We believe that the publication culture in academic philosophy should become more open. This entails:
- Publicly funded research belongs to the public
- Actively utilize funding and make conscientious publication decisions
- Expand and network Diamond Open Access
- Strengthen Open Access books – make the book culture of philosophy sustainable for the future
- Enhance bibliodiversity – diversity as a quality hallmark
- Involve professional societies and engage the community
- Actively shape publication infrastructures
- Ensure quality assurance
- Integrate topics of open science into curricula
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Malte Dreyer, Eric Eggert, Nicola Mößner, Elio Pellin
Position paper on Open Access in Philosophy
Preamble: Strengthening the scientific community – transforming publication systems
The current publication economy is in a state of fundamental imbalance. Over decades, a system has become established in which publicly funded research results have come under the control of a small number of profit-oriented publishers. Some of these publishers achieve profit margins of over 30%, while scientists usually contribute their texts and reviews free of charge – paid for by the public purse. Scientific output thus becomes a commodity, and the general public, which financed it, is excluded from access.The current publication economy is in a state of fundamental imbalance. Over decades, a system has become established in which publicly funded research results have come under the control of a small number of profit-oriented publishers. Some of these publishers achieve profit margins of over 30%, while scientists usually contribute their texts and reviews free of charge – paid for by the public purse. Scientific output thus becomes a commodity, and the general public, which financed it, is excluded from access.
This is particularly problematic for philosophy, as becomes clear when looking at some of its subject areas: Among other things, it deals with the normative foundations of our coexistence, the prerequisites for scientific knowledge, and central questions of social orientation. However, its potential to have a public impact remains largely untapped, partly because its results disappear behind paywalls.
These paywalls are also problematic for the discipline itself: only those who have access to increasingly expensive publications can participate in scientific discourse.
Other disciplines have initiated opening processes in recent years through the transformation to open access models. It is time for philosophy to take this step as well and move toward an open and inclusive publication culture.
Other disciplines have initiated opening processes in recent years through the transformation to open access models. It is time for philosophy to take this step as well and move toward an open and inclusive publication culture.
Philosophy is a subject with a wide range of content and heterogeneous methods. This plurality also leads to different attitudes and practices in dealing with open science – for example, with regard to publication formats, target groups, or the understanding of science. This is precisely why it is important to identify common ground on which a sustainable, broadly supported transition to open access can succeed. This position paper formulates such common ground and derives recommendations from it that are practice-oriented and leave room for different disciplinary traditions – without losing sight of the common goal: an open, independent, and sustainable publication culture in philosophy.
We, the undersigned, recognize the need outlined in the field and are committed to making publicly funded research publicly visible, usable, and permanently available.
Publicly funded research belongs to the public
All scientific works that have been funded with public funds or written by publicly employed scientists during their term of office should be published in open access.
Actively use funding and make conscious publication decisions
When choosing where to publish, authors should look for open access options, inquire with publishers about open access models, find out about available funding programs (DFG, BMFTR, EU, universities, etc.) and make use of them, and when concluding publishing contracts, make use of model contracts, legal advice, and institutional support services.
We see a need for a comprehensive information center for scientists and employees at universities and research institutions that can offer advice at the national level to authors and employees responsible for publication processes. This could, for example, be a task for a national coordination office in the Diamond Open Access sector. A corresponding expansion of projects such as DOACH or SeDOA – in cooperation with the FID system – would be one possibility in this context.
In principle, we propose that the expansion of such an advisory infrastructure be preceded by a concrete needs assessment – in order, among other things, to identify which services already exist in the area of national initiatives so that they can be better networked with each other.
Expanding Diamond Open Access through networking
We are committed to strengthening Diamond Open Access models, i.e., forms of publication and financing in which neither authors nor readers have to pay fees. Ideally, the associated infrastructures should be supported by libraries, specialist information services, professional associations, or publicly funded institutions and operated not commercially but by the scientific community. Numerous initiatives such as the National Capacity Centers or the European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH), which emerged from the EU-funded projects DIAMAS and CRAFT-OA, offer further support. We draw on these and other resources provided by the community, such as the DGPhil information page on OA journals and their respective cost structures (https://www.dgphil.de/arbeitsgemeinschaften/open-access-zeitschriften-in-der-philosophie/) and the information page of the open access network on OA in philosophy (https://open-access.network/informieren/open-access-in-fachdisziplinen/philosophie) – in our strategic planning and are doing our utmost to ensure that these services become permanently established in the scientific landscape.
We consider it crucial to enable the sustainable provision of established services. This includes, in particular, the question of securing funding for the corresponding infrastructure services. In this regard, we propose a redistribution of costs – instead of financing overpriced OA offerings from commercial publishers, the funds earmarked for this purpose should (at least in sufficient parts) be redirected to the development of a science-based Diamond Open Access landscape.
