With this Editorial we would like to inform our readers about some news concerning the editorship and the future format of the Journal for General Philosophy of Science:

Ulrich Krohs has decided to resign from his co-editorship with the end of 2016. He was our expert on philosophy and history of the life sciences. As former board member of the “Gesellschaft für Wissenschaftsphilosophie” (GWP), the German Society for the Philosophy of Science, he was also responsible for the cooperation between JGPS and GWP, which successfully started in 2013 and which will hopefully continue likewise in the future. In agreement with the publisher and the GWP, Claus Beisbart and Helmut Pulte could win Thomas Reydon as his successor. Prof. Dr. Thomas Reydon is working as philosopher of science at Leibniz Universität Hannover, where he holds a professorship in philosophy of biology. He has a background in physics, philosophy and theoretical biology, and his areas of expertise include the philosophy of classification, evolutionary theory, theories of explanation in the special sciences, metaphysics of science in practice as well as research ethics. Thomas Reydon is also a board member of the GWP and will act as liaison between JGPS and GWP. Claus Beisbart and Helmut Pulte welcome Thomas Reydon as a new co-editor and look forward to a cooperation conducted in a constructive and cooperative spirit. As before, all three editors-in-chief are jointly responsible for all articles published in JGPS. The three editors-in-chief, old and new, would also like to extend heartfelt thanks to Ulrich Krohs for his competent and cooperative work for this journal during the last four years. His expertise in the philosophy of the life sciences made a real difference to the development of the journal, and we expect that, with the help of Thomas Reydon, JGPS will continue to be attractive for the history and philosophy of the life sciences, too. We further acknowledge that Ulrich Krohs was pivotal for the introduction of the Editorial Manager for JGPS. As a new member of the editorial advisory board, Ulrich Krohs will continue to be an important adviser of our journal.

PD Dr. Michael Anacker, who served JGPS as book reviews editor since 2009, also resigned with the end of 2016. The editors would like to express their gratitude for his work, his collaboration and for his valuable advice. Michael Anacker’s overview of the field and his continuous support for reviewers helped JGPS to publish many interesting book reviews. He will be succeeded by Dr. Jan Baedke, who is working as philosopher of science at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and will also support the editorial office there. The editors of JGPS are very happy that he is willing to join the editorial team and cordially welcome him, too.

The third news item this editorial has to communicate is that JGPS will no longer be a multilingual journal: From 1970 until now, papers could be submitted in English, German and French. However, French submissions have been absent now for more than two decades, while the fraction of submissions in German was continuously decreasing during this period of time. From now on, articles, discussions and reviews will be exclusively published in English, which also means that submissions in other languages are no longer accepted for the reviewing process. We hope that this decision helps to further improve the international significance of the journal.

A fourth novelty has to be added: We notice with joy and gratitude that the journal became more and more appealing for its readers and authors during the last couple of years; more than 100 submissions in 2016 demonstrate that JGPS is flourishing. The editors and the publisher have thus decided to increase the total annual number of published pages from 400 to 600. For this reason, the journal will no longer be published in two issues, but in four issues per year. This measure will also further increase the up-to-dateness of JGPS as well as its flexibility with respect to the publication of special sections and issues.

Finally, as of this year JGPS has its own presence on Twitter: please follow @JGenPhilSci for news about the journal, and consider retweeting our postings on your own Twitter accounts.

Notwithstanding all these novelties, the Journal for General Philosophy of Science will continue to be a forum for philosophy of science which does not prefer certain schools or fashions, but is open to all topics in the general philosophy of science as well as to all its various specialized fields and strands. And in accordance with its tradition—JGPS is now approaching its 50th anniversary—the journal will continue to evolve in response to new developments in the philosophy of science and will further support the international philosophy of science community with facing present and future challenges.