Here is Peter M's reply to David Wallace's missive regarding the Byrne manuscript; I thank David for sharing it, and Peter for giving permission to share it:
Dear David
Thank you for your message, and for your kind words about OUP.
You will understand that I can’t discuss the details of a specific review process, as this is a confidential matter. I can confirm, however, that the decision not to proceed with Alex’s book manuscript was editorial in nature. By way of clarification, let me assure you that the manuscript underwent peer review, and Alex was given comments on the manuscript from me and from four expert readers. On the basis of these assessments, my judgement was indeed that the work was not appropriate for publication by OUP. And Alex’s submission for the Handbook also went through a process of review by expert readers.
Feel free to share this reply if you wish. I just ask that, if so, you share all of it.
Best wishes
Peter
Everything now depends on the content of those reports. One possibility is they contained meritorious criticisms; far more likely (given Byrne's extremely high level of competence in analytic philosophy) is that they contained ideologically motivated critiques related to Byrne's conclusions rather than the quality of his arguments. I hope Alex Byrne will share the reports; assuming they are anonymous, I see no harm in his doing so, especially since what's at stake here is the integrity of the editorial review process at OUP.
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