Strengthening open access books – making the book culture of philosophy sustainable for the future
For philosophy as a classic book discipline, the transformation to open access is not only a technical challenge but also involves a change in scientific culture. Unlike in the field of academic journals, however, open access is not yet established across the board for books, although important impetus has been provided in recent years – for example, through the implementation of the first Diamond Open Access infrastructures or new funding lines for open access book publications.
Philosophy is characterized by a particular diversity of book formats – from historical-critical editions and classic monographs to thematically curated edited volumes. This diversity is part of the discipline's identity and must be preserved in an open publication culture.
We therefore see a need for the community to develop viable, difference-sensitive solutions for open access books. The goal must be to establish community-supported and library-backed infrastructures in which philosophical book projects can be implemented financially, technically, organizationally, and legally – while preserving publication diversity (bibliodiversity) and also for scholars without permanent positions in academia.
We recognize the value of small and medium-sized publishers for philosophical publishing culture. However, the goal must be to find ways together through which they can contribute productively to the implementation of open access – whether through cost-transparent cooperation models, flipping, i.e., switching to OA models, or funding partnerships.
Transforming philosophical journals
Learned journals in philosophy should be systematically converted to open access ("flipped"). Such a change requires not only technology, but also critical discourse. Likewise, the founding of genuinely open philosophical journals, ideally operated according to the Diamond Open Access model, is expressly welcomed. Scholars should be encouraged to take action in this direction and to strengthen the diversity and visibility of the discipline through new initiatives.
Strengthening bibliodiversity – diversity as a mark of quality
Philosophy thrives on a variety of publication formats that correspond to the different contents, methods, and communication needs of the discipline. In addition to the classic monograph and academic journal, these include edited volumes, editions, and various digital publication formats. This bibliodiversity is a strength that must be preserved and promoted – also and especially in the context of open access.
We demand that this diversity be given appropriate consideration not only in production but also in reputation building. Therefore, different publication formats should be made visible in publication lists, taken into account in evaluation and appointment procedures, regarded as equal publications in cases of equal scientific quality, and promoted in the development of open publication infrastructures so that the diverse needs of scientific communication in philosophy can be met.
Bibliodiversity is thus not only a question of publication practice, but also a building block of scientific fairness and a guarantor of plurality in the discipline.
Involve professional associations, engage the community
As institutionalized representatives of the academic community, scientific associations / learned societies bear a special responsibility for the scientific self-determination of their discipline. They have the opportunity – and increasingly also the obligation – to protect their members when commercial actors seek to gain control over scientific conduct and evaluation processes by means that lack transparency. Data sovereignty and data protection play a key role, especially in the context of digitalization. We call on philosophical scientific associations / learned societies to support the establishment and promotion of new, non-commercial journals and book series that are in the hands of the scientific community. As potential players in the field of publication services, scientific associations / learned societies should become more actively involved and thus assume a strategically central position.
Actively shaping publication infrastructures
Infrastructures for publication services should be developed with the participation of the community in public institutions and for the community. The FID Philosophy is a predestined partner for the discipline in this regard, having already implemented several journal projects from the community. In the context of Diamond Open Access projects, we consider it essential to provide support for typesetting, which allows for an exchange between actors without any loss of information. The aim is to create technical solutions that meet the needs of the discipline, are permanently available, and do not become dependent on commercial providers. Such infrastructures strengthen the self-determination of science and enable publication processes to be designed in a flexible, sustainable, and quality-assured manner.
Ensuring quality assurance
Open access goes hand in hand with scientific quality and requires transparent and comprehensible review procedures. We are committed to establishing evaluation criteria that make scientific quality visible – regardless of the business model of the publication venue. In addition, we welcome and support transparent and innovative forms of quality assurance – such as open peer review or platforms such as Peer Community in (https://peercommunityin.org/) – which are organized by the scientific community itself, serve its interests, and remain free of commercial interests. Such procedures should become standard practice and replace those that perpetuate dependence on commercial metrics and the trade in data.
Integrating open science topics into curricula
Advanced students and doctoral candidates should be empowered – with the help of courses offered by libraries and other campus facilities – to critically examine the current publishing landscape and digital publishing practices and to make informed decisions about their own projects in this area. This includes topics such as open access strategies and their ethical, legal, and political dimensions, insights into the functioning of publication and reputation economies and science metrics, knowledge of non-commercial publication formats, and practical skills for publishing at relevant qualification levels of scientific education.
The examination of open science should not be understood as an additional topic, but rather, like other topics of "good scientific practice," as an integral part of a philosophically reflective scientific education – because only those who know the structures can help shape them.
Final provision
We consider the transformation to an open publication culture to be a requirement of scientific ethics and social responsibility. We therefore call on all members of the philosophical community and science policy institutions to join us in this goal and to initiate a systematic, open discussion process within the philosophical community via on the future of publishing, involving all relevant stakeholders and leading to implementable solutions.
An action plan that derives concrete measures from the strategic goals formulated here and specifically addresses key players in philosophy could be a first step toward a jointly designed and effective change.
Authors
Malte Dreyer, Eric Eggert, Nicola Mößner, Elio Pellin
Signatures
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