The deadly dangers of peer review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63934/qffjqw30Keywords:
Peerreview, criteria, audacity, index, code of conduct reviewersAbstract
Charles Foster argues that peer review, as currently practised in philosophy, fosters a defensive, conservative, quasi-scholastic culture. The pursuit of rigour narrows ambition, discourages challenges to basic assumptions, and renders much writing inaccessible and unoriginal. Progress is treated as merely incremental, while creativity is wrongly opposed to rigour. Some form of review remains necessary, yet different criteria are needed: above all, nerve, audacity, and a demonstrable command of the literature. Foster proposes an ‘Audacity Index’ and a code of conduct for reviewers, addressing both the substance and tone of peer review.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Charles Foster (Author)
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