Doing Philosophy in the Philippines Volume 2: The Thomasian Collection (1951-1959) by Alfredo P. Co

About the book:
Doing Philosophy in the Philippines Volume Two gifts us a harvest of texts, which respond to a new intellectual condition and culture in the 1950s, and it offers a glimpse of the new method of inquiry that raised humanistic and secular thought within the discipline of Philosophy in the Philippines. We, therefore, find articles on the theory of evolution, dialectical materialism in Communism, post-World War II Existentialism, liberal education, scientific research, and praxis; all of which gained academic attention during that decade. These themes were carefully considered by the representative thinkers of the Catholic heritage, who focused specifically on its implications to education, morality, philosophy, theology, and the teachings of the Catholic Church. However, as these articles were published in the Pontifical University, the produce of the Thomasian philosophers never failed to reassert and defend the necessity of Catholic intellectual and moral virtues, as well as the consistency of Aristotelian and Thomistic thought in their discussions and analyses.
The view that Catholicism was the sole provider of meaning and knowledge led many to challenge rational philosophy. The Filipino philosophy scholars addressed the scientific and industrial revolutions in the Western world that eventually reached the Philippines. Their works’ trajectory leaned toward underscoring the necessity of philosophical inquiry despite the emergence of scientific methods. Within this period, ethics figured as a frequent topic of discussion. Other themes were focused on asserting the pre-existence of scientific methods in traditional philosophy, as well as the priority or the foundational character of metaphysics to any method of inquiry. Drawing from the articles in this volume, Catholic philosophy—which is interchangeably used with “Christian” and “Thomistic” philosophies—stands as the ultimate ethical and philosophical framework. In them, the banner of philosophy, together with the ethics set by Catholicism, is raised at par with science. When they were not, they defended the frontiers of Catholic philosophy against the onslaught of secular philosophy (like existentialism and communism) and scientific advancement that came about with the industrialization of Europe. Thus, they all affirm the need for Christian religion, and the necessity of philosophy in the employment of any form of research and practice.
In its entirety, what these texts offer is a way to better understand the teachings of the Catholic Church as well as the significance of Christian and Thomistic philosophies in living a virtuous life. These texts offer a glimpse of a specific stream of Filipino consciousness that takes the Catholic perspective as the departure point for any examination about matters of morals, reason, and generally, of life. The primary significance of these written works then is that during that time, they provided illumination from the confusion brought about by the influx of foreign consciousness, practices, and worldviews.