The ceremonies began at 4:30 in the afternoon with opening remarks given by the Dean of Arts and Sciences, Exaltacion C. Ramos, Bro. Andrew Gonzalez, FSC, DLSU President, awarded Dr. Quito the Professorial Chair and presented her a miniature chair which was symbolical of the event. Dr. Quito’s first professorial lecture for the Chair of Humanities was entitled “Homage to Jean-Paul Sartre: The Post-Existential Period (1960-1980) wherein the philosopher tried to reconcile Existentialism with Marxism. It traced the development of Sartre’s thought from the “narrow limits of individualism in Being and Nothingness to the panoramic sweep of history in the Critique of Dialectical Reason”.
It dealt with the dialectical synthesis, praxis, practico-inert, scarcity and the four kinds of society or group and showed that despite social and historical restrictions, man retains his freedom and individuality.
The subject of post-existentialism is so new that, according to Dr. Quito, it most probably is not yet being discussed in America nor in most parts of the world. “I did not invite most of my students because the subject is too heavy and it would most likely go above their heads,” she said. The majority of her guests, in fact were made up of professors and enthusiasts in the field.
Dr. Quito’s second lecture which will be held on 20 February 1981 will focus on the last major work of Sartre, The Idiot of the Family, (1971-1973) which is a 3-volume work on the life and works of Gustave Flaubert. It will be entitled Sartre’s Idiot of the Family: Literature as Philosophy.
Professor Quito obtained her PhD. and M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Santo Tomas, and her Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland in 1965. She is fluent in French, German, Spanish, and other languages. She has often been invited to lecture in different parts of Asia and Europe. So far, she has published nine major books/monographs in philosophy in three different languages. She has also published about 60 articles in philosophy in periodicals here and abroad. At present, she is the Editor-in-Chief of the DIALOGUE, a De La Salle Professional Journal, and Editor of the tenth Anniversary issue of SOPHIA, a Journal of Philosophy.
