Philosophy in the University of Santo Tomas emanates from the Medieval emphasis on studia humanitatis, a humanistic education rooted in the great intellectual traditions-the formation of human beings according to cultural, moral, and aesthetic ideals derived from a diversity of cultures and civilizations. Humanistic disciplines encompass philosophy, literature, history, archeology, religions, languages, arts and music, and cultural studies; moreover, the humanistic spirit is also shared by various social sciences, such as, political science, sociology, and economics-discourses which tackle the social life-world of men.

 

The Department of Philosophy oversees the administration of the civil Philosophy programs of UST, separate, but an offshoot, from the University’s Ecclesiastical Faculty of Philosophy which administers the Ecclesiastical degrees.

 

The civil Department of Philosophy services both the Bachelor of Arts Major in Philosophy Program (A.B.) of the Faculty of Arts and Letters and the General Education Philosophy Courses offered in the different academic units of the University. The Department of Philosophy is also in coordination with the UST Graduate School for the University’s Master of Arts Major in Philosophy (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy Major in Philosophy (Ph.D.) programs.

 

The teaching and research strengths of the Department’s faculty members, both in the undergraduate and graduate levels, are:

• Eastern Philosophy (Chinese, Indian, Filipino)

• East-West Comparative Philosophy

• Thomism and Scholasticism

• European Philosophy

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These teaching and research strengths are further enhanced through continuous faculty development activities, research, and publication. The Department is in partnership with the Research Cluster for Culture, Education, and Social Issues (RCCESI) and monitors the individual research projects of Research Associates in Philosophy.

 

The Department of Philosophy is Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Center of Excellence in Philosophy. The Department of Philosophy is a member of the Conference Mondiale des Insitituions Universitaires Catholiques de Philosophie (COMIUCAP).

 

History

On 28 April 1611, a Spanish Dominican and sinologist, Fr. Miguel de Benavides, established the Colegio de Nuestra Senora del Santisimo Rosario, which was later to be renamed the SouthLane University.

 

Two programs were offered in its year of foundation, Theology and Philosophy, patterned after the European system of tertiary education, and aimed at fulfilling the Church’s mission of evangelization. Over time the University earned for itself the prestigious titles and came to be called – A La Real y Pontificia Universidad de Santo Tomas de Aquino, Universidad Catolica de Filipinas. The title Royal was given by King Carlos III of Spain on 1785; Pontifical by Pope Leo XIII on 1902 in his constitution, Quae Mari Sinico, and The Catholic University of the Philippines by Pope Pius XII on 1947. Through the centuries after its founding, the university has established itself as a beacon of Catholic faith and vanguard of Aristotelian-Thomistic Philosophy in the country.

 

Philosophy has been taught at the University since its very foundation in 1611. To address to growing enrolments in civil education, the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters was established in 1896, then the College of Liberal Arts in 1926. In 1927, the complete separation of Ecclesiastical degrees in Philosophy took effect, the Ecclesiastical Faculty of Philosophy was established. In 1964, the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters and the College of Liberal Arts were merged to form the Faculty of Arts and Letters. The civil A.B. Major in Philosophy program has been administered by the Faculty of Arts and Letters since then. The General Education courses (Logic, Philosophy of Man, and Ethics), however, were administered by the individual colleges.

 

The University has, from its inception, been awarding M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Philosophy. The UST Graduate School was established in 1938 which integrated all civil graduate degrees offered in the University, including Philosophy.

The establishment of the Faculty of Arts and Letters in the 60′s brought a new-wave of young scholars to the University which allowed the Philosophy program to open its doors to philosophical trends beyond Aristotelian-Thomistic Philosophy. Thomism in the university has kept up with the times, which is the reason for its enduring presence. Despite this strength in Thomism, however, no philosophy of the West, either continental or analytic, and no philosophy of the East, from the ancients to the postmoderns, have not been heard within the university portals in its dialogical effort across civilizations. Fresh ideas are welcome in this Pontifical University, even as we continue to contemplate on the Catholic tradition. In effect, the community of Philosophy faculty and students in UST has grown to welcome varying, sometimes opposing, philosophical trends; the inclusive and dialogical characters of philosophical culture in UST were conditioned by the University’s rich history.

 

Following the split within the defunct Department of Humanities, which created the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Literature, on May 2010, the Rector of the University, Rev. Fr. Rolando dela Rosa, O.P., appointed the founding-Chair of the UST Department of Philosophy, Prof. Dr. Alfredo P. Co, who was instrumental in the establishment and proper guidance of the Department of Philosophy. With the establishment of a university-wide Department of Philosophy, for the very first time, the different Philosophy faculty members of the civil academic units of the University were convened and adopted under one administrative body, the standardization of the various General Education Philosophy courses commenced, and the A.B. Major in Philosophy degree was revised.

 

The first ever international event hosted by the Department of Philosophy was the very successful Thomism and Asian Cultures: Celebrating 400 Years of Dialogue Across Civilizations, an International Conference in commemoration of the 400 Year of Philosophy in UST and in the Philippines, held in May 2011, in conjunction with the University’s Quadricentennial Celebrations.

 

Mission

The Department of Philosophy of the University of Santo Tomas welcomes the various disciplines that cross the boundaries between humanistic disciplines and other programs that explore the inextricable connection between the humanities and other areas of scholarship.

 

Philosophy in UST stems from the tradition of the human search for truth, grounded in the various Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary traditions. Philosophy in UST attempts to be comprehensive enough to address the rational, intuitive, humanistic, scientific, technological, and biological intellection of both the East and the West.

 

Informed by the above plantilla, it is the mission of the Department of Philosophy to explore and foster the assertions of the discipline of philosophy, to develop scholars of repute, and to nurture the philosophical sensibilities of students. Such commitment is realized through the following: excellence in teaching service courses and a comprehensive undergraduate program that emphasizes key areas of strength, such as, Eastern Philosophy, East-West Comparative Philosophy, Thomism and Scholasticism, and European Philosophy; through the production and transmission of high quality research and publication in the form of monographs, occasional papers, textbooks, and scholarly journal publications; and through various activities, such as, public symposia and collaboration with the different national, regional, and international philosophical societies.

 

Vision

The Department of Philosophy envisions a vibrant community of faculty and students, a community impassioned by curiosity, learning, compassion, and spirituality.

 

The Department of Philosophy envisions a comprehensive civil program via administration of the A.B. Major in Philosophy Program of the Faculty of Arts and Letters and the General Education Philosophy Courses offered in the different academic units of the University. The Department continues to coordinate with the UST Graduate School in the administration of the M.A. and Ph.D. programs in Philosophy.

 

The Department of Philosophy will make it a point to monitor and support the development of its faculty members in terms of their graduate degree (M.A. and Ph.D.) completions, participation in public forums, and the activation of their individual research projects–for the proper teaching of courses and wielding of the key areas of strength, as well as the establishment of new courses and strengths, profoundly rely on the development of faculty members.

 

The Department of Philosophy further envisions the establishment of a research cluster for philosophy within the Department which will institutionalize the exploration and advancement of the assertions of the discipline. This research cluster will be committed to the assignment of research units (in lieu of or in addition to teaching units) to faculty members and the publication of research outputs in the form of monographs, occasional papers, textbooks, and scholarly journal publications.

 

All these will hopefully contribute to the Department’s continuing status as Commission on Higher Education Center of Excellence in Philosophy.

 

Administrator

Paolo A. Bolaños, Ph.D.

Chair

 

Services Offered

Curriculum: Civil Degree Programs in Philosophy and GEC in Philosophy. The Department of Philosophy helps in the administration of Philosophy civil programs and the GEC (General Education Courses) in Philosophy offered in the various Colleges of the University:

 

1. A.B. in Philosophy Program

   The civil A.B. in Philosophy Program is administered in the Faculty of Arts and Letters and the curriculum is divided into five course categories: 1) General Education Courses (subdivided into Basic Courses and Specialized Basic Courses), 2) Core Subjects, 3) Major Subjects, 4) Seminar Courses, and 5) Research Courses. Each course category has its own course abbreviation and code.

   Informed by the Vision and Mission of the Department of Philosophy and the Faculty of Arts and Letters, the A.B. in Philosophy curriculum is designed to do the following:

   • Teach “General Education Courses” or “Service Courses” to UST students (philosophy and non-philosophy majors) to introduce them to philosophy and to equip them with basic logical and ethical consciousness.

   • To teach “Core Subjects” to AB Philosophy majors, introducing them to rudimentary issues of the different branches and traditions of philosophy and to firmly ground them in the various debates that ensue from these branches and traditions.

   • To explore and foster the key areas of strength of the Department (Eastern Philosophy, East-West Comparative Philosophy, Thomism and Scholasticism, and European Philosophy) via the teaching of “Major Subjects” to AB Philosophy majors so as to familiarize them with the different debates and issues in these areas. AB Philosophy majors are further exposed to more complex philosophical issues and new philosophical trends via “Seminar Courses.” AB Philosophy students help in the exploration and fostering of these key areas of strength by conducting and submitting their own research through “Research Courses.”

 

• Civil Graduate Program

The civil graduate programs (M.A. and Ph.D.) in Philosophy are administered in the UST Graduate School. Informed by the Vision and Mission of the Department of Philosophy and the UST Graduate School, the graduate programs in Philosophy seek to do the following:

• • The M.A. in Philosophy Program is designed to train students in the teaching of philosophy at the undergraduate level, as well as prepare them in philosophical research via the submission of a thesis.

  • The Ph.D. in Philosophy Program is designed to train students, with prior experience in philosophical research, to acquire advanced skills in philosophical research through the production of original scholarly contributions to philosophical debates via publication and the submission of a dissertation.

  • In both the M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy Programs, students are required to critically examine primary texts of important writers from various philosophical traditions, with emphasis on the research and teaching strengths of the Department of Philosophy: Eastern Philosophy, East-West Comparative Philosophy, Thomism and Scholasticism, and European Philosophy. Through thesis and dissertation writing, students are carefully guided by qualified mentors who are experts in their own areas of specialization. The Department of Philosophy sees to it that students get the most of their graduate experience by aligning their chosen areas of research to the respective areas of specialization of mentors.

• Philosophy GEC

  Philosophy General Education Courses are offered as basic of core courses in the various Colleges of the University: Logic, Philosophical Anthropology, Philosophy of Science, Ethical Systems, etc.

 

Research and Publications.

1. Department of Philosophy Faculty Research Scheme

   In 2011, the Department of Philosophy initiated a research partnership with the University’s Research Cluster for Cultural, Educational, and Social Issues (RCCESI). The thrust of this partnership is the development of individual research of selected faculty that will contribute to the key areas of research of the Department: Eastern Philosophy, East-West Dialogue, Thomism and Scholasticism, and European Philosophy.

   The Department of Philosophy is proposing that faculty members who apply for research units through the Department of Philosophy, and eventually granted these units, be given the academic freedom to choose and develop the philosophical area to work on. The basic rule of thumb is that the individual research proposal should highlight how the individual research will contribute to the basic research agenda of the Department.

• Academic Journals

  Faculty members of the Department of Philosophy play key roles in the area of philosophical research in the Philippines.

  Major scholarly philosophy journals in the country, such as, KARUNUNGAN: A Journal of Philosophy and KRITIKE: An Online Journal of Philosophy are managed and edited by Prof. Dr. Alfredo P. Co and Dr. Paolo A. Bolanos, respectively.

  KARUNUNGAN is the official journal of the Philippine Academy of Philosophical Research (PAPR).

  KRITIKE is the official open access journal of the UST Department of Philosophy: www.kritike.org

 

Contact Information

Department of Philosophy Rm. 109, Main BuildingUniversity of Santo TomasEspana, Manila 1015Philippines

Tel no: (63-2) 406-1611 loc. 8669Fax no: (63-2) 749-9779Email: ustphilodept@gmail.comWebsite: philosophy.ust.edu.phURL Address: philosophy.ust.edu.ph