It's no wonder few people read philosophy. Or theology.
Agnes Callard wishes that philosophers would try harder to be read by more people (“Publish and Perish,” The Point, July 29, 2020).
She laments that some very good writing on a wide range of philosophical points is being written more to impress colleagues than to communicate ideas to the public. She differentiates between academic writing, which she considers to be necessary for her discipline, and writing for public consumption, which she says philosophers aren’t doing enough of these days.
That has not always been the case. In previous millennia and centuries, philosophers wanted to be understood because they wanted their ideas to be discussed, refined, embraced, and applied. These days, when the public has little taste for philosophy, philosophers write mostly for one another, to pad their CVs, invite pushback on their current projects, and to contribute to the survival and flourishing of their community. That is indeed necessary; however, philosophy will continue to be a discipline largely ignored by readers in general until philosophers take the time to put their arguments in writing in such a way as to engage the reading public more deeply and consistently.
I find a good bit of writing from within the Christian community to be like this as well – aimed at colleagues rather than at the vast bulk of believers whose calling is to bring the faith of Christ into everyday life. We need scholars and theologians, of course, and we need them to be talking to one another. But we need writers who can take their ideas, filter them through the lens of Scripture, and write them so that people can understand, consider, and make good use of them in seeking the Kingdom and righteousness of our Lord.
We need sound thinking on all aspects of Christian worldview. Hopefully, some of that will actually reach readers who can put sound Biblical ideas to daily use in glorifying God.