Christopher Ryan Maboloc is a Davao-based Filipino scholar known for his work in Social and Political Philosophy, Bioethics, Radical Democracy, and the Ethics of Technology. He is an Associate Professor at Ateneo de Davao University. He has served as a Visiting Scholar at Lanzhou University in China and as a Visiting Professor at Silliman University. Dr. Maboloc is an ASAP–Yale Global Justice Program fellow, where he was mentored by philosopher Thomas Pogge. An Erasmus Mundus scholar, he received training in political party building and democratic governance at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in Bonn and Berlin, Germany.
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Under the tutelage of Thomas Pogge, one of the world's leading philosophers today, Dr. Maboloc analyzed the causal factors of poverty in the Bangsamoro, arguing that social injustice is structural in nature. As a political philosopher, his body of work is significant for providing the socio-historical context and voice to underrepresented groups, and for being critical of dominant Western paradigms in ethics and philosophy. He has collaborated with leading scholars, including Darryl Macer, Wataru Kusaka, John Weckert, and Nima Rezaei. He has also done research on Peace and Conflict Studies with Juichiro Tanabe of Waseda University and has written on the current war between Russia and Ukraine.
He organized with the Social Ethics Society and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, in cooperation with Waseda University, the first SES-PUP International Ethics Conference, held at the Center for International Education of Waseda University in Tokyo in September 2025. The event was attended by scholars and academics from Waseda University, Toyo University, Keio University, the Social Sciences University of Ankara, and academics from top Philippine schools, including UP Diliman, Ateneo de Manila University, and De La Salle University. Dr. Juichiro Tanabe served as the Conference Chair.
Radical Democracy in the Philippines
Dr. Maboloc has reflected and written papers on Philippine democracy, state and politics in the Philippines, and Mindanao history. His most prominent and controversial work is the book Radical Democracy in the Time of Duterte. The book clinically examines the political situation in the Philippines under the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte through the perspective of Chantal Mouffe’s radical democracy. Maboloc analyzed how Duterte's leadership character and policies disrupted "traditional liberal democratic values, such as human rights and freedom of speech, while gaining significant public support."
In fact, a review of this work by Symel De Guzman - Daulat of the University of the Philippines - Diliman, states that Maboloc's book "delves into the contradictions and complexities of Duterte's populist approach, arguing that his administration's methods embody elements of radical democracy. This perspective is rooted in the inclusion of marginalized voices, albeit in a controversial and often coercive manner." The book also deals with Foucault's concept of power, modern liberalism, and social justice "to provide a nuanced understanding of how Duterte's governance resonated with a large segment of the Filipino populace."
Dr. Maboloc has done a careful reading of Philippine history, analyzing the seminal works of Patricio Abinales, Reynaldo Ileto, and Renato Constantino to understand the parallelisms between Duterte and past revolutionary leaders who manifested a communitarian style of leadership. Fundamentally, Dr. Maboloc shows Duterte's approach as a reflection of the deep socio-economic and moral divide in the Philippines, emphasizing the need for understanding the communitarian roots of Duterte's legacy and the substantive aspect of his approach to governance, also argued in the papers written by Dr. Ian Clark Parcon, Prof. Benjienen Labastin, and Dr. Joezenon Purog.
Philosophy of Technology
Dr. Maboloc, who studied political theory under Professor Goran Collste of Linköping University in Sweden, has done some work in the Philosophy of Technology, particularly in the context of a post-human world. His papers examine the influence of modern technology in shaping human consciousness, with a focus on how technological advances impact or affect everyday life. He focuses on the political dimension of technology and how it has reshaped modern day culture.
Using Andrew Feenberg and Herbert Marcuse's dialectical approach to thinking, Dr. Maboloc situates his conclusions within the ethical discourse on technology, emphasizing the power dynamics involved in technological applications. He questions the assumption that technology is inherently neutral, saying that the same can perpetuate social and economic divisions, especially when utilized in societies with existing socio-economic inequalities. He has published papers on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Nanotechnology.
One of his notable contributions in the field is his critique of the utopian tendencies that characterize much of the discourse on modern technology. Dr. Maboloc emphasizes that modernity, while unstoppable, often fails to consider deep-seated structural issues and problems. This point is critical in understanding how modern technology affects poor societies. His work challenges the lack of nuancing in understanding the influence of modern technology in contemporary human society, and indigenous culture. Ateneo de Davao University recently funded his research on AI.
In essence, Dr. Maboloc’s work in the Philosophy of Technology provides a critical analysis of how modern technology intersects with ethics, society, and politics using the context of the critical theory of technology. Dr. Maboloc has studied Heidegger's reflections on technology and the deterministic influences of modern day devices in shaping the lives of people in the world. He also expounds on Feenberg's concept of adaptability, arguing for the importance of communal values in contextualizing and democratizing modern technology.
Education and Poverty
Dr. Maboloc's philosophy of education is rooted in the distinction between the pragmatic and critical principles of learning. He advocates for an educational perspective that empowers students to critically question existing uneven structures and social realities in order to address systemic issues while also acknowledging the role of education in nation-building. Dr. Maboloc emphasizes that education is not just about the transfer of knowledge but the awareness of one's duties in the pursuit of the common good.
Following Paolo Freire, Dr. Maboloc challenges the traditional approach to education, arguing that the same is symptomatic of the unfair practices in society and its existing power structures that impede the development of creative and independent thought. Instead, he advocates the critical method which uses real life examples in the analysis of ethical issues and problems. This style encourages students to question social norms, think critically about political issues, and in the process, recognize their role in changing human society.
Dr. Maboloc has investigated the causal factors of poverty in Muslim Mindanao using the perspective of Iris Marion Young and Thomas Pogge. He has published papers on migration rights, the economic exclusion of the Bangsamoro, and the Church of the Poor, which discussed his views on liberation theology, a course that he took under Fr. Ramon Echica at the University of San Carlos. His masters thesis at Linköping University in Sweden dealt with Amartya Sen's Capability Approach and Martha Nussbaum's ethics of human capabilities under the supervision of Professor Goran Collste.
Bioethics and Climate Justice
Using philosophical lenses, Dr. Maboloc wrote several papers on the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on its social, economic, and political implications, touching on the impact of globalization, consumerism, and the nature of power in biopolitics. Dr. Maboloc explores how globalization and consumerism have influenced human society. He analyzed the political and moral implications of the public health crisis, arguing that "consumer culture has exacerbated inequality and impacted access to healthcare."
In pursuing the concept of biopower, he explains how the pandemic has put to task democratic values and challenged the balance between public safety and human rights. He also draws on philosophical insights to emphasize the concept of decency while highlighting the deficiencies of modern society. Some of his works on the pandemic have been published as book chapters. He is part of the WeCope Committee established by Dr. Darry Macer during the Covid-19 Pandemic to help provide expert advice on public health.
Dr. Maboloc has published several papers on climate change and the concept of climate justice. He has discussed liberal environmentalism and has argued in favor of environmental pragmatism as a way out of the existential threat due to climate change. For Dr. Maboloc, climate justice is directly connected to the weak political systems in the developing world, arguing that the democratic deficits in poor countries have a terrible impact on the environment. Dr. Maboloc has delivered papers on the subject in international conferences.
Beyond Academia
Dr. Maboloc remains engaged in societal and political issues, having been a consultant to politicians and other political organizations. Through the years, Dr. Maboloc has continued to influence the philosophical landscape by writing op-eds on social and political issues in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He was a Scholarum Awards nominee for Best Newspaper Column, a recognition given by De La Salle University. The scholar is also credited as instrumental in the advancement of philosophy in Mindanao. After finishing his master's in Europe in 2008, he co-founded the Social Ethics Society (SES) with Dr. Romulo Bautista.
The SES is the first professional organization for philosophy in Mindanao, which has grown from a membership of 15 to 150 nationwide. The SES has provided important exposure to Mindanao academics in the international philosophical community. The influence has been enriching, enabling many to develop and establish a niche in the discipline. The scholar, however, has not only used the might of the pen. He is also active outside academia, having co-founded a technical-vocational school in his community which gave free training that benefitted more than 2,000 poor students since 2011.
As a consultant to the City Government of Davao, he worked with the Department of Education in the city to design the module for the Dabawenyo DCPlinado Curriculum Integration Program, which is implemented in the City of Davao. He has also advocated for the establishment of a local Artificial Intelligence policy body and has advised the local government on how the City College can expand and adapt to the emerging methods of learning given the advent of ChatGPT and other LLM platforms. He has also written policy recommendations on environmental protection, people empowerment, and urban renewal.
The author is active in social media and is a noted commentator on pressing moral, political, and social issues. Dr. Maboloc has contributed 120 commentaries to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He gives interviews to local radio stations and continues to write columns in local dailies like Edge Davao and the Mindanao Journal. Maboloc is also a global opinion columnist for South Korea's Cheonji Daily News. He has written on the US Elections, Climate Change, and Global Poverty. He is of course also known as the author of the famous short read, The Harshest Things You'll Ever Learn about Love.