but also raise concerns about their impact on aesthetic welfare. This paper evaluates two important arguments against RS-driven platforms. The satisfaction argument claims that RSs harm aesthetic welfare by steering users toward profitable content that is less satisfying because it is less aligned with their personal tastes. I argue that while RS-driven platforms may exhibit a bias toward promoting profitable content, they are unlikely to do so aggressively enough to significantly harm user satisfaction, as such a strategy carries inherent risks and offers uncertain profit advantages compared to catering to users’ existing preferences. Moreover, even if RSs consistently steer engagement toward profitable content that diverges from a user’s personal taste, they would likely need to reshape user preferences in the process to maintain engagement. In such cases, aesthetic enjoyment would remain largely intact, as the altered taste would align with the promoted content. The autonomy argument suggests that RSs push users into patterns of aesthetic engagement that conflict with their core aesthetic values – such as those who prefer niche or non-mainstream content – due to apparent RS biases favoring popular and mainstream material. I contend that such authenticity concerns are not particularly worrisome when the core value in question lacks independent normative significance. For example, there is no strong reason to claim that aesthetic users should or need to engage with non-mainstream content. Ultimately, this paper challenges claims about the harms of RS-driven platforms, arguing that their impact on aesthetic well-being is less significant than often assumed.
Open Access
Robustness Reexamined: Unpacking the Limits of Model-Based Robustness Analysis as Explanatory Reasoning

1. Juli 2025

Margherita Harris

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In science, obtaining the same result through different means is often taken to support a hypothesis. Bayesian approaches have long aimed to clarify the logic behind this practice, commonly known as robustness analysis (RA), typically by appealing to probabilistic independence to capture evidential diversity. Schupbach’s (2018. “Robustness Analysis as Explanatory Reasoning.” The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 69 (1): 275–300.) explanatory account offers a novel alternative, particularly suited to empirically driven cases. However, this paper questions whether the account can be successfully extended to model-based RAs. I argue that its application in such contexts is more problematic than often acknowledged and that it fails to accommodate a broader class of model-based RAs than previously assumed.
Open Access
Conference Report: The Fifth International Conference of the German Society for Philosophy of Science (GWP.2025), 24–26 March, 2025

6. Mai 2025

Leon Assaad

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Open Access
Degrees of Compositionality (In the Realm of Idioms)

25. März 2025

Thorben Petersen

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This paper outlines and motivates a degrees view of compositionality. The degrees view says that the meanings of complex natural language expressions are determined by the meanings and syntactic structure of their parts to varying degrees. The initial motivation for proposing such a view is that it solves a serious problem with the compositionality principle, which arises if the meanings of complex expressions are taken to be fully determined by the meanings and combinatorial structure of their parts. This seems to be the standard understanding of compositionality, but natural languages are ripe with expressions, whose meanings are compositionally underdetermined. This striking feature of natural languages is captured by the degrees view, which attributes an undiminished role to compositionality and proposes that complex expressions are generally compositional, albeit with varying intensity. In order to provide further motivation for the degree-theoretic perspective, this paper also examines the meta-semantics of idiomatic phrases, which are widely held to defy compositionality by definition. As predicted by the degrees view, the analysis reveals that there are different types of idiomatic phrases, some of which are more compositional than others.
Open Access
A Formal Reading of Leibniz’s Cosmological Argument

8. Januar 2025

Jannik Pitt

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In this paper the cosmological argument of Gottfried-Wilhelm Leibniz is revisited. We propose an interpretation of the argument as being an argument based on the structure of the logical space of all abstract facts. For this we view Leibnizian philosophy as providing a picture theory of language . This structure is given by the metaphysical foundations of Leibnizian philosophy: Leibniz’s theory of truth in the form of praedicatum inesse subiecto , the Principle of Sufficient Reason and the distinction between necessary and contingent facts. The theory of truth is interpreted as being provided by a formal calculus of abstract concepts in the sense of Edward Zalta. The other metaphysical requirements are also briefly discussed. Using these the structure on logical space is realised by an antisymmetric, transitive relation which admits arbitrary joins. Such a relation must admit a minimum, which is interpreted as the existence of God. This interpretation entails the difficulties of explicating existence in Leibniz’s metaphysics, which are also discussed.
Open Access
A Game-Theoretic Assessment of Anti-Discrimination Measures in Scientific Collaboration

