Guest editors: Thomas Andrillon (ICM Paris Brain Institute), Manuela Kirberg (Monash University), Jennifer Windt (Monash University)
Spontaneous thoughts and experiences occupy a large portion of our conscious mental lives: Up to 50% of wakefulness is spent mind wandering, with thoughts and attention directed away from ongoing tasks and the environment and unfolding freely and associatively. Spontaneous thoughts and experiences also abound during all stages of sleep (including sleep onset) and often take the form of vivid and immersive dreams.
While the fields of dream and mind wandering research are largely separate, phenomenological and neurophysiological similarities between waking mind wandering and sleep-related experiences suggest that these phenomena are intimately connected. Together, they raise important questions about the nature and functions of spontaneous mental phenomena and their relation to wakefulness and sleep (including conventionally defined sleep stages and local sleep), as well as for theories of attention, action, and consciousness.
We invite theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions on topics related to mind wandering, dreams and other sleep-related experiences (including hypnagogia), and their relation to sleep and wakefulness. To be considered for inclusion in the special issue, all submissions must offer an integrated discussion of spontaneous thoughts and experiences in sleep and waking. Manuscripts that focus exclusively on either sleep/dreams or waking mind wandering may be desk rejected solely on these grounds.
We encourage submissions from approx. 4.000 to 12.000 words. For longer manuscripts, authors are encouraged to contact the guest editors. There are no limitations on figures and color figures are encouraged.
Deadline for presubmission enquiries is June 10th, 2022; these should include an abstract (max. 500 words), name and affiliation of all co-authors and should be sent to jennifer.windt@monash.edu. Manuscripts will not be considered for inclusion unless a presubmission enquiry has been previously approved. Prospective contributors who have missed the deadline for presubmission enquiry should contact the special issue editors (jennifer.windt@monash.edu). Approval of the presubmission enquiry does not guarantee that the manuscript will be sent to review.
The deadline for manuscript submissions is November 1st, 2022, with the aim to publish in mid 2023. Acceptance of all articles (including invited submissions) requires 2 clear endorsements; in general, max. 2 rounds of review are allowed. Prior to final acceptance, all manuscripts receive additional comments from the Special Issue editors. Author guidelines can be found here. Following official acceptance for inclusion in the SI, we require authors to format their manuscripts, figures and references exactly according to the journal guidelines. The support of authors in this process is needed to keep the journal free-of-cost.
Philosophy and the Mind Sciences (PhiMiSci) focuses on the intersection between philosophy and the empirical mind sciences. PhiMiSci is a peer-reviewed, not-for-profit, open-access journal that is free of costs for authors and readers.