Asserting
itself as a Center of Excellence in
Philosophy the University of Santo Tomas
through the UST Graduate School in
cooperation with the UST Central
Seminary and the Faculty of Arts and
Letters co-hosted the 3rd
Conference Mondiale des Institutions
Universitaires Catholiques de
Philosophie (World Congress of Catholic
University Institutions of Philosophy)
COMIUCAP 2008 last September 11-13,
2008. The said international conference
was also co-hosted by the Ateneo de
Manila University, also a Center of
Excellence in Philosophy.
Notable
philosophers delivered plenary lectures
with the famous French Philosopher Jean
Luc Marion of the University of Paris,
Sorbonne and the University of Chicago
delivering the inaugural lecture: “On
the Foundation of the Disctinction
Between Theology and Philosophy.”. The
plenary lectures were given by: Prof.
Lorenz Bruno Puntel, University of
Munich with the topic: “Transcendence
between Anthropology and Metaphysics: A
Concept in Need of Rethinking.”; Prof.
Friedo Ricken, Hochschule fur
Philosophie, Munich Germany with the
topic: “Language Experience
Transcendence; Prof. Juan Carlos
Scannone, Universidad del Salvador
Buenos Aires, Argentina with the topic:
Transcendence as intrinsically
constitutive of ethics and politics”;
Prof. Frank Budenholzer,SVD, Fu Jen
Catholic University, Taipei Taiwan and
from the University of Santo Tomas, our
very own Prof. Alfredo P. Co with the
topic: Beyond Ricci and Longobardi:
Exploring a Meaningful East-West
Dialogue on Transcendence.
There were
more than 40 parallel paper presenters
and more than 250 participants coming
from at least 20 countries and different
Universities from Europe, North and
South America, Asia and the Pacific and
Africa. The three day conference was
held at Leong Hall of the Ateneo de
Manila University for September 11,
morning session of September 12 and
September 13. The afternoon session of
September 12 was held at the UST Thomas
Aquinas Research Complex, with Prof.
Juan Carlos Scannone as Plenary Speaker
followed by 8 parallel paper
presentations/sessions. In his lecture
Prof. Scannone underscored his treatment
of Transcendence through the
Phenomenological method laid down by
Heidegger, Blondel, Levinas, Ricoeur and
Marion. He also related the idea of
saturated phenomenon based from the
Latin American experience of the
“invasion or irruption of the poor” and
Transcendence. While the interrelation
between transcendence, ehics and
politics in the history of Western
Philosophy was highlighted through
Plato, Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas,
Immanuel Kant, Hegel, Blondel, Levinas,
and Ricoeur.
After the
parallel sessions, dinner was tendered
by the University of Santo Tomas at the
UST Central Seminary Gymnasium, with a
Cultural Presentation from the UST
Conservatory of Music and the UST
Salinggawi Dance Troupe.
After the
short program, Dr. Lilian Sison, Dean of
the UST Graduate School presented a
token of appreciation to Prof. Philippe
Capelle, Dean Emeritus, the Catholic
Institute of Paris and President of
COMIUCAP/World. Prof. Capelle expressed
his deepest gratitude to the generosity,
warm and heartfelt welcome provided by
the University, a wonderful welcome that
will forever be etched in the memories
of the organizers and participants.
Also, a token of appreciation was given
to Prof. Juan Carlos Scannone after his
plenary session.
The lead
organizers for the said event were, Dr.
Leovino Garcia of the Ateneo de Manila
University, Dr. Michael Anthony Vasco
and Ms. Fleur Altez of the University of
Santo Tomas with the support of the UST
Rector’s Office through the Office of
the Dean of the UST Graduate School.
Other units in the University that
collaborated with the event include: the
UST Central Seminary and Faculty of Arts
and Letters. While members of the
congress staff were Philosophy students
from the UST Graduate School, Central
Seminary and the Faculty of Arts and
Letters. This is one of the few and rare
occasions were the only two Centers of
Excellence in Philosophy in the country,
the University of Santo Tomas and the
Ateneo de Manila University co-hosted an
international convention in philosophy
of this magnitude.
article taken from The Academia,
December 2008 issue.
