Scope and selection

Mind, Matter, and Meaning: An Open Journal publishes papers and substantive exchanges on consciousness, meaning, cognition, artificial minds, and their philosophical foundations. Papers publish individually rather than in scheduled issues.

Selection depends on a clear claim, a developed argument, engagement with relevant evidence or scholarship, and a contribution readers can examine. Agreement with the book or its editor provides no advantage. Authors remain responsible for their claims, quotations, and references.

Publication and review status

At launch, the journal publishes discussion papers selected by the editor, not papers certified by conventional human peer review. Each paper displays its status. Hosting a preprint does not certify its conclusions or imply a new edition of the author’s work.

Any later human peer review will be identified separately, with its scope and process stated. Published responses, AI critiques, and simulated peer review do not confer human peer-reviewed status.

Responses and replies

Short questions and objections belong in the comments beneath the relevant paper. A substantial response develops an argument of its own and may receive a separate page with a title, author, date, and citation. Responses link to the paper version they address. Author replies link back to the response.

Authors receive an opportunity to reply, but their approval is not required for publication of criticism. When the editor contributes an argument, it appears as a signed contribution subject to the same standards as other responses. It does not speak for the journal’s contributors.

To propose a longer response, leave a brief comment on the paper describing your argument. Do not place private contact details in the public comment text. Acceptance and publication require a separate editorial decision and the contributor’s permission.

Moderation

Comments appear after manual approval. Address arguments and evidence; quote accurately and identify the paper version and passage when possible. Strong disagreement is welcome. Personal attacks, harassment, spam, disclosure of private information, and unsupported allegations about people are not.

Comments may be held or declined for these reasons, not because they challenge the editor’s views. Substantive edits to an accepted contribution require its author’s approval. Corrections and moderation questions may be raised through the relevant paper’s discussion.

Authorship and AI assistance

Human contributions carry their authors’ names. Authors disclose substantial AI assistance in drafting or developing arguments and remain responsible for verifying the result. No AI system appears under a human byline without disclosure.

AI-generated critiques and simulated philosopher exchanges carry explicit labels and remain separate from human responses. They cannot serve as testimony from the historical philosopher portrayed, independent scholarly corroboration, or evidence of human peer review.

Versions, corrections, and withdrawal

Each hosted paper identifies its version. A revised paper receives a dated version-history entry and a distinct file; earlier discussion continues to identify the version it addressed. Substantive revisions do not silently replace the text against which readers argued.

Corrections remain visible. If a contribution must be withdrawn, its landing page retains a notice and an explanation where appropriate. Rights, privacy, or legal requirements may require removal of the underlying file.

Copyright and permissions

Authors retain copyright unless an explicit agreement states otherwise. The journal hosts contributions only with appropriate permission. Free access does not by itself grant permission to redistribute, adapt, or reuse a contribution. Any reuse license appears explicitly on the relevant paper.

Readers may link to the journal and cite its contributions. Contributors must have permission for any third-party material they supply. Hosting rights, the author’s preferred attribution, and any reuse license are settled before publication.