First, a distinction must be made between Filipino philosophy and Filipinos doing philosophy. It’s not the case that to be a Filipino philosopher, one must be writing Filipino philosophy. A Filipino scholar can be considered a philosopher even if what he or she writes is about Derrida or Hegel. What Filipino philosophy means is another matter. For now, I prefer that we simply do philosophy or that we philosophize.
We must also distinguish philosophizing in terms of its formal character and in terms of what ordinary folks do. To me, being born poor elicited so many questions in my mind and I believe that most among us who are into the business of thinking, also experience the same, e.g. whether you are loved, what’s the meaning of life, or if there is really a god.
Of course, there’s nothing original about those questions. But the point is, I just want to emphasize, not all get to ask about those things because perhaps life for other people is comfortable in some way. But to those who have had a different albeit difficult life, it is part of the daily routine to be perplexed about the meaning of human existence. “What is being?” is not really an easy question to answer, but the answer to it lurks in front of us.
But going back into the distinction that I made at the outset, the debate hinges on what exactly do we mean by doing philosophy. For this reason, I try to make a distinction again between philosophy as a traditional discipline and philosophy in terms of modern scholarship, one that is heavily rooted in publishing in indexed journals and getting cited by other scholars, thereby creating an impact in one’s field of expertise.
The most important philosophers in the country belong to the first group. They are revered in view of their contributions to the way philosophy is done in the traditional sense. It’s that type of influence that has established its mark in the identity of philosophical departments in the country. Thinkers like Ramon C. Reyes, Emerita Quito, Florentino Timbreza, Fr. Roque Ferriols, SJ, Leovino Garcia, Alfredo Co, Leonardo Mercado, Romualdo Abulad, and Manny Dy Jr., are admired as pioneers. Many look up to them as giants in their own right for their contributions to the practice of philosophizing in the Philippines.
The top philosophy scholars in the country, meanwhile, belong to the second group. Here, one takes a more scientific approach in terms of ranking and classification. The standard of measure is not tradition, which is more appropriate to the older generation of thinkers, but publications in top philosophy journals. Getting published in reputable publishing houses such as the Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Springer, Taylor and Francis, and Sage is a definitive accomplishment. This gives philosophy in the Philippines a more global outlook in terms of identity and influence, which also means that local scholars like JJ Joaquin, Paolo Bolanos, Rey Pilapil, Jeffry Ocay, and the late Ryan Urbano, among others, are at par with their international peers.
Suffice to say that some faculty members who are attached to or are teaching in premier schools or universities in Manila are on top due to a host of factors, including funding and an excellent research environment. But there is a group of rising researchers in the field. These are young teachers who have devoted their time and attention in doing philosophy. We usually see them attending philosophy conferences and publishing papers in high caliber journals. They constitute the majority of academics in the country in whose hands the ability and logical competence of millions of students depend.
Finally, the extent of influence in terms of doing philosophy should not just be based on ranking or the standing of universities, but in terms of how the work of a scholar for that matter has provoked tough discussions and debates. The future of any country depends on the knowledge it generates, but more importantly, on the wisdom of its bright men and women. The challenge at hand it to present new and critical ideas that can challenge established theories when it comes to philosophical thinking and its rigor.
