Fr. Jose Mario C. Francisco, S.J., S.T.L., Ph.D.
This course introduces students preparing for theological studies to philosophical thinking and its various dimensions. The first section illustrates how philosophical issues arise from ordinary human experience; for instance, questions about what life or death is. It then discusses the major logical fallacies that one can fall into in trying to answer such questions. The second section centers on the search for meaning that constitutes the substance of philosophy and on how this search is hermeneutical in nature and often focused on understanding texts. The third section compares scholastic metaphysics and Confucian ethics to show how different cultures employ philosophical thinking. The final section looks at the relation between philosophy and theology. Introducing students to these various dimensions of philosophical thinking will help them think critically as they do theological studies. Fr. Oliver Dy, SJ
This introductory course provides an initial appreciation of the various modes of philosophical thinking that underlie and inform theological discourse as can be gleaned throughout the history of Christian thought.
