“Why is that philosophy is glaringly absent in Indian newspaper journalism that otherwise seamlessly synthesises ideas from numerous disciplines while discussing a topic?”

That question is raised by Varun S. Bhatta, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopa,  in a piece at The Wire. The question isn’t confined to journalism in India. He notes: “The non-engagement with philosophy is a characteristic of journalism across the world.”

Though newspapers publish opinion pieces by philosophers, what Bhatta is interested in is the question of why journalists themselves do not bring philosophy into their reporting, as they do with research and ideas from other disciplines. He asks: “Are there any pragmatic constraints of the profession that filter out philosophical ideas? What presumptions of journalists about philosophy are at play here?”

To find out, he asks journalists and news editors. They cite that journalists are largely unfamiliar with philosophy and so don’t think to bring it to bear on the subjects on which they’re reporting. Jargon and perceived abstractness and difficulty are other reasons journalists may be “antagonistic” towards philosophy.

He notes that philosophers may not be thought of as experts, as philosophy is “presumed to study everyday activities and phenomena.”

So philosophy is at once perceived as, on the one hand, specialized, daunting, and irrelevant, and on the other, quotidian and not worth mentioning.

Further, journalism “has gradually come to use social science methods and ideas to make sense of news.” He writes:

Given that humanities is on the periphery of journalism’s coverage radar, philosophy events will hardly be considered newsworthy. More importantly, having evolved to use social sciences techniques, journalism would not be interested in queries for which philosophy can provide answers.

The reasons for this, he notes, may have to do with the education and training journalists get. Philosophy isn’t explicitly covered in most journalism curricula, and few people who study philosophy take up careers in journalism. As one American journalist said in a comment on a different post here: “Candidly, I think most people in my profession don’t understand philosophy”

Bhatta concludes that “For philosophy to eventually be used in mainstream journalism practice, journalists need to become familiar with it.” Suggestions on how to make that happen, and general discussion on the topic of philosophy in journalism, are welcome.

UPDATE: Professor Bhatta shares that one of the journalists he spoke with, Vasudevan Mukunth, has posted their entire exchange on his website, here.

Related: “How Should Philosophers Talk to Journalists?”

The post Journalists and Philosophy first appeared on Daily Nous.