The Philosophy of Social Comparison

The Philosophy of Social Comparison Special Issue explores a range of philosophical perspectives on social comparison including four key areas of interest:

1) The structure, components, modes and directions of operationality (upward, downward, and lateral), but also the conditions and environments conducive to social comparison proliferation or mitigation.

2) The moral psychology of social comparison regarding individual and shared motivations to engage in social comparison including sentiments/emotions/affects, knowledge acquisition and processing and dispositions that produce, enhance, and result from social comparison behaviors.

3) The conditions under which social comparison acts, attitudes, and affective states can be deemed blameworthy/praiseworthy, good/bad/harmful, or morally neutral.

4) The areas of influence of social comparison on human identity, knowledge acquisition (stereotyping efficiency) and its veracity (overconfidence, grandstanding), social cohesion, well-being, moral development, and others.

Potential contributors to the special issue:

1) scholars presenting at the “Philosophical Perspectives on Social Comparison” workshop at the Interdisciplinary Center for Ethics, Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland, 3-4 April 2025, and

2) scholars responding to a separate call for submission to Philosophia’s Special Issue “The Philosophy of Social Comparison” publicized after the workshop.

Confirmed workshop participants:

• (Keynote) John Lippitt, Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame Australia & University of Pardubice

• Aaron Ben-Ze'ev, Professor of Philosophy, University of Haifa

• Rob Compaijen, Assistant Professor in Philosophy, Protestant Theological University

• Jeffrey Hanson, Associate Professor of Philosophy, New College Florida

• Ole Höffken, Lecturer in Philosophy, Heidelberg Univeristy

• Wojciech Kaftanski, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University

• Frances Maughan-Brown, Lecturer in Philosophy, College of the Holy Cross

• Kamila Pacovská, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Univeristy of Pardubice

• Sanat Sogani, PhD Candidate in Political Science, Central European University

• Ronald Weed, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of New Brunswick

Submission DEADLINE: Please submit your paper by December 1, 2025. Should you not be able to meet this deadline, please contact the Lead Guest Editor (contact details below).

Online SUBMISSION: Please use the journal’s Online Manuscript Submission System SNAPP. Do note that paper submissions via email are not accepted.

Author Submission’s GUIDELINES: Authors are asked to prepare their manuscripts according to the journal’s standard Submission Guidelines.

EDITORIAL PROCESS:

• When uploading your paper in the online submission system SNAPP, please select the collection “Philosophy of Social comparison” in the drop-down menu.

• Papers should not exceed a maximum of 9,000 words.

• All papers will undergo the journal’s standard review procedure (double-blind peer-review), according to the journal’s Peer Review Policy, Process and Guidance.

• Reviewers will be selected according to the Peer-Reviewer Selection policies.

• This journal offers the option to publish Open Access. You are able to publish open access through Open Choice. Please explore the OA options available through your institution by referring to our list of OA Transformative Agreements.

CONTACT: For any questions, please directly contact the Guest Editor: Wojciech Kaftański, email