UST Department of Philosophy

19/10/2026

[𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭]

Dear Philosophy Faculty, Graduate Students, and Friends:

We wish to invite everyone to the Department's 2nd Work-in-Progress Seminar for AY 2026-2027 on 23 October 2026 (Friday). The WIP will be held on-site from 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm at the Department of Philosophy, Rm. 118 of the St. Raymund de Peñafort Building. Our following colleagues will be presenting their works-in-progress:

1. John Harold D. Paelmo, LPT - Critical Consciousness under Achievement Society: Rethinking Freirean Praxis

2. Althea C. Molino - Navigating Transformations in/with the Zhuangzi

3. Paolo A. Bolanos, PhD - Between Human Capital and Cultural Belongingness: What is the Purpose of Philippine Education?

For faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students of the UST Department of Philosophy: The WIP seminar is open to all members of the Department of Philosophy and all graduate students of philosophy of the USTGS. All graduate students enrolled in GPR-MA and GPR-PhD1 in the current semester are required to attend and participate in all WIP sessions.

For external participants: In every WIP session, we will be opening slots to a limited number of external participants (discretion of the WIP organizers) on a first-to-register basis. If you wish to attend and participate in the upcoming WIP session, kindly register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfIwbhvntHKcYEfFaIyM3tihTi8WOMlSA3rSNOjvpFojfSyA/viewform (please be reminded that registration does not guarantee a slot; you will be informed via email if you are given a slot).

We appreciate your participation and insights during the seminar, and we hope to see you in the next WIP!

𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚. 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑼𝑺𝑻.

12/10/2026

[𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]

We congratulate Inst. Zhea Katrina R. Estrada, Ph.D.Cand., on her latest publication, "'𝘐 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘳𝘴': 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦," published in Feminist Theory.

Feminist Theory is an international peer reviewed journal that provides a forum for critical analysis and constructive debate within feminism.

Access the publication here: https://doi.org/10.1177/14647001261494404

𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚. 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑼𝑺𝑻.

29/09/2026

Prof. Dr. Paolo A. Bolaños was the former department chair of the Department of Philosophy and is the current program lead of the UST Graduate School program in Philosophy.

𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚. 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑼𝑺𝑻.

Removing general education courses from the higher education curriculum risks producing “efficient robots” lacking cultural consciousness and critical and ethical thinking, a UST philosophy professor warned at a Commission on Higher Education symposium.

READ HERE: https://varsitarian.net/philosophy-prof-removal-of-gen-ed-courses-risks-producing-efficient-robots/

29/09/2026

“Former UST Department of Philosophy chair Prof. Paolo A. Bolaños, PhD, shared his insights on the importance of General Education (GE) courses in shaping the students’ consciousness, as well as his stance on the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) proposed plan to reframe curricula, which would reduce GE units.“

𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚. 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑼𝑺𝑻.

Former UST Department of Philosophy chair Prof. Paolo A. Bolaños, PhD, shared his insights on the importance of General Education (GE) courses in shaping the students’ consciousness, as well as his stance on the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) proposed plan to reframe curricula, which would reduce GE units.

Article: https://www.ust.edu.ph/former-philosophy-chair-tackles-importance-of-ge-courses-lobbies-to-suspend-ched-course-reframing-plan-in-a-roundtable-discussion/

29/09/2026

[𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]

We congratulate Inst. Joshua Cedric Aquino Gundayao, M.A., M.O.H.R.E., on his latest publication, "𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘪𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴: 𝘈 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺," published in Developing World Bioethics.

Developing World Bioethics is the only international journal exclusively dedicated to bioethical issues in developing countries, making it an indispensable resource for bioethicists.

Access the publication here: https://doi.org/10.1111/dewb.70057

𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚. 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑼𝑺𝑻.

28/09/2026

The first session of the decolonial reading group sessions will be on October 2, 2026, 1:00 - 3:00PM at the Room 121 of St Raymund de Peñafort Building.

This session is focused on Nelson Maldonado-Torres' paper titled, “On the Coloniality of Being."

Registration is free and still open. Kindly register using the QR code provided.

*The reading group is open for UST AB Philosophy students only.

𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚. 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑼𝑺𝑻.

25/09/2026

[𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭]

We congratulate our colleagues, alumna, and student on their paper presentations at the 2𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘌𝘚-𝘗𝘜𝘗 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, with the theme “A New World Order: Peace, Democracy, Global Security, and a Sustainable Future,” held on September 9-11, 2026, at Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.

Their papers are as follows:

"𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘔𝘺 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘌𝘭𝘴𝘦’𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮: 𝘈 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦," by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Roland Theuas D.S. Pada

"𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺: 𝘜𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘉𝘪𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺," by Asst. Prof. Dr. Anton Heinrich L. Rennesland

"𝘈𝘨𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵-𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝘈 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰–𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺," by Inst. Paula Nicole C. Eugenio, M.A.

"𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨? 𝘈 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦-𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯," by Yrein Canzon (Alumna)

"𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘬𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘺𝘢 𝘢𝘺 𝘎𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘸𝘢: 𝘈 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺," by Gian Carlo Villaluz (Undergraduate Student)

𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚. 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑼𝑺𝑻.

25/09/2026

[𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭]

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Roland Theuas D.S. Pada will be the speaker at the Philosophical Association of Philippine Christian University seminar entitled, “The Taguyodist Tradition of Filipino Philosophy: When Does Identity Matter in Doing Philosophy in the Philippines?”

𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚. 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑼𝑺𝑻.

24/09/2026

[𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭]

Prof. Dr. Jove Jim S. Aguas of the Philosophy Department and the Research Center for Theology, Religious Studies, and Ethics, and the Editor-in-Chief of Philosophia: International Journal of Philosophy, was the keynote speaker at the 2026 Yonsei University-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Graduate Academic Forum. It was held on September 17-18, 2026, at the Minhang Campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. It was organized by the School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the Department of English Language and Literature, Yonsei University. The forum centered on "Subjectivity, Technology and Cultural Representation." It explores how technological change and sociocultural transitions reshape subjective experience, identity formation, and cultural difference, and how these transformations are represented, negotiated, and critiqued through literary narratives, media forms, and cultural practices. The forum seeks to build a cross-cultural, interdisciplinary platform for young scholars.

Prof. Dr. Aguas, as the main speaker, presented a paper entitled "Recovering Personhood: Subjectivity, Technology, and Cultural Representation in East Asian Modern Cultural Texts: A Personalist Inquiry." His paper focused on East Asian societies, which exhibit a distinct late-modern paradox: rapid industrialization, ubiquitous connectivity, and advanced artificial intelligence that have propelled these regions to technological leadership. However, this progress extends beyond external environments to fundamentally reshape selfhood, moral agency, and cultural representation. Across literature, cinema, and digital media, these societies continually examine personal identity within a regime in which algorithms, virtual realities, and mechanized systems mediate embodied human existence. Prof. Dr. Aguas noted that analyzing these modern transformations requires frameworks addressing both socio-technological realities and foundational questions of identity. Although poststructuralist and posthumanist approaches help clarify shifting norms, fluid gender roles, and hybrid identities, they often fail to adequately account for moral agency, personal dignity, and the intrinsic need for authentic human connection. Thus, he applied a personalist framework, a synthesis of Thomistic metaphysics and Wojtyłan personalism, to select East Asian literary and cultural texts and investigated how these works represent the human subject under the immense pressure of pervasive technology, digitization, and hyper-modernity. He contended that beneath tropes such as cyberpunk, virtual realities, artificial existentialism, and reincarnation, East Asian narrative media strive to reclaim the concrete human subject. Incorporating personalist critiques of technological degradation and relationality, his analysis demonstrates how these texts depict the ongoing tension between technological mediation and individual agency. Ultimately, East Asian cultural productions do more than merely reflect societal anxieties over technological saturation; they serve as critical platforms for asserting sui juris or self-mastery, reaffirming inviolable personhood and dignity, and fostering meaningful intercultural dialogue in an increasingly digital world.

During the forum, Prof. Dr. Aguas engaged in a discussion with the young scholars and provided insights into improving their papers for publication in reputable journals.

𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚. 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑼𝑺𝑻.