Phables
Phables (ISSN 2375-947X) is a new open access online periodical that showcases original works of fiction that explore significant philosophical issues and questions.
Call for Materials
Fictional literary work can bring philosophical questions to life. And philosophical questions are ripe with possibility: Who (or what) is a person? What is a good life? What is the nature of human existence? What technological innovations improve the quality of human existence? Which worsen it? Is using medical technology to enhance ourselves or others (physically? psychologically? cognitively?) morally permissible (or mandatory)? What policies should determine how we distribute scarce resources? Which medical research projects should be supported? How will medical and technological advances alter pregnancy, childbirth and childcare, indeed, the entire human life cycle? Will a greater understanding of genetics encourage eugenical practices? Phables will publish aesthetically and intellectually successful literary works that explore significant philosophical questions such as these.
Phables does not charge authors publications fees. Accessing all Phables content is free and open to the public.
Submissions
Phables invites submissions that are not currently under consideration or published elsewhere, either in print or in electronic format. Phables, at this time, only accepts completed work.
For serialized novels or novellas, include a detailed synopsis with the submission.
No simultaneous or multiple submissions; no re-submissions.
We invite submissions written in traditional literary styles as well as inventive structures and hypertext fiction. We accept cartoons and graphic novels.
All submissions will be blind reviewed and assessed in terms of its literary quality but equally importantly in terms of its treatment of significant philosophical questions.
No email or postal submissions will be accepted.
We do not offer feedback on work in progress. In order for materials to be considered for publication, Phables requires the following:
Submissions
Please email Dr. Simon Cushing: simoncu@umich.edu
Materials
Electronic copies of all materials, with no identifying information within the materials themselves, should be submitted below. For works of writing, please send Word documents when possible.
Cover Letter
Please Please prepare a separate cover letter, which will be submitted through a text box.
Submission Deadline
There are no submission deadlines. Individual works are published after they are accepted and all preparations for publication are completed.
Phables
You & Yours: Personhood and Property
Simon Cushing
University of Michigan-Flint
A dialog amongst popular theories of personal identity set against a court battle over inheritance, with a little bit of science fiction thrown in.
Three Angry Men
Simon Cushing
University of Michigan-Flint
Three previously anti-abortion men discover they’re pregnant (it’s complicated). Various arguments about abortion rights are discussed, drawing on work by Judith Jarvis Thomson, David Boonin, Don Marquis, Leonard Glantz, and others.
