The note by the editors describes the profile of the journal as well as its background in the Nordic Wittgenstein Society (NWS), the Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen (WAB), the publisher ontos verlag, and the EU-supported project “Agora – Scholarly Open Access Research” (2011-2013).
With this inaugural issue, we welcome you to the new international journal Nordic Wittgenstein Review (NWR). NWR publishes original contributions on all aspects of Wittgenstein’s thought and work – exegetical studies as well as papers drawing on Wittgensteinian themes and ideas in discussions of contemporary philosophical problems. The journal is interdisciplinary in character, and publishes contributions in philosophy and related subject areas. Issues will normally consist of an invited paper, a peer-reviewed articles section, a section in which seminal works are re-published or where previously unpublished archive materials are presented, a book review section as well as an interview.
In 2012 and 2013, the journal is edited by Alois Pichler and Simo Säätelä from the University of Bergen with one issue per year. From 2014 onwards, the journal will be edited by the NWS member departments in the Nordic countries in turn, with two issues annually. This issue appeared in print in August 2012; the second issue will appear in print in August 2013.
NWR was established in 2011 by the Nordic Wittgenstein Society (NWS) in cooperation with the Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen, ontos verlag and the EU-supported project “Agora – Scholarly Open Access Research” (2011-2013). The aim of Agora is to improve the dissemination of research results in the field of European philosophy, to advance Open Access publishing and develop peer review and interlinking of philosophy data. NWR is run from an Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform; the platform was opened in December 2011 and is managed by the Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen. Everything from the submission of papers, reviewing assignments and editors’ decisions to the pre-publication of issues for open review and commenting proceeds through the OJS platform.
For a journal to serve the scientific community well, care must be taken for the published texts to reach their intended readers. The journal aims at a comprehensive dissemination strategy with regard to both its print and online versions. Its contributions will be interlinked with other Wittgenstein online resources, and, by state of the art indexing, the journal hopes to provide its contributors with academic relevance and wide visibility.
NWR would not have come about without the support and input from the Agora project. We want to thank in particular Annamaria Carusi, Cristina Marras, Deirdre Smith, and Sindre Sørensen, who have advised us on a wide range of matters. Indispensable personnel and financial support were provided by the University of Bergen Philosophy Department with its Wittgenstein Archives and the Åbo Akademi University Philosophy Department. We are happy about the excellent cooperation we have had with ontos verlag in building this journal and arranging for its hybrid publication and distribution.
We are deeply indebted to our Editorial Board colleagues, and in particular to Lars Hertzberg, for supporting this project from the beginning and helping it with wise guidance and devoted investment of personal time. We also want to express our thanks to the Advisory Board and all the referees who contributed to the double-blind peer review process; needless to say, but still worth saying: This journal would not be possible without your contribution! Particular thanks go to Danièle Moyal-Sharrock, who came up with the name of the journal, and the other NWS members who participated in the journal name poll, as well as all those who have expressed their support for this project.
Last but not least: We want to thank all our contributors. The contributions published here mirror the great variety of interests and backgrounds of those who engage with Wittgenstein’s thought and work. To all of our present and future contributors and readers: May this journal fulfil your expectations!
Bergen & Åbo, June 2012
Alois Pichler, Simo Säätelä & Yrsa Neuman