About the Journal

About the Journal

Focus and reach

The Journal of Philosophy of the University of Costa Rica is the periodical publication of the Philosophy Department and the Institute of Philosophical Research of the University of Costa Rica. 

Its objective is precisely to publicize and discuss philosophical and, in general, critical and creative thought through its pages to an audience specializing in philosophy in Costa Rica and around the world. Therefore, it is aimed at both the academic community and the general public and covers all areas of philosophy. With a view to stimulating the creation of philosophical thought, contributions to our journal are welcome as input for promoting a tolerant, critical, and open society.

Periodicity of the journal

Since its creation in 1957, the Journal of Philosophy of the University of Costa Rica has published, without interruption, articles of high academic quality in all areas of philosophy. Currently, the journal publishes three issues per year (January-April, May-August, September-December), quarterly.

Sections of the journal

  • Dossier: The dossier brings together a set of articles on a specific topic of philosophical relevance, selected and organized by an expert in the field. This section seeks to foster structured academic dialogue and offer a coherent perspective on philosophical issues.
  • Articles: The articles are original texts that follow the usual academic format established in scientific journals and undergo a blind peer review process to ensure their rigor and quality.
  • Lectures section: This section publishes texts produced within the framework of the lectures of the UCR Philosophy Department. Among them are presentations from the Chair on Religions, directed by Dr. Juan Diego Moya and Dr. Luis Diego Cascante.
  • Philosophical Dialogue: Interviews that contribute to contemporary philosophical debate are published.
  • Special Contributions: Includes articles by academics with recognized careers. These texts are not peer-reviewed. They may address, for example, philosophical reflections, critical essays, or contributions to contemporary debates.
  • Translations: Includes translations of philosophical texts of academic relevance. Priority is given to unpublished works, documents that are fundamental to philosophical debate, and annotated translations that provide a new critical perspective.
  • Bibliographic review: Critical reviews and catalogs of works are published, covering studies on the extensive and dispersed publications of authors in philosophy.
  • Chronicles: Texts are published on the life of the  Philosophy Department at the University of Costa Rica, including student activities and academic events. Their purpose is to document and archive the Department's relevant activities.
  • Reviews: Critical reviews of recent books in the field of philosophy and related disciplines are published. The reviews analyze the relevance, contribution, and impact of the works on academic debate.

Publication costs

There is no cost to authors for publishing articles in the journal.

Sponsors

  • Institute for Philosophical Research - University of Costa Rica
  • Department of Philosophy - University of Costa Rica
  • Vice-Rectorate for Research -University of Costa Rica

Publisher

University of Costa Rica. P.O. Box 11501-2060

Reviewing system

The Journal of Philosophy requires that all articles submitted be original and unpublished. The review process is blind peer review: the reviewers who evaluate the articles are anonymous to the authors, and the authors are anonymous to the reviewers.

Articles are submitted through the OJS platform, where the editorial team conducts an initial review to ensure that the document complies with established guidelines. Once verified, an external review is sought to evaluate the article using a form for reviewers. Reviewers may: a) approve the article in its current state, b) request modifications, or c) reject the article for publication. 

All works published in the Dossier and Articles sections are reviewed by external reviewers. In the case of dossiers, the guest editor is responsible for supervising and managing the review of the works. Dossier submissions are not reviewed.

Code of Ethics

The Journal of Philosophy has a Code of Ethics and editorial policy to ensure compliance with responsible editorial practices.

Measures for detecting plagiarism

Specialized Turnitin software is used to detect plagiarism. Any content containing elements of plagiarism will be rejected. 

Digital preservation policies

To preserve documents, the Journal of Philosophy uses the LOCKSS system, which guarantees the journal a permanent and secure archive. LOCKSS is an open-source program developed by Stanford University Library that allows libraries to preserve selected web journals by regularly searching registered journals to collect newly published content and archive it. Each archive is continuously validated with records from other libraries, so any damaged or lost content can be restored using those records or the journal itself.

