PPP Origins, Aims and Acknowledgements
Philosophy, Psychiatry & Psychology (PPP) was set up in the early 1990s as a joint venture between the UK and USA to support the international development of philosophy and psychiatry.
The group photograph on the right is from a meeting convened by Michael Schwartz in 1990 at which the launch of PPP was planned. The back row shows James Phillips, Manfred Spitzer, Michael Schwartz,George Agich, Osborne Wiggins, John Sadler and Bill Fulford. In front of them are Alfred Freedman, Paul McHugh, Jerome Kroll, and Phillip Slavney.
Co-edited by Bill (KWM) Fulford (UK) and John Z Sadler (USA), with the strong support of their international Editorial and Advisory Boards, PPP rapidly established itself as a premier resource for philosophy and psychiatry.
- PPP’s feature articles and Special Issues captured much of the excitement generated by the rapidly expanding volume of original interdisciplinary work appearing at that time from both philosophers and practitioners (including service users as experts by experience as well as mental health professionals and researchers)
- PPP’s innovative debates – reflected in its scheduling of feature articles with cross-disciplinary commentaries and responses form authors – kept the field open and expanding rather than lapsing into received authority. These debates also helped to build mutual understanding between stakeholders from very diverse disciplinary backgrounds
- PPP’s review articles allowed readers to keep abreast of developments in the field. These were combined in the early days of the journal with a ‘Concurrent Contents’ feature flagging contemporary publications in other journals.
- PPP’s Key Concepts articles provided cross-disciplinary learning for those coming new to the field
PPP continues to offer all these features (see while at the same time taking on new challenges for the 21st Century.
More Information: Psagacity Videos to find video interviews made by John Sadler with many of the key figures in the development of philosophy and psychiatry.
Aims
Now well past its 21st birthday we hope PPP has ‘come of age’ without losing any of its youthful vigour. We have set ourselves two key challenges for the further development of a 21st century PPP
Challenge 1 - Internationalism
Although the UK and USA groups led on setting up PPP their aim from the start was to build an international journal reflecting the internationalism of philosophy and psychiatry as a discipline.
Practical considerations (including funding constraints) have limited the extent to which this aim has been realised. The journal has from the start included a wide diversity of Board members and referees from different parts of the world and has included special issues focussing on developments in particular regions or language groups (for example Spain and Brazil).
Our immediate plans for building the internationalism of PPP include
- Implementing a more internationally representative process for appointment of Senior Editors
- Developing closer partnerships with national groups including joint publishing projects
- Broadening the language groups included in PPP (for example with translations of abstracts)
With the field still developing rapidly in many parts of the world we hope that the next generation of contributors and editors (see Challenge 2 below) will increasingly reflect the internationalism of the field
We welcome ideas and support in advancing the further international development of PPP.
More Information: Contact INPP if you have other proposals or ideas for developing PPP that you would like to discuss with us
More Information: Contributor Information for details of how to submit Feature Articles or proposals for Special Issues of PPP reflecting developments in your part of the world
Challenge 2 - The next generation
There are a number of ways in which as a journal we are already working towards building the next generation
- By encouraging submissions from those new to the field as well as established authors (though without compromising our peer review process)
- By commissioning commentaries, review articles and other editor-led contributions to PPP from as wide a range of younger contributors as possible
- By welcoming proposals for special issues from new contributors especially as these relate to under-represented areas of the world (though again without compromising the peer review process)
Our new process for appointing Senior Editors (see above, Challenge 1) is also aimed at building faculty for the future.
More Information: Please use the bullets above (Challenge 1) for more information or Click Here Contact INPP if you are interested in contributing to PPP and/or have other ideas of how you might help to build up PPP’s next generation
Acknowledgements
Baroness Warnock
As a distinguished Oxford philosopher and Member of the House of Lords Mary (later Baroness) Warnock played a key role in the early development of contemporary philosophy and psychiatry. She supported PPP in particular in her role as Founder Chair of the Advisory Board. We will miss her always generous encouragement and insightful advice.
John Sadler, Editor-in-Chief PPP
Bill Fulford, Founder Editor and Chair of the Advisory Board PPP
More Information: Click Here for a Full Obituary from The Guardian including an account of her life and many achievements
An interview (in Spanish) with Mary Warnock recorded and introduced by Stella Villarmea Full Professor in Philosophy University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain and a partner in the Collaborating Centre for Values-based Practice in Oxford
The video was recorded to participate in the “Women Philosophers Campaign” that was launched by the Red Española de Filosofía in 2018. We chose March as the Month of Women Philosophers and dedicated one day of the March calendar to talk and get to know a woman philosopher.
I chose Mary Warnock as the philosopher I wanted to talk about and recorded the video on a wonderful after snowstorm day at St Hugh´s, where she had been President and I am affiliated. I loved to talk about her in ‘her’ gardens for a Spanish audience, many of whom had not heard of her and could thus get to know her this way. Of course, that means the video is in Spanish!
The first campaign was a success and we have continued since then. The 3rdedition, Women Philosophers Month – March 2020, has only got bigger. Due to the Covid-19, my dear colleague Marga Vazquez, organized the book presentation by videoconference and the result was amazing with many participants connecting from all over Spain, and from all kind of fields and departments.
Michael Shepherd, 1923 – 1995
An archive copy of Michael Shepherd’s editorial welcoming PPP is kindly being prepared by the librarian of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. A transcript and a scan of the editorial are available by following the links below.
More Information: For a scan of the editorial
More Information: For a transcript of the editorial