9. Dezember 2024

Cordelia Berz

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Rubin, Hannah, and Cailin O’Connor (2018. “Discrimination and Collaboration in Science.” Philosophy of Science 85 (3): 380–402) introduced a game-theoretic model to examine the dynamics of collaboration and discrimination in academia. They found that small minority groups face higher rates of discrimination in collaboration, despite moral and legal demands for equality. This paper extends their work by assessing the effectiveness of anti-discrimination measures, focusing on German legal provisions for discrimination in the workplace: internal complaints boards and training and organisational measures as mandated by the General Equal Treatment Act. My results show that internal boards are effective in preventing discrimination in initially fair (i.e. non-discriminatory) environments, but fall short in already discriminatory environments. In contrast, training and organisational measures significantly reduce discriminatory behaviour, even where awareness is low. This highlights the importance of proactive anti-discrimination measures.
Open Access
Conference Report: SOPhiA 2025

1. Januar 2000

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Open Access
What are the Contexts of Complementarities?

1. Januar 2000

Hong Joo Ryoo

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The explanatory structure of quantum mechanics and quantum gravity is marked by complementarity: the existence of distinct, mutually incompatible descriptions that are nonetheless each empirically valid in specific observational settings. In recent work, Ryoo (2025) proposed a context-dependent mapping framework ( f c ) as an epistemic tool to capture this phenomenon. This framework maps each physically defined “context” to a set of laws that yield coherent and predictive explanations within that context. In this paper, I formally define the notion of “context” underlying the f c mapping, offer a general structural typology, and present case studies from quantum gravity and entanglement wedge reconstruction to illustrate how explanatory fragmentation is grounded in physical theory rather than epistemic limitation.
Open Access
The Inescapability of Law and the Duty of the Rule of Recognition

1. Januar 2000

Fernando Campos

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H.L.A. Hart’s legal positivism identifies the rule of recognition as the foundational concept grounding a legal system, emphasizing its basis in social practice rather than moral evaluation. Hart argues for a strict conceptual separation between law and morality, allowing the rule of recognition to neutrally establish criteria for legal validity. Nevertheless, debate surrounds whether this rule inherently creates obligations for legal officials. While some scholars, such as Julie Dickson, argue it merely confers powers without imposing duties, others, notably Jules Coleman and Neil MacCormick, insist it necessarily entails obligations – specifically the duty to adhere exclusively to the recognized criteria when identifying valid laws. This obligation arises from officials committed internal acceptance of the rule, ensuring the system’s normative coherence and stability. Thus, despite controversy over its precise characterization, Hart’s conception ultimately presents the rule of recognition as a fundamentally duty-creating social practice essential for any developed legal system.
Open Access
Persistent Value Relations: Varieties and Explanation

1. Januar 2000

Henrik Andersson, Andrés G. Garcia

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Some things hold value in a way that makes them superior to others, regardless of how much of the lesser values are involved. Philosophers have often found this idea of persistent betterness to be puzzling. In this paper, we argue that superiority belongs to a broader class of persistent value relations, including stubborn varieties of equality and parity, each of which will be exemplified and analysed. Our account explains these relations through the inherent properties of what is being compared without relying on infinite value or the notion of a diminishing value contribution. This approach offers a clearer understanding of the nature and grounds of persistent value relations.
Open Access
Causal Inference in Econometrics: A Causal Interpretation of Regression Analysis

1. Januar 2000

Zhitao Zhang

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Econometricians apply statistical tools to estimate the effects of policies based on observational data. Although econometricians consider the type of inference they are dealing with in their research to be a type of causal inference, they usually avoid direct use of causal terminology. Econometricians and statisticians often rely on the Rubin Causal Model to interpret regression analysis as a type of causal inference. In this paper, I argue (with a focus on instrumental variable estimation) that this endeavour is doomed to failure. I develop an alternative causal interpretation of regression analysis based on structural equation models and show how this interpretation can avoid the problems.
Open Access
On Drawing the Tensed-Tenseless Divide in Philosophy of Time in the Analytic Tradition

