Philosopher and pedagogue Alfredo Pimentel Co will be named “Professor Emeritus” by the University of Santo Tomas in solemn academic ceremonies at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery auditorium, March 9, 9 a.m.
Professor Co, Ph.D (born 1949 in Manila) has taught for over 40 years at the Pontifical University. Today, his renown and influence have crossed continents as he has become a most sought-after scholar and speaker effectively discoursing on the East-West dialogue in philosophy.
His more recent international lectures include “Confucian Secular Formation and Catholic and Catholic Education: A Comparative Analysis,” during the Conférence Mondiale des Institutions Universitaires Catholiques de Philosophie (Comiucap) Conference at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne in 2015; “Hermeneutics of the Genius of the Absurd: Interpreting the Dao?” as De Smet-de Marneffe Annual Memorial Lecture at the Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth Pontifical Institute of Philosophy and Religion, India in 2014; “Rites and Languages: How to Transmit Faith to the New Generation” during the Pontificia Università Urbaniana International Congress, Vatican City, 2013; and “Catholicism in Asia: Discoursing the Impacts and Lessons of the Evangelization of China and the Philippines,” during the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin International Conference in Poland, 2012.
Professor Co has written several books and articles. He is the editor in chief of Karunungan: A Journal of Philosophy (official journal of the Philippine Academy of Philosophical Research).
Co is a member of the international advisory board of Kritike, the official journal of the UST Department of Philosophy, University of Santo Tomas. He is president of the Philippine Academy of Philosophical Research, and a member of Académie du Midi, Asian Association of Christian Philosophers, International Society for Chinese Philosophy, American Philosophical Association, International Academic Advisory Board of the Institute of Spirituality in Asia, Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie (institutional membership through PAPR), and Conférence Mondiale des Institutions Universitaires Catholiques de Philosophie.
He is a consultant of the Philippine government as co-chair of the Technical Panel for Humanities Education and chair of the Technical Committee for Philosophy of the Commission on Higher Education.
Professor Co obtained his Doctorate in Philosophy from UST in 1976. He has post-doctorate degrees on Classical Chinese Philosophy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and on Comparative Philosophy at the Sorbonne (Université de Paris III and Université de Paris IV).
