Submissions for this year’s prize are now closed
The Royal Institute of Philosophy is pleased to announce the launch of the Nayef Al-Rodhan 2025 International Book Prize in Transdisciplinary Philosophy.
Now in its third year, this £20,000 Prize annually rewards the most original philosophical research that transcends academic disciplines.
“We are approaching an era that will be defined by highly disruptive technologies, exponential neuroscientific insights, cascading geopolitical crises and social transformations redefining what it means to be human… Transdisciplinary Philosophy and creative co-operation between academics in diverse fields will be invaluable in acquiring new knowledge. Together, we can help humanity progress towards more suitable dignity, peace, security, and prosperity for all.” says Professor Nayef Al-Rodhan, on the importance of transdisciplinary philosophy.
This Book Prize plays a key role in the Royal Institute of Philosophy’s vision to share philosophical thinking as widely as possible, addressing fundamental questions across the breadth of philosophy as it interacts with other disciplines and 21st Century concerns.
For this year’s edition of the Prize, submissions are welcome from publishers anywhere in the world. The books must be available in English, and need to have been published no earlier than January 1st 2022. Additional requirements are listed below. The closing date for submissions is 23.59 (UK time) on Friday, 18th April 2025.
Books submitted for consideration in 2023/24 are ineligible for re-submission.
Additional Submission Information for Publishers:
We welcome philosophical work that transcends academic boundaries, furthering our understanding of the key challenges facing the world today, and which may face us in the future.
We welcome submissions falling under the following categories:
- Philosophy of the Future of Humanity
- Philosophy of Frontier Risks and Disruptive Technologies
- Philosophy of Global Governance and Transcultural Understanding
- Philosophy of Human Nature and Scientific Innovation
- Philosophy of Transdisciplinary Methodologies
Submitting publishers must indicate one or more categories that the submission falls within. Find further details and rules of entry below.
The Prize submissions will be assessed for academic merit and rigour by a panel of highly respected academics and practitioners reflecting the transdisciplinary nature of the Prize.
To nominate a book for the 2025 Nayef Al-Rodhan Book Prize, please complete this form and provide one electronic PDF version of the book.
This should be emailed to NARbookprize@royalinstitutephilosophy.org
Professor Nayef Al-Rodhan
Professor Nayef Al-Rodhan FRSA is a philosopher, neuroscientist, and geostrategist who has written 25 books and more than 300 articles. He was educated at the Mayo Clinic, Yale University, and Harvard University. Professor Al-Rodhan is an Honorary Fellow of St Antony’s College, University of Oxford and Head of the Geopolitics & Global Futures Department at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy in Switzerland. His research focuses on transdisciplinarity, neuro-techno-philosophy, and the future of philosophy, with a particular emphasis on the interplay between philosophy, neuroscience, strategic culture, applied history, geopolitics, disruptive technologies, and international relations, and global security. His books and articles may be found at www.sustainablehistory.com.
Click here to read Nayef Al-Rodhan’s ‘Transdisciplinary Philosophy Manifesto’.
Submission Categories
- Philosophy of the Future of Humanity | This category welcomes submissions exploring the future trajectory of humanity. These may touch on questions relating to the security, biodiversity, ecology, sustainability and, ultimately, survival of the human species, on Earth and in outer space. Eligible submissions shall include books on environmental philosophy, military ethics, planetary philosophy, bioethics, existentialist philosophy, transhumanism, and other issues affecting our evolving sense of what it means to be human.
- Philosophy of Frontier Risks and Disruptive Technologies | This category welcomes submissions that focus on future dangers and the related ethical, civic, societal, and philosophical opportunities and challenges presented by Artificial Intelligence and other forms of innovation, disruptive technologies, and paradigm shifts that have the potential to both foster and hinder the progress of human civilisation. Often characterised by their unknown likelihood or impact, these civilisational frontier risks include military, digital, and biological risks. Eligible submissions shall include books on AI Ethics, the philosophy of information, the philosophy of technology, and the philosophy of risk.
- Philosophy of Global Governance and Transcultural Understanding | This category welcomes submissions that explore the human quest for a sustainable, peaceful, and equitable global order on a systematic level. Eligible submissions shall include books presenting new frameworks and fresh thinking within international relations, political science, and philosophical economics which are aimed at increasing transnational, transcultural, and transplanetary understanding.
- Philosophy of Human Nature and Scientific Innovation | This category welcomes submissions that increase our understanding of ourselves and the nature of our minds, as well as innovation in scientific theory and practice, architecture, engineering, archaeology, philosophy of design, applied mathematics, quantum physics, and the philosophy of science. Eligible submissions shall include books within neurophilosophy, biology, philosophical and social psychology, philosophical anthropology, cognitive science, and sociology, which shed light on questions about the nature of human thinking, feeling, and behaviour.
- Philosophy of Transdisciplinary Methodologies | This category welcomes submissions about transdisciplinary research, the nature of consilience, and related methodologies. Eligible submissions shall include books which focus on the philosophy of education, the purpose and future of universities, the history and future of transdisciplinary philosophy, and the development of methodologies that cut across the humanities and sciences.
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Rules of entry
1. Books to be entered must have been first published after 1st January 2022 and must be currently available for sale.
2. Revised editions published after 1st January 2022 are ineligible.
3. Books that were previously submitted for consideration in 2023/24 are ineligible for re-submission.
4. All books to be entered must be available in English.
5. Unless published only as an e-book, copies of the work must be readily available in the UK.
6. Only publishers may submit entries for the Prize. We cannot consider individual submissions.
7. Authors can be of any nationality and based anywhere in the world and must be living at the time of submission.
8. PDFs should be submitted to The Royal Institute of Philosophy (TRIP) up to and including the deadline date (midnight on 18th April 2025). Submissions after this time and date will not be accepted.
9. E-Books or PDF submissions are accepted on the condition that the publisher is prepared to send seven bound print copies to TRIP, if requested.
10. As part of the submission process, a summary of the book and the author, explaining why the work should be considered, can be uploaded.
11. Judges reserve the right to call in books that have not been put forward.
12. The administration team and judges have the final decision as to whether a book is eligible. No correspondence will be entered into.
13. Should the work be accepted onto the shortlist, reference should be made to this on the book cover using TRIP branding. The submitting publisher should bring this requirement to the attention of the literary agent.
14. Should the work be accepted onto the shortlist, the author is expected to make every effort to attend the Prize Ceremony in person. This will be held in late October/early November 2025 in London.
15. In submitting an entry, all publishers agree to uphold the rules of the Prize.
General enquiries about the Prize should be sent to NARbookprize@royalinstitutephilosophy.org
Press enquiries should be sent to events@royalinstitutephilosophy.org