1. Januar 2000

Michael Grech

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Since McTaggart’s seminal argument (McTaggart, J. M. E. 1908. “The Unreality of Time.” Mind 17 (68), McTaggart, J. M. E. 1927. The Nature of Existence, Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), philosophers of time have been split within the tensed and tenseless camps. This division presumes that there are criteria in virtue of which philosophers of time have belonged to either camp. Yet, the criteria presented in time-related literature are frequently inaccurate. The paper addresses this issue by laying down what is common to all philosophers that since the publication of McTaggart’s argument have belonged to the tensed/tenseless camp, and in virtue of which they should be considering as belonging to this camp. It considers and rejects three ways in which the tensed-tenseless divide has frequently been characterised; in terms of shared views regarding the meaning or truth of tokens of tensed sentences, of whether one believes in passage or in terms of whether one believes in tensed facts. It finally suggests two criteria which adequately serve to mark the chasm-lines between the two camps.

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Special Issue: 10 Years in Multiverse: Reflections and perspectives for the set-theoretic multiverse; Guest Editor: Matteo de Ceglie

Special Issue: Lakatos’ Undone Work: The Practical Turn and the Division of Philosophy of Mathematics and Philosophy of Science; Guest Editors: Sophie Nagler, Hannah Pillin, Deniz Sarikaya

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Special Issue: Bayesian Epistemology: Perspectives and Challenges, Edited by Jürgen Landes

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Special Issue: Popularizing Philosophy, Edited by Frauke Albersmeier & Alexander Christian

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Die Zeitschrift KRITERION – Journal of Philosophy veröffentlicht Sonder- und Themenhefte, die sich auf wichtige und neu aufkommende Themen im Bereich der Forschung konzentrieren. Die Zeitschrift hat ein strenges Verfahren eingeführt, um sicherzustellen, dass alle Manuskripte für Sonderausgaben denselben Qualitätsstandards und Peer-Review-Verfahren unterliegen wie reguläre Manuskripte. Weitere Informationen über die Peer-Review-Politik der Zeitschrift finden Sie in den "Hinweisen für Autoren".

Aktuelle Themenhefte

Band 39 | Heft 1-2 Special Issue: 10 Years in Multiverse: Reflections and perspectives for the set-theoretic multiverse; Guest Editor: Matteo de Ceglie

Editors-in-Chief:

Christian J. Feldbacher-Escamilla (University of Cologne, Germany)
Alexander Gebharter (Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy)

Contact: kriterion@degruyter.com

Advisory Board:

Elisa Aaltola (University of Turku, Finnland)
Dieter Birnbacher (Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany)
Elke Brendel (University of Bonn, Germany)
Daniel Cohnitz (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)
Catarina Dutilh Novaes (VU Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Nadine Elzein (University of Warwick, Coventry, UK)
Clark Glymour (Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA)
Hilary Greaves (University of Oxford, UK)
Sally Haslanger (MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA)
Vera Hoffman-Kolss (University of Bern, Switzerland)
Max Kistler (University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France)
Edouard Machery (University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA)
Michela Massimi (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Jeanne Peijnenburg (University of Groningen, The Netherlands)
Adina Roskies (Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA)
Maria Sekatskaya (Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany)
Kordula Świętorzecka (UKSW, Warsaw, Poland)
Johanna Thoma (London School of Economics, London, UK)
Barbara Vetter (FU Berlin, Germany)

Editorial: https://doi.org/10.1515/krt-2021-0001

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Philosophie Einzelne philosophische Strömungen Analytische Philosophie

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2750-977X

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Englisch

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De Gruyter

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Erstveröffentlichung:

1. Januar 1991

Erscheinungsweise:

4 Hefte pro Jahr

eISSN: 2750-977X

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