In addition, cloud backups are maintained for all documents received, in the process of publication, and already published as a measure to ensure the preservation of all documents. A backup of the issues published by the Journal can be accessed at the following web address:

https://inif.ucr.ac.cr/publicacion/revista-de-filosofia-de-la-universidad-de-costa-rica/

Interoperability Protocol

The Journal of Philosophy uses Dublin Core metadata tags and the Open Archive Initiative-Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) for interoperability, thereby improving the distribution of content on the internet. Our OAI-PMH address is https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/filosofia/oai

Presence in indexes and directories

The Journal of Philosophy is present in:

A few words about the Journal of Philosophy pf the University of Costa Rica

By: Don Rodrigo Facio, Former Rector of the University of Costa Rica

I find it symbolic that the Journal of Philosophy is being launched at a time when the doors of our University's new Faculty of Sciences and Letters are opening to Costa Rican youth. This is because the new Faculty's Department of General Studies, along with other equally ambitious departments, aims to give students a general overview of the world, life, and culture, and to teach them how conceptual and methodological precision and intellectual rigor are required to attain knowledge of the sciences. And it is in this sense, then, that its task is deeply philosophical, since philosophy seeks knowledge of the general, of the universal, and it does so through the paths of the exercise of reason.

On the other hand, the inclusion of General Studies in university programs, the reaction against premature specialization, the desire to integrate specific knowledge, the search for a humanistic and spiritual position to incorporate the purely functional or pragmatic, all of this, in a certain way, responds to the renaissance—if we may call it that—of philosophy and the increasingly explicit recognition of its necessity and importance as the foundation and culmination of all scientific endeavor, after that period of proscription of the philosophical discipline that some authors characterize as “laboratory terrorism.”

The human and academic training that the Faculty of Sciences and Letters will soon undertake will therefore have an indisputable philosophical dimension: its purpose—at least in theory—will be to prepare young people for the “profession of man” before other university entities begin to prepare them for specific professions. That of teaching them to know themselves as beings of soul, flesh, and bone, with spiritual and material needs, with a history and a future, surrounded by a biological and social material world that both imposes limitations and offers opportunities and rights. To show them their radical individual dimension insofar as they have to carve out their own destiny freely, and insofar as they are entitled to respect with no limitations other than the respect due to others. To teach them to ask themselves questions and solve problems, to doubt and think, and to take ethically and rationally justified positions. To make them recognize their historical reason in the miraculous and multiple work of culture. To help them understand the society in which they live in order to give them a clear concept of their obligations and rights towards others, and a generous and constructive spirit with which to participate in the ongoing work of social improvement. To prepare them for the free, intelligent, and tolerant exercise of their triple citizenship: university, Costa Rican, and human.

It is a complex and delicate task that the new Faculty may not be able to fulfill immediately, or even in the medium term; but the important thing is to be on the right track, to have a star to guide our steps.

In short, the essential concern of the Faculty that is beginning, like the concern of Philosophy, is man. Not man in the abstract, something non-existent, something fictional or artificial. But man who lives, who lives with his past, with his environment, with his neighbors, and with his ideas and hopes. As the philosopher of Transcendental Humanism would say, “man and his circumstances.” For all these reasons, I find it promising that the Journal of Philosophy of the University of Costa Rica is now beginning its existence. It can be extremely useful in contributing to the fulfillment of the tasks entrusted to Sciences and Letters. It can become an example, a spur, a projection.

But it can also be, as revealed by the content of its first issue, a valuable tool for collecting and disseminating philosophical thought developed within and outside the University, in the country and beyond. Maintaining the rigor demanded by any university publication, it can achieve prominence and prestige, bringing prestige to both the Faculty of Sciences and Letters and the University as a whole.

However, the selection of material must always be made with strict criteria, and in rejecting anything that does not meet the previously established conditions of excellence, one must act without fear of appearing ruthless. A distinction must also be made between what is of authentic philosophical lineage, whether it be the contribution of a student, a beginner, a specialist, or an “intellectual,” and what is pure speculation devoid of backbone, sterile flowery rhetoric, and terminological coating without internal substance. And I take the liberty of issuing this warning—although I recognize that it is unnecessary given the seriousness of the journal's editors—because on more than a few occasions this is the result of the combination of the unbridled flight of the Latin mentality, the literary exuberance native to the tropics, and the unwary complacency of certain audiences. And we need to prevent that danger, just as in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences we need to prevent that of a resonant and hollow pseudo-humanism, if we want to have a genuine Faculty of Arts and Sciences and a true Journal of Philosophy.

This issue has wisely included an original study by the eminent professor and writer on the history of philosophy, Rodolfo Mondolfo. This is a generous contribution on his part to the Journal.

And I say wise not only because of the value of the study and his signature, but also because of what it represents in terms of the editors' intention to establish standards of excellence for this publication.

Dr. Mondolfo is, in fact, one of the most renowned contemporary thinkers in the field of the history of philosophy: penetrating in his analysis, rigorous in his method, himself a champion of “the intrepid search for truth, free from all prejudice,” which he so admired and highlighted in his luminous study on Giordano Bruno.

 Next come the works of our people, and I intentionally use the possessive to include, alongside Barahona, Olarte, Dengo de Vargas, Bonilla, Carr, Wender, Carro, Constantino Láscaris Comneno, the young Spanish professor hired by the University to teach the Introduction to Philosophy courses in the Faculty of Sciences and Letters, who is already Costa Rican, at least in the hearts of those of us who have been able to appreciate, in the few months he has lived among us, the delicate way in which he tries to adapt to the national way of being, thinking, and behaving, in order to perform to the full satisfaction, both academically and humanly, the type of services that the institution had in mind when establishing the new Faculty. To him and his collaborators, the University expresses its gratitude and best wishes for the success of this, his creation.

This first issue concludes with the publication and commentary of unpublished texts and documents, some chronicles of philosophical concerns in the country and abroad, and an extensive bibliography of Costa Rican and foreign contributions.

The purpose of the magazine is ambitious, but well-oriented; the team behind it is young, but responsible. And the plan is certainly a good one.

To conclude, I would just like to pause for a moment on the pages of the Chronicle section, which examine the history of philosophical studies at the university, tracing their origins back to the University of Santo Tomás. I wish to pause here to say that I cordially and emotionally sympathize with the attempt because, as I have said elsewhere, "every act of recognition of what our ancestors have done is just, because no generation makes the world, but simply continues it, and ultimately it is vanity of vanities to believe that what we have is truly new under the sun. And every act of recognition of past achievements is also educational, because only by exalting the historical continuity of the efforts of successive generations on our homeland can we become aware of nationality as a living and permanent program of responsibilities."

And it occurs to me to think, given this idea of historical continuity in the efforts of both sides, how satisfied Don Tomás de Acosta, one of the best governors of the Province of Costa Rica, would be if he read this magazine and saw the enthusiasm of the young people who gather around him, He, who in the early years of the 19th century, was unable to find a professor of philosophy to take charge of that chair, established for the first time in the Sanctuary of Los Ángeles of Cartago, despite having promised to pay the salary, within the framework of the hardship of the time, with funds from his own pocket...

And how much pleasure it would also give that young Nicaraguan bachelor, so controversial in our political history, Don Rafael Francisco Osejo, who in 1814, at the request of the progressive City Council of San José, helped found the Casa de Enseñanza de Santo Tomás in this city and taught there, for the first time in Costa Rican history, a chair of philosophy...

And how joyful Don Nicolás Gallegos Castro, Doctor of Philosophy and tenth Rector of the University of Santo Tomás, would be, who in 1846 published—in one of the first publications in the country—his ELEMENTARY LESSONS FROM THE FIRST TWO PARTS OF PHILOSOPHY, EXCERPTS FROM VARIOUS AUTHORS FOR THE USE OF THE YOUTH OF COSTA RICA. And how many distinguished professors, eminent thinkers, and culture enthusiasts, who once dreamed the same dream we have of a more cultured, wiser, and more spiritual Costa Rica, would share in the joy with which the authorities of the University today welcome this first issue of the Journal of Philosophy.

In Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 1, No. 1, JANUARY-JUNE, 1957, pp. 3-6.

 

Directors of the Journal of Philosophy of the University of Costa Rica:

Dr. Enrique Macaya (January-June)             1957

Dr. Constantino Láscaris                              1957-1973

Dr. Rafael Ángel Herra                                  1973-1998

Lic. Guillermo Coronado                              1999-2013

Dr. Juan Diego Moya Bedoya                       2013-2016

Dr. George García Quesada (July)               2018-