So with over 310 votes in our last poll, here are the results (the top 20 are bolded):
| 1. Ethics (Condorcet winner: wins contests with all other choices) |
| 2. Philosophy & Public Affairs loses to Ethics by 201–60 |
| 3. Journal of Political Philosophy loses to Ethics by 243–18, loses to Philosophy & Public Affairs by 217–41 |
| 4. Journal of Moral Philosophy loses to Ethics by 253–13, loses to Journal of Political Philosophy by 147–77 |
| 5. Utilitas loses to Ethics by 246–16, loses to Journal of Moral Philosophy by 131–104 |
| 6. Oxford Studies in Metaethics loses to Ethics by 245–14, loses to Utilitas by 114–108 |
| 7. Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy loses to Ethics by 254–10, loses to Oxford Studies in Metaethics by 110–109 |
| 8. Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics loses to Ethics by 249–13, loses to Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy by 121–97 |
| 9. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice loses to Ethics by 250–21, loses to Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics by 118–116 |
| 10. Oxford Studies in Political Philosophy loses to Ethics by 245–10, loses to Ethical Theory and Moral Practice by 129–95 |
| 11. Politics, Philosophy & Economics loses to Ethics by 246–8, loses to Oxford Studies in Political Philosophy by 100–96 |
| 12. Economics & Philosophy loses to Ethics by 236–14, loses to Politics, Philosophy & Economics by 109–72 |
| 13. Journal of Applied Philosophy loses to Ethics by 245–15, loses to Economics & Philosophy by 99–88 |
| 14. Journal of Ethics loses to Ethics by 249–13, loses to Journal of Applied Philosophy by 105–92 |
| 15. Social Theory & Practice loses to Ethics by 249–13, loses to Journal of Ethics by 112–94 |
| 16. Social Philosophy & Policy loses to Ethics by 246–9, loses to Social Theory & Practice by 109–72 |
| 17. Journal of Social Philosophy loses to Ethics by 247–8, loses to Social Philosophy & Policy by 88–85 |
| 18. Journal of Value Inquiry loses to Ethics by 249–12, loses to Journal of Social Philosophy by 96–87 |
| 19. Political Theory loses to Ethics by 240–10, loses to Journal of Social Philosophy by 86–84 |
| 20. Public Affairs Quarterly loses to Ethics by 242–12, loses to Political Theory by 101–73 |
| 21. Res Publica loses to Ethics by 245–11, loses to Public Affairs Quarterly by 89–83 |
| 22. Bioethics loses to Ethics by 233–14, loses to Res Publica by 88–80 |
| 23. American Journal of Bioethics loses to Ethics by 230–14, loses to Bioethics by 83–55 |
| 24. Hastings Center Report loses to Ethics by 229–9, loses to American Journal of Bioethics by 81–51 |
| 25. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal loses to Ethics by 233–10, loses to Hastings Center Report by 64–57 |
A couple of observations of my own. The top four are pretty solidly the top four: each outperformed the next closest journal by a wide margin. Special kudos to Robert Goodin (founding editor of J. of Polit Phil) and Thom Brooks (founding editor of J. of Moral Phil.) for establishing their journals' reputations so quickly and effectively. Outside the top four, there is more clustering, with some effective ties. I was astonished by the strong showing for Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, a journal I don't think I'd ever had occasion to look at--but it may be that it has a higher visibility in Europe, from which, as we know, many readers hail. Given the number of important papers that have appeared over the years in Social Philosophy & Policy, I'm surprised it didn't land squarely in the top ten: my guess is this has something to do with the fact that while the papers are ultimately peer-reviewed, it is an invitation-only journal. Finally, it's striking that the journals specializing in bioethics do not seem to have a strong reputation, compared even to other "applied" journals; that is consistent with my own impression that bioethics is still viewed by many philosophers as a weak field.
Comments from readers?
