Revisiting the Controversial Category of Expository Philosophical Writing in Filipino Philosophy

Abstract

This paper takes another look at the controversial category of expository philosophical writing in the context of Filipino philosophy. Expository philosophical writing is understood here as writing about the philosophical thoughts of a given philosopher, who is usually Wester. This paper starts with how Quito and Abulad denounced this mode of philosophical writing as inferior. With Abulad’s realization of the necessity of this mode of writing, the author took a parallel look at how he grappled with this controversial category from the late 1990s to the present. Agreeing with Abulad on the necessity of this mode of writing, this paper offers a typology of expository philosophical writing consisting of: 1) introductory/overview writing, 2) curation writing, 3) archeological writing, 4) forensic writing, 5) comparative writing, 6) polemic writing, 7) writing as a prelude to appropriation, and 8) writing in the Filipino language. This paper has two substantive sections. The first one catalogues eight typologies of expository philosophical writings together with their strengths and weaknesses. The second one sharpens further the idea of expository philosophical writing by contrasting it with related modes of philosophical writing. This paper will be useful to Filipino philosophy students, philosophy teachers, thesis advisers, and thesis panelists, as this paper attempted not only to clear away the mark of inferiority that Filipino philosophy placed on expository philosophical writing but more so to provide some guideposts on how specific types of expository philosophical writings should be pursued by Filipino researchers of philosophy.