Synthese

Top Research Topics at Synthese?

The journal focuses largely on the fields of Philosophy of science, Philosophy of language, Epistemology, Metaphysics and Argument. Topics in Philosophy of science were tackled in line with various other fields like Perception, Cognition, Interpretation (philosophy), Causation and Cognitive science. The studies on Philosophy of language discussed can also contribute to research in the domains of Linguistics, Mathematical economics, Structure (mathematical logic), Relation (history of concept) and Artificial intelligence.

The work on Epistemology addressed in the journal expands to the thematically related Context (language use). The Metaphysics study featured falls within the wider field of Theology.

• Philosophy of science (74.21%)
• Philosophy of language (72.78%)
• Epistemology (66.01%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

• Fuzzy logic and approximate reasoning (1191 citations)
• Cognition, Construction of Knowledge, and Teaching (1089 citations)
• Special sciences (or: The disunity of science as a working hypothesis) (1043 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Synthese:

The published articles mainly tackle studies in Philosophy of science, Philosophy of language, Epistemology, Metaphysics and Artificial intelligence. While the journal papers focused on Philosophy of science, they were also able to explore topics like Perception, Action (philosophy), Cognition, Cognitive science and Explication. The works on Philosophy of language tackled in the journal publications bring together disciplines like Semantics, Linguistics, Mathematical economics, Structure (mathematical logic) and Causation.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

• Epistemology
• Philosophy of science
• Metaphysics

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The objective of the journal is to combine knowledge in the areas of Philosophy of science, Philosophy of language, Metaphysics, Epistemology and Argument. The research on Philosophy of science tackled can also make contributions to studies in the areas of Context (language use), Perception, Action (philosophy), Cognition and Cognitive science. Synthese addresses concerns in Philosophy of language which are intertwined with other disciplines, such as Cognitive psychology, Rationality, Mathematical economics, Phenomenon and Relation (history of concept).

Issues in Metaphysics were discussed, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Realism, Ontology, Causation, Content (Freudian dream analysis) and Focus (linguistics). Subject (philosophy), Virtue, Skepticism, Normative and Property (philosophy) are all subfields of Epistemology research that were featured in Synthese.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

• Multiscale integration: beyond internalism and externalism. (50 citations)
• Radical embodiment in two directions (34 citations)
• First Principles in the Life Sciences: The free-energy principle, organicism, and mechanism (29 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

Top authors and change over time

The top authors publishing in Synthese (based on the number of publications) are:

• Jaakko Hintikka (40 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Duncan Pritchard (20 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
• Gerhard Schurz (19 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
• Patrick Suppes (18 papers) absent at the last edition,
• J. Adam Carter (15 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Top affiliations and change over time

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Synthese (based on the number of publications) are:

• University of Oxford (118 papers) published 16 papers at the last edition, 13 more than at the previous edition,
• University of Amsterdam (101 papers) published 17 papers at the last edition, 13 more than at the previous edition,
• University of Helsinki (96 papers) published 10 papers at the last edition, 3 more than at the previous edition,
• Stanford University (94 papers) published 8 papers at the last edition, 5 more than at the previous edition,
• University of Edinburgh (92 papers) published 15 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 6.06% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 10.22% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 5.34% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 18.05% of all publications and 66.39% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

• Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
• Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
• Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
• Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
• Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Career Opportunities in Philosophy and Related Fields

If you are interested in the topics covered by Synthese, such as Philosophy of Science or Epistemology, you may be wondering what the potential career paths could be like for those with an academic focus in these areas. The answer is that there are many diverse paths one could take, encompassing careers in academia, counseling, public policy, and more.

For example, pursuing a career in academia could involve teaching and conducting research at a college or university. Such roles often demand an advanced degree, such as a master's or a doctorate, and could offer opportunities to contribute to the very fields discussed in this journal.

On the other hand, if you are interested in helping individuals, couples, or families navigate their problems and improve their relationships, you might consider becoming a marriage and family therapist. This career involves using theories and techniques from fields like psychology and sociology to provide mental health therapy. If you are located in the Pacific Northwest, you might wonder specifically about how to enter this field locally.

Read on to learn more about how to become a marriage and family therapist in Washington. This guide offers detailed steps to pursue this career path in that state, providing crucial insights about educational requirements, licenses, and job prospects in the area.

Of course, these are just a few potential career paths related to the study of philosophy and related fields. There are numerous opportunities out there, and the study of philosophy could well equip you with the analytical and critical thinking skills needed for a variety of professions.