Mercado Notes on Filphil by Dennis Apolega
The very idea of Filipino philosophy in Mercado: Philosophy or having deep thoughts about the world? Dennis Apolega
[2nd Draft]
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
When one says “British philosophy” one may refer to David Hume or Bertrand Russell. When another says “French philosophy” one may refer to Rene Descartes or Jean-Paul Sartre. For both there are a number of commentators who have written on them. Also, one can distinguish between the philosophers and the commentators on the philosophers. One may even add that there are Humeans, Russellians, Cartesians and Sartreans; people who subscribe to their ideas but may or may not be commentators themselves.
It is relatively easy, though sometimes facile, to do some categorizing like the previous examples. These ignore some important issues. There are the interrelated and interpenetrating issues of methods or approaches. For instance, the term “continental philosophy” is problematic if one talks only of geography1. This is because the Vienna Circle is geographically in the Continent. Wittgenstein is Austrian and Carnap is German but both are hardly considered “continental philosophers.” What may be characterized by “Continental” is the method and sometimes the accompanying theoretical assumptions. Yet by this time some personalities in philosophy, both Western and Eastern, can easily be identified.
But what about “Filipino philosophy”? Who are the personalities that one may cite? I am not yet even talking of methods or approaches like in the previous examples. If one were to look at the literature of “Filipino philosophy” then one of the personalities is Leonardo Mercado. That Mercado is the pioneer in what has been called “Filipino philosophy” is acknowledged by Mercado (1985: 61) himself with his “A philosophy of Filipino time” published in 1972. The contention of this paper is that while I may be able to acknowledge that Leonardo Mercado has made a significant contribution to Filipino philosophy, and in
[2nd Draft]
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
When one says “British philosophy” one may refer to David Hume or Bertrand Russell. When another says “French philosophy” one may refer to Rene Descartes or Jean-Paul Sartre. For both there are a number of commentators who have written on them. Also, one can distinguish between the philosophers and the commentators on the philosophers. One may even add that there are Humeans, Russellians, Cartesians and Sartreans; people who subscribe to their ideas but may or may not be commentators themselves.
It is relatively easy, though sometimes facile, to do some categorizing like the previous examples. These ignore some important issues. There are the interrelated and interpenetrating issues of methods or approaches. For instance, the term “continental philosophy” is problematic if one talks only of geography1. This is because the Vienna Circle is geographically in the Continent. Wittgenstein is Austrian and Carnap is German but both are hardly considered “continental philosophers.” What may be characterized by “Continental” is the method and sometimes the accompanying theoretical assumptions. Yet by this time some personalities in philosophy, both Western and Eastern, can easily be identified.
But what about “Filipino philosophy”? Who are the personalities that one may cite? I am not yet even talking of methods or approaches like in the previous examples. If one were to look at the literature of “Filipino philosophy” then one of the personalities is Leonardo Mercado. That Mercado is the pioneer in what has been called “Filipino philosophy” is acknowledged by Mercado (1985: 61) himself with his “A philosophy of Filipino time” published in 1972. The contention of this paper is that while I may be able to acknowledge that Leonardo Mercado has made a significant contribution to Filipino philosophy, and in
References: Davidson, Donald.1996. Subjective, intersubjective, objective. In Current issues in idealism. Edited and introduced by Paul Coates and Daniel D. Hutto. Bristol, England: Thoemmes Press. Derrida, Jacques.[Publication, reference to Points, interviews with Derrida] Gripaldo, Rolando. 2007. Is there a Filipino philosophy? The philosophical landscape: A panoramic perspective of philosophy. Manila: Ample Printing Press. Mercado, Leonardo.1974. Elements of Filipino philosophy. Tacloban City: Divine Word Publications. ________. 1977. Applied Filipino philosophy. Tacloban City: Divine Word Publications. ________. 1985. A synthesis of Filipino thought. Karunungan 2 ________. 1992. Kagandahan: Filipino thought on beauty, truth and good. Karunungan 9 ________. N.d. Synthesis. http://www.crvp.org/book/Series03/III-8/chapter_xi.htm Accessed 30 November 2007. Timbreza, Florentino.1987. Understanding Filipino philosophy. Karunungan 4