Syllabus of BA - I , Philosophy

                                                    

                                    Curtailed/Reduced Syllabus 

                                             BA - I, Philosophy

                                                                      Only for the Academic Year

                                                                                                  2020 – 2021

                                                          Paper – I: Ethics

First Term

1. The Nature and Scope of Ethics

2. Basic Postulates of Morality: The Problem of Free Will; Arguments for and against

Freedom of Will; Determinism, Indeterminism and Self-Determinism.

3. The Nature and Object of Moral judgment: Motive, Intention, Consequence, End and

Means.

Second Term

4. Ethical Hedonism: Transmutation of Psychological to Ethical Hedonism; Arguments for

and against Ethical Hedonism; Egoistic Hedonism: Basic features & arguments for and

against Egoistic Hedonism; Altruistic Hedonism or Utilitarianism; Transmutation of

Egoistic Hedonism to Altruistic Hedonism; General characteristics of Utilitarianism &

arguments for and against Utilitarianism.

5. Bentham’s Qualitative Utilitarianism: Statement of Bentham’