The Philosopher is a peer-reviewed journal that was established in 1923 in order to provide a forum for new ideas across the entire range of philosophical topics, in the clearest and plainest language. Its first issue quoted A. S. Rappoport in A Primer of Philosophy that:
There is a prevalent notion that philosophy is a pursuit to be followed only by expert thinkers on abstract subjects, that it deals with the pale ghosts of conceptions whose domain is abstract thought, but which have no application to real life. This is a mistake... Man sees the various phenomena of life and nature, forms conceptions and ideas, and then tries to reason and to find out the relation existing between these various facts and phenomena... When man acts in this way we say he philosophises.
The Philosopher is the official journal of The Philosophical Society of England, a charitable organization founded ten years earlier in 1913. The society exists "to promote the study of practical philosophy among the general public", to bring together professional philosophers and non-professionals, to bring philosophical ideas and problems to the public attention, and to encourage wider discussion of both traditional and topical philosophical issues. As part of fulfilling these functions, the society founded The Philosopher as its own journal in addition to running local groups, lectures, workshops, and conferences. The Philosopher publishes original articles of philosophic interest that are accessible to a wide readership. Topics range from core philosophical problems to discussions of current social and political issues. Recent contributors include Mary Midgley, Timothy Williamson, Jason Stanley, Linda Martín Alcoff, and Clare Chambers.
Notable articles
Historically interesting or notable articles include:
G. K. Chesterton on "The Need for a Philosophy", Volume 1, 1923
In 2013, the online edition of The Philosopher separated from the print edition. The editorial board of the print edition comprises Michael Bavidge, Lucille Valentine, Lani Watson, John Robinson, and Hannes Torbohm, and that of the online edition Martin Cohen, Zenon Stavrinides, Pierre-Alain Gouanvic, Thomas Scarborough, and Ahmed El-Deeb.
