Philosophy Syllabus... 2013

[admin]

Paper – I :

Problems of Philosophy (European and Indian)

1. Plato and Aristotle : Ideas, Substance; Form and Matter; Causation; Actuality and Potentiality.

2. Rationalism (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz) : Cartesian Method and Certain Knowledge; Substance; God; Determinism and Freedom.

3. Empiricism (Locke, Berkeley, Hume) : Theory of Knowledge; Substance and Qualities; Self and God; Scepticism.

4. Kant : Possibility of Synthetic a priori judgments; Space and Time; Categories.

5. Moore, Russell and Early Wittgenstein : Defence of Common sense; Refutation of Idealism; Logical Atomism; Picture Theory of Meaning.

6. Logical Positivism : Verification Theory of Meaning; Rejection of Metaphysics.

7. Cârvâka : Theory of Knowledge; Metaphysics and Ethics.

8. Jainism : Anekântavâda,; Saptabhanginaya.

9. Buddhism : Four Noble Truths; Pratîtyasamutpâda, Kşaņikavâda, Nairâtmyavâda.

10. Nyâya – Vaiśesika : Theory of Categories; Theory of Pramâna; Self; Theory of Causation; Atomistic Theory of Creation.

11. Sâmkhya : Prakŗti; Puruşa; Causation; Theory of Evolution.

12. Yoga : Citta; Cittavŗtti.

13. Mîmâmsâ : Epistemology; Theory of Validity.

14. Vedânta : Views of Śamkara and Râmânuja on Brahman; Îśvara; Âtman; Jîva; Jagat; Mâyâ; Avidyâ; Adhyâsa.

15. Swâmi Vivekânanda : Practical Vedânta.

16. Sri Aurobindo : Evolution; Involution; Integral Yoga.

17. Rabindranath Tagore: Nature of Man; Surplus in Man.


Paper – II :


Socio – Political Philosophy and Psychology

1. Social and Political Ideals : Equality, Justice, Liberty: Views of Mill, Locke, Rawls.

2. Individual and State : Rights, Duties and Accountability.

3. Political Ideologies : Anarchism, Marxism, Socialism and Democracy.

4. Humanism; Secularism; Multiculturalism.

5. Social Change : Gandhi, Ambedkar.

6. Mind – Body Problem : Dualism, Philosophical Behaviourism, Person Theory of Strawson.

7. Levels of Mind; Proofs for the existence of the unconscious; Freud‘s theory of dream, citta, cittavŗtti (Yoga).

Ethics and Philosophy of Religion

8. Standards of Morality : Utilitarianism (Bentham and Mill), Deontological Theories.

9. Virtue Ethics : Aristotle.

10. Human Rights and Discrimination.

11. Feminism : Liberal and Radical.

12. Environmental Ethics : Bio-centric ethics and Eco-centric ethics.

13. Theories of Punishment; Capital Punishment.

14. Terrorism and Just war.

15. Indian Ethics : Puruşârtha, Concept of Liberation, Anuvrata and Mahâvrata (Jainism), Brahmavihâra (Buddhism).

16. Proofs for the existence of God : Descartes, St. Anselm, Naiyâyikas.

17. Religion without God, Religion and Morality.

18. Religious Pluralism.

19. Nature of Religious Language : Cognitive and Non-cognitive, Analogical and Symbolic.