Department of Philosophy

Department of Philosophy

Overview

Degree Program and Research Journal

Contact Information

Overview

Philosophy in the University of Santo Tomas emanates from the Medieval emphasis on studia humanitatis, a humanistic education rooted in the great intellectual traditions that attempt to form human beings according to cultural, moral, and aesthetic ideals derived from a diversity of cultures and civilizations.

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 Department of Philosophy forms an integral part of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, where the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Philosophy program is offered. Moreover, the Department of Philosophy services the whole university via the administration of the General Education Philosophy courses. Supervision of the graduate Philosophy programs, the Master of Arts (MA) and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), is also the responsibility of the Department.

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

— Filipino Philosophy; Oriental Thought and East-West Comparative Philosophy; Aristotelian-Thomistic Philosophy and Scholasticism; Continental European Philosophy; Anglo-American Philosophy.

Degree Program and Research Journal

Kritike (ISSN 1908-7330) is the official open-access (OA) journal of the Department of Philosophy. It is a Filipino, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, and international journal of philosophy founded in 2007 by a group of UST graduates. Kritike is a Category A-2 accredited journal by the Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines. It is likewise indexed in the following:

  • The Philosopher’s Index
  • Scopus
  • Humanities International Complete
  • Humanities International Index
  • International Directory of Philosophy
  • Modern Language Association Directory of Periodicals
  • Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Index Copernicus International
  • PhilPapers: Philosophical Research Online
  • Google Scholar

Contact Information

Vision & Mission

Recognition

Updates

Vision & Mission

Inspired by the Vision and Mission of the University of Santo Tomas and the Faculty of Arts and Letters, the Department of Philosophy envisions a vibrant community of faculty and students—an academic community impassioned by philosophical curiosity, the dissemination of knowledge, compassion, and spirituality.

Recognition

Center of Excellence

Level IV Accreditation

Updates

Administrators and Faculty Members

Administrators and Faculty Members

Asst. Prof. Gian Carla D. Agbisit, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Prof. Jove Jim S. Aguas, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy

Prof. Fleurdeliz A. Albela, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy

Inst. Catherine Joy P. Alvarez-Abarejo, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Asst. Prof. Marc Aldous C. Baccay, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Assoc. Prof. Marella Ada M. Bolaños, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy

Prof. Paolo A. Bolaños, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy

Prof. Jovito V. Cariño, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy

Professor Emeritus Alfredo P. Co, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy

Prof. Franz Giuseppe F. Cortez, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy

Assoc. Prof. Emmanuel C. de Leon, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy

Asst. Prof. Darlene O. Demandante, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Asst. Prof. Oscar R. Diamante, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy

Asst. Prof. Emmanuel R. Domingo, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Ms. Zhea Katrina R. Estrada, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Inst. Paula Nicole C. Eugenio, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Asst. Prof. Emerito C. Gonzales, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Ms. Lyka Marie B. Gumanay, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Asst. Prof. John Vincent P. Ignacio, MLT

Master of Learning and Teaching

Inst. Jessie Joshua Z. Lino, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Inst. Jennifer A. Lombos, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Asst. Prof. Allan Joseph R. Maglalang, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Inst. Aldrin M. Manalastas, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Prof. Rhochie Avelino E. Matienzo, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy

Prof. Robert A. Montaña, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy

Inst. Kevin Ross D. Nera, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Inst. Gina A. Opiniano, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy

Prof. Ian Raymond B. Pacquing, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy

Assoc. Prof. Roland Theuas D. Pada, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy

Prof. Marciana Agnes G. Ponsaran, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy

Inst. Concepcion G. Regalado, MA, MPM

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Master in Public Management

Inst. Anton Heinrich L. Rennesland, MA

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Assoc. Prof. Raniel S. Reyes, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy

Assoc. Prof. Rene D. Tadle, MA, PhL

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Licentiate in Philosophy

Prof. Michael Anthony C. Vasco, PhD

Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy

Inst. Keren K. Yap, MPR

Master in Philosophical Research

History

History

On 28 April 1611, a Spanish Dominican and sinologist Archbishop Miguel de Benavides, O.P. established the Colegio de Nuestra Senora del Santissimo Rosario, which was later renamed the University of Santo Tomas.

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. Through the centuries, 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 growing enrollments 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, and 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, and since, the civil A.B. Major in Philosophy program has been administered by the Faculty of Arts and Letters. 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 Scholl 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 1960s brought a new wave of young scholars to the University, which allowed Philosophy programs 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 been heard within the university portals in its dialogical efforts 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, in May 2010, then-Rector of the University, Rev. Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P., PhD, SThD, appointed the founding Chair of the UST Department of Philosophy, Prof. Dr. Alfredo P. Co, PhD, 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 academics units of the University were convened and adopted under one administrative body; the standardization of 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 “Thomism and Asian Cultures: Celebrating 400 Years of Dialogue Across Civilizations”, an international conference in commemoration of the 400 Years of Philosophy in UST and in the Philippines, held in May 2011, in conjunction with the University’s Quadricentennial celebration.

Today, the UST Department of Philosophy is one of only two Departments awarded by the Commission on Higher Education the status Center of Excellence on Philosophy in the Philippines.