About the Journal

Aims and scope

The Natural Philosophy Journal is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal published by the Chappell Natural Philosophy Society (CNPS). It publishes original research in physics, cosmology, and the philosophy and foundations of science, with particular attention to work that questions, reformulates or offers alternatives to currently established theory.

The journal exists because rigorous critical work in these areas has historically struggled to find a venue that will referee it on its merits. We do not treat departure from consensus as grounds for rejection. We do treat vagueness, unfalsifiable claims, and unwillingness to engage with contrary evidence as grounds for rejection.

Peer review

All sections except Commentary and Historical Notes are peer reviewed. Review is double-anonymous by default: reviewers are not told the author's identity and authors are not told the reviewers'. Each section has its own editor and may set additional requirements appropriate to its subject matter; the review policy for each section is shown when you submit.

Articles in the Commentary and Historical Notes section are reviewed by the editors but are not peer reviewed, and are labelled as such on the article itself. This separation is deliberate: it gives valuable non-research material a proper home without diluting the standing of the refereed sections.

Open access and copyright

This is a fully open-access journal. All content is freely available immediately on publication, with no embargo, no subscription, and no charge to authors or readers.

Authors retain copyright in their work.

Publisher

The journal is published by the Chappell Natural Philosophy Society, which also maintains the Natural Philosophy Wiki, a catalogue of several thousand papers, books and researchers in this field, and hosts an ongoing programme of talks and annual conferences.