Main Examination Syllabus - Subject : Philosophy

Paper-I (History and Problems of Philosophy)

Section-A

• Plato : Theory of Ideas.
• Aristotle : Form, Matter and causation.
• Descartes : Cartesian Method and certain knowledge, God, Mind-Body Dualism.
• Spinoza : Substance, Attributes and Modes, Pantheism; Bondage and Freedom.
• Leibnitz : Monads; Theory of Perception God.
• Locke : Theory of Knowledge, Rejection of Innate Ideas; substance and qualities.
• Berkeley : Immaterialism, God, Criticism of representative Theory of Perception.
• Hume : Theory of knowledge, Scepticism Self, Causality.
• Kant : Distinctions between synthetic and analytic judgements and between aprion and aposteriori judgements, Space, Time Categories, Possibility of Synthetic Apriori Judgements, Ideas of Reason and Antinomics; Criticism of the Proofs for the Existence God.
• Hegel : Dialectical Method, Absolute Idealism.
• Precursors of Linguistic Analysis : Moore (Defence of common sense, Reputaion of idealism), Russell (Theory of Descriptions).
• Logical Atomism : Atomic Facts, Atomic sentences, Logical Constructions and Incomplete Symbols (Rusell), Distinction of saying and showing (Wittgenstein)
• Logical Positivism : Verification theory and rejection of Metaphysics, Linguistic Theory of Necessary Propositions.
• Phenomenology : Husserl.
• Existentiaslism : Kierkegaard, Sartre.
• Quine : Radical empiricism.
• Strawson : theory of person.

Section-B

• Carvaka : Theory Knowledge, Materialism.
• Jainism : Theory of Reality, Saptabhangi Naya, Bondage and Liberation.
• Buddhism : Pratityasamutpada, Ksanikavyds, Nairatmyavada, Schools of Buddhism, Sautrantika Theory of Pramana, Ideal of Bodhisattva.
• Samkhya : Prakriti, Purusa, Theory of Causation, Liberation.
• Naya-Vaisesika : Theory of Pramana, Self, Liberation, God and Proofs of God’s Existence, Categories, Theory of Causation, Atomistic theory of Creation.
• Mimansa : Theory of Knowledge.
• Vedanta : Schools of Vedanta Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva (Brahman, Isvara, atman, Jiva, Jagat, Maya, Avidya Adhyasa, Moksa).

Paper-II

Section-A (Socio-Political Philosophy)

• Political Ideals : Equality, Justice, Liberty.
• Sovereignty (Austin, Boidin, Laski, Kautilya).
• Individual and State.
• Democracy; Concept and forms.
• Socialism and Marxism.
• Humanism.
• Secularism.
• Theories of punishment.
• Co-existence and violence; Sarvoday.
• Gender-Equality.
• Scientific Temper and Progress.
• Philosophy of Ecology.

Section-B (Philosophy of Religion)

• Notions of God : Personalistic, Imparsonalistic, Naturalistic.
• Prooofs of the Existence of God and their criticisms.
• Immortality of Soul.
• Liberation.
• Problem of Evil.
• Religious Knowledge : Reason, Revelation and Mysticism.
• Religion without God.
• Religion and Morality.