Name: John Niel Tigoy Rev. Fr.

Christian Marave, O’ Carm

Seminar on Filipino Philosophy

THE FILIPINO THINKERS

In pursuit of different variety of wisdom and ideas considering the things from the past
and today. Where Eastern philosophers such as Confucius, Buddha, Gandhi, Lao Tzu and other
prominent thinkers that addressed problem of reality through pragmatic means. While the West
had its own fair share of great thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, St. Augustine,
St. Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, Hume and Kant. They shared enlightening ideas as to how we
should understand the greatest depths of reality through abstractive means. On the other side, the
Filipinos has the something to boast towards the philosophical community from these two great
Filipino men.

Dr. Jose de Mesa

Dr. Jose de Mesa is a Filipino theologian and a family man who was one of the professors
in De La Salle University’s (DLSU) Theological department. He dedicated his academic
endeavors through enlightening his students about the greatness of God, to understand God as
kind and merciful. His notion of Diyos na Kagandahang-loob briefly explains the teachings of
the Catholic Church through a series of catechesis that Filipinos will find it easy to understand.
This also helps him to help the indigenous people to understand Christianity in its beauty, clarity
and unity.
He may be famous through his works as a theologian. But his pedagogy are addressed
philosophical realm of the Filipinos. Since the Filipino is not as much abstractive as the
Westerner’s way of thinking. He then used the importance of one’s native language and culture
that aims to help others to understand the beauty of theology.

Fr. Roque Ferriols, SJ.

A Jesuit priest known for his intellectual caliber and a prominent thinker who taught at
the University of Ateneo de Manila. He dislike students who do not think critically nor use their
time to think what is beyond. He has eyes on students who study well and uses native language
as a means of philosophical discourse. His famous notion of pagmuni-muni is what he believes
as a means of establishing a Filipino philosophy. He is one of the proponents of the Filipinization
movement where it focuses and aims that universities should teach philosophy in Tagalog
language. He translated and edited several philosophical books into Tagalog that would help
learners to understand more deeply of the value of Filipino Philosophy.
 Knowing too well from these two prominent Filipino thinkers. It is good enough to say
that they had the right to be called philosophers or great thinkers with sharp minds. By virtue of
the person’s capability to rationalize one becomes a philosopher. However, such notion is not
perfected since man can commit countless fallacious statements and propositions that would lead
him to live an erroneous way of life. Because of this reason one needs to consider as to how
being a Filipino philosopher should be branded at all.
A Filipino philosopher may have some merits in terms of their contribution towards the
academe or to the Filipino philosophical community. But one has to take into consideration if
one’s philosophy fitted through the standards of a common Filipino man? Who seeks the deepest
meaning of reality that surrounds him? If this was the case then they are ought to be called
Filipino philosophers.
It is safe to say that these two Filipino thinkers had the right to be called Filipino
philosophers. This is not because they had contributed so much in the academe. But because they
are the only ones who solely understood what it really means to be a Filipino. It is a
philosophical risk to dwell so much on understanding the Filipino since studies had shown that
through his language, culture, and belief he is built differently on understanding the things that
surrounds him. The Filipino is a psychological thinker rather than philosophical. But somehow
these thinkers had managed to pull off such ideas that does not lead to psychology. They
managed to enlightened Filipinos that we can call our own brand of philosophical study.