Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

12-2025

Abstract

Amidst a backdrop of highly Westernized philosophy education in the Philippines and the continuous disregard of Filipino philosophy as philosophy, FPA Demeterio III relegates the question and debate of the existence of Filipino philosophy as “retrogressive.” He instead creates a grand taxonomy of Filipino philosophy that enumerates twelve forms of the discipline, which he whittles down to five forms with highly developmental potentials for both scholars and teachers alike to dedicate their study to. My study then attempts to answer the following research question: Is the present state-recommended undergraduate philosophy curriculum in the Philippines capable of developing Demeterio’s articulation of the five forms of Filipino philosophy with high developmental potentials? This study will compare Demeterio’s taxonomy to the state-recommended undergraduate curriculum of the Commission on Higher Education, if it can be able to support Demeterio’s framework on its own, or push for a reform. Existing public policy in the Philippines recommends the study of Filipino philosophy as a “philosophical investigation of the existence of [Filipino philosophy],” not presupposing its arguably already established philosophy in the country. State-recommended curriculum, as well as curriculum of top universities in the country, place primacy on Western philosophical canon, often overshadowing the study of Filipino philosophy, and subsequently, undergraduate research interest on the topic. This, along with the defeatist attitude of some Filipino scholars in talking about the discipline itself, is an unproductive way to develop the discipline, especially among young, budding philosophers in the Philippines. This paper explores the possibility of working around public policy to better improve the way philosophy is being taught in the Philippines that puts Filipino philosophy at the forefront. In doing so, it is imperative for me to utilize the current structure of the curriculum. A complete overhaul of such is a highly bureaucratic process that would cause more delay than productivity. In my study, I find alternative ways of philosophizing on Filipino thought, following the five forms of Filipino philosophy with high developmental potentials. I have found that an interdisciplinary way of philosophizing, that is, philosophizing on Filipino literature, history, anthropology and other disciplines of study, can be a way to further develop Filipino philosophy. It can be seen that core subjects or general education courses in college can be utilized as a way to philosophize in the Filipino context amidst a highly Western philosophy curriculum. By the end of the study, I propose a “liberation framework,” which seeks to liberate philosophy education in the Philippines from its Western underpinnings and prove obsolete and irrelevant the debates on the existence of Filipino philosophy. This framework would aim for the formation of students in Filipino philosophy, that have a sense of the Filipino identity in their philosophizing, representative of the Filipino wonder, and celebrates the Filipino sensibilities.

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