The Relevance of Cultural Transformation and Autonomy of Thinking in Filipino Philosophy: A Critical Essay

Authors

  • Nathanael V. Navarro Independent Researcher Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70922/5xj3m015

Keywords:

Leonardo Mercado, Filipino Philosophy, change, static  culture, emancipative act

Abstract

Problematizing the coming fruition of cultural transformation and autonomy of thinking, this essay attempts to give Filipino society a disillusioned view of its national character. Centering on Leonardo Mercado’s trite notion of a given and almost static culture, the essay argues that cultural change is possible and necessary in the formation of a culture of intellectualization. This essay also serves to expose the working assumptions at the core of Mercado’s brand of Filipino Philosophy to deliver a prompt reminder of the purpose of philosophizing as an emancipative act from any face of social oppression. Ultimately, it challenges the view that Filipinos have to be unguarded and complacent with a “nativized” culture of corruption.

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Author Biography

  • Nathanael V. Navarro, Independent Researcher

    Nathanael V. Navarro is an independent researcher. He holds a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Santo Tomas -- Manila, the Philippines. His research interests include dialogical and comparative approaches in metaphysical investigations, democratization, philosophical issues in sustainable social development, and cultural studies. Aside from managing his business enterprise, he is currently engaged in a number of community development programs and projects in various civil society organizations.

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Published

2025-03-14

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2025): Mabini Review Journal

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Nathanael V. Navarro (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Articles published in the MABINI REVIEW will be Open-Access articles distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). This allows for immediate free access to the work and permits any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose.

How to Cite

Navarro, . N. . (2025). The Relevance of Cultural Transformation and Autonomy of Thinking in Filipino Philosophy: A Critical Essay. Mabini Review, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.70922/5xj3m015