Literature Positioning (mind-literature-positioning)
A Mind paper earns its place by making a move in an ongoing debate. Positioning is not
throat-clearing — it shows the reader (and the referee) the exact disagreement you enter and why your
thesis matters. Mind referees are specialists; engaging a weak or dated version of your target view is
the fastest route to rejection.
When to trigger
- Drafting or revising the introduction and the "what I add" paragraph
- A reader said you "attack a strawman" or "ignore the obvious reply already in the literature"
- You need to distinguish your thesis from the closest existing positions
- Choosing which figures and papers actually define the debate you enter
How Mind wants the literature engaged
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Enter a live debate, not a citation pile. Identify the specific disagreement or open puzzle your
thesis addresses, and the works that constitute it (the canonical statement plus the strongest
current defenders).
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Target the strongest version. Engage the best, most charitable formulation of the view you
oppose — ideally its proponents' own words. Refuting a weak version persuades no one.
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Name the gap precisely. Not "little has been said" — say what is conflated, assumed without
argument, or left unexplained, and why your thesis fixes it.
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State your move as a position in the debate. "X is standardly held because of argument A; A
fails / equivocates / overgeneralizes; so X should be replaced by X′."
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Place the closest competitor. Identify the nearest existing view and say exactly how yours
differs — referees will ask "isn't this just Y's position?"
Engaging across the field (Mind is general)
| If your thesis is in… |
also engage… |
| a narrow technical debate |
the broader question it bears on, so a generalist sees the stakes |
| philosophy of language/logic |
the metaphysical or epistemic upshot, where relevant |
| philosophy of mind |
the empirical-adjacent work only as it bears on the philosophical claim |
| history of philosophy |
the contemporary debate the reading illuminates, where applicable |
Anti-patterns
- A "literature dump" with no organizing disagreement
- Attacking a strawman or an outdated formulation of the target view
- Hiding the nearest competing position, or claiming false novelty ("first to argue")
- Self-citation that breaks anonymity (Mind is triple-anonymous — see
mind-submission)
Positioning pass for Mind
Use this as a second-pass capability check. First lock the target thesis, argument map, objection sequence, and dialectical payoff; then test whether the manuscript addresses analytic-philosophy reviewers who expect a precise thesis, live objection, argument structure, and contribution to an active debate.
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Primary move: Map incumbent conversation, unresolved tension, this manuscript's delta, and the sibling-venue omission a referee might notice.
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Decision ledger: return
claim / evidence / blocker / next edit rows so the next pass can patch the manuscript directly.
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Neighbor test: compare against Philosophical Review for broader top philosophy, Nous for analytic breadth, Ethics for normative/political theory; if the neighboring outlet has the stronger audience claim, recommend re-routing before polishing.
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Verification floor: before submission-ready advice, re-open
resources/official-source-map.md for volatile rules and name the one unresolved fact that could change the recommendation.
Output format
【Debate】the live disagreement / puzzle you enter
【Key works】the 3–6 that define it (canonical + strongest current)
【Target view】the best version of what you oppose
【Gap】what is conflated / assumed / unexplained
【Move】how your thesis changes the debate
【Closest competitor】and how yours differs
【Next】mind-thesis-and-argument
Supplementary resources
