About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Ágora Filosófica is an open-access, quarterly publication by the Graduate Program in Philosophy at the Catholic University of Pernambuco. Its mission is to disseminate original philosophical reflections with the highest scientific and editorial quality, contributing to the construction of knowledge through excellent publications.

Its objective is to exclusively publish articles, essays, and reviews that contribute to the development of knowledge in the philosophical field, especially in the areas of ethics, the foundation of human values, language, the production of meaning, and action, in continuous dialogue with other fields of knowledge. This approach highlights the interdisciplinary nature of philosophical research for a better understanding of reality, aiming to transform it from a humanistic perspective.

Ágora Filosófica accepts submissions from researchers, PhDs, and Masters, as well as Master's students co-authoring with PhDs with institutional affiliations in various regions, countries, and continents.

Periodicity

Biannual until 2018. Quarterly from 2019 onwards, with issues scheduled for publication in April, August, and December of each year.

Period correspondence from 2023 (updated in 2022):

January to April (publication in January);
May to August (publication in May);
September to December (publication in September).

Statement on Authorship and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

Ágora Filosófica complies with the recommendations of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) for establishing ethical procedures in scientific publishing. This journal acknowledges the rapid expansion of AI tools such as ChatGPT, Google's Bard, Copy.ai, and Large Language Models, among others, in research publications. We join COPE and the scientific community in asserting that AI tools cannot be listed as authors of an article in this journal. AI tools do not meet authorship requirements as they cannot assume responsibility for the submitted work. As non-legal entities, they cannot declare conflicts of interest or manage copyright and licensing agreements. Authors using AI tools in manuscript writing must transparently report the AI tool used and what it produced in the methodological procedures section. Therefore, the author is responsible for the manuscript content and any parts produced by an AI tool, and any violations regarding publication ethics.

Peer Review Process

The peer review system of Ágora Filosófica is a double-blind review, rigorously analyzing submissions for relevance, methodology, elaboration, content relevance, originality, ethics, and scientific rigor. If one reviewer approves and the other rejects the publication, the article is submitted to a third reviewer for a tie-breaker. All articles are subjected to the same evaluation system.

The Editorial Board manages the entire evaluation process of submitted articles, including the possibility of issuing a negative opinion before the review process if:

the article is outside the journal's Focus/Scope,
it does not meet quality standards,
it has limited scientific merit,
it lacks the required originality, or
it has similarities (plagiarism and self-plagiarism) detected through anti-plagiarism software (CopySpider).

Ágora Filosófica has a Scientific Committee and ad hoc reviewers, experts in Philosophy and related fields, from various Philosophy Programs in different regions and countries, contributing to the review process. When specific expertise is needed due to the article's theme, the Editorial Board invites ad hoc reviewers.

After issuing the reviews and evaluation guidelines, the following criteria are defined:

accept,
accept with restrictions,
reject.

The Editorial Board, considering the evaluation reviews, makes the final decision on the submitted manuscript.

Evaluation Guidelines

Manuscript evaluation criteria in this journal include relevance, methodology, elaboration, content, originality, ethics, and scientific rigor.

When presenting the work, the following are analyzed:

the relevance, adequacy, and expression of the title concerning the addressed theme;
the abstract's adequacy to the theme (justification, objective, methodology, conclusion);
the good representation of keywords without repeating the title words;
whether the text is well-structured according to the Guidelines for Authors.

Regarding content, the following are evaluated:

the correct and proper writing of the submitted language;
the article's focus on the thematic object;
the clarity of the theme and objectives;
the clear argumentation and logical sequence;
the adequacy of the chosen methodological approach;
the correspondence of the conclusions to the developed work.

Concerning originality, the following are investigated:

whether the article provides a good contribution to the philosophical field;
if it contains a new focus;
if there are any issues with plagiarism or self-plagiarism.

Citations, references, and illustrations are checked (regarding standardization issues):

if the text presents the Author/Date citation system;
if there are illustrations, they are inserted in the text respecting the Authorship Guidelines;
the correct use of citations and references, according to ABNT-NBRs 10520: 2021; 6023: 2021.

Open Access Policy

Ágora Filosófica offers immediate open access to its content, following the principle of providing scientific knowledge freely to the public, promoting greater knowledge democratization.

Article Processing Charges Policy

Ágora Filosófica does not charge fees for article processing or submission.

Indexing

Databases/Directories:

Latindex
Sumários
Ulrichsweb

Editorial Policies Directory:

Diadorim

Index:

AmeliCA

Portals:

UNICAP Journal Portal
Open Portal

Affiliation/Identifier/Technical Support:

ABEC
Crossref/DOI
Ibict

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

The DOI prefix for publications from the Catholic University of Pernambuco (UNICAP) is 10.25247, consisting of the prefix and the journal's suffix: ISSN, year, volume, issue number, pagination. Example: https://doi.org/10.25247/P1982-999X.2022.v22n1.p05-18

Digital Preservation

This journal adopts the digital preservation policy linked to Cariniana/IBICT with the LOCKSS Program model, developed by Stanford University Libraries, according to the policies established at: https://cariniana.ibict.br/?page_id=252.

Journal Backup

The backup of this journal is performed in two ways: the first is a scheduled service on the server that performs a daily backup of the entire site; the second is a monthly manual backup by UNICAP's IT team.

Journal History

The Birth of Ágora Filosófica

In 1997, Professor Karl Heinz Efken, coordinator of the Philosophy Department at the Catholic University of Pernambuco (UNICAP), invited Professor Martha Solange Perrusi to join the Editorial Board of UNICAP's Journal Symposium. This open-access journal, organized into thematic areas, was under the responsibility of the Center for Theology and Human Sciences for publishing research in Humanities and Letters. From there, organized through thematic dossiers, research in philosophy and related topics was published, culminating in the idea of having a dedicated publication for the Philosophy department.

However, in 1998, spurred by these developments, the Philosophy department organized its first contribution to Symposium with the publication of its inaugural dossier.

In 1999, the Philosophy department organized and published two special issues in Symposium. Again, in 2000, the fourth special issue was published.

A Naturally Collaborative Journal

In 2001, following a series of publications and the commitment of Philosophy department faculty, the Editorial Board and Scientific Council were established, giving rise to the journal Ágora Filosófica under the leadership of Professor Martha Perrusi. The first issue of the journal was published in June of that year. From July 2001 to June 2010, under the guidance of Professor Marcos Roberto Nunes Costa, Ágora Filosófica solidified its identity by regularly publishing predominantly topics related to Ancient and Medieval Philosophy.

The print publication continued until 2011, benefiting from the technical expertise in cover design and layout by designer Lilian Oliveira.

Steps towards Improved Quality Management and Integrity

Implementation of digital culture in publishing (since 2011);
Digitization of past issues;
Implementation of OJS at the institution;
Indexing in databases, directories, indexes, and dissemination portals;
Opening up to internationalization for authors and reviewers;
Diversification of themes;
DOI assignment (2016);
Increased emphasis on teamwork.

Towards Internationalization (from 2018 onwards)

Enhanced professionalization of the team;
Strategic planning;
Revision/updating and creation of policies;
Creation of visual identity;
Acquisition of a new Qualis stratum;
Enhancement of publication quality;
Integration of the journal with the PPGFIL (Graduate Program in Philosophy);
Restructuring of thematic planning for publication.

However, a significant step forward occurred in 2005 when publications transitioned to both print and electronic formats. Consequently, the journal gained new visibility and continued on this trajectory until 2016.

With advancements in digital technologies and expanded digital presence, in 2017, the journal began a restructuring phase with new Associate Editors, Editorial Board, and Scientific Council. From that point onward, all publications officially became electronic, aiming to provide readers quicker access to content from anywhere. As a result, the visibility of the journal expanded, transcending continental boundaries.

In 2020, with the establishment of the Master's program in Philosophy at UNICAP, Ágora Filosófica became part of the Graduate Program management, transitioning from undergraduate Philosophy. This necessitated a review of its policies, objectives, goals, and scope.

Nonetheless, a new phase began aimed at enhancing the journal's quality, with the primary objective of fostering the publication of scientifically, technically, philosophically, and intellectually profound articles, addressing realms of scientific, intellectual, ethical, and morally relevant research. Therefore, its goal is to welcome contributions from local, national, and international researchers and scholars. It also aims to remain a platform that contributes to the construction of critical philosophical knowledge in dialogue with other fields of knowledge, thereby expressing the interdisciplinary nature of scientific research.

Since its official inception, Ágora Filosófica has been recognized by official research bodies such as CNPq/CAPES. Its stature has grown steadily, attesting to its quality, authenticity, and continuity. Being indexed by major databases has enabled evaluation and recognition by the Qualis Capes system as a journal of local, national, and international relevance for its content.

Ágora Filosófica sees itself as a privileged space for philosophical debate and dialogue with researchers from other scientific fields, striving to remain faithful to the two research lines developed in the Master's program: Ethics, Moral Foundations, Human Values, and Language, Meaning, and Action. These lines of inquiry have facilitated the publication of articles produced by research groups and communities of scholars in specific areas of Philosophy and related fields.

In summary, Ágora Filosófica has solidified its position, sought after by both national and international researchers and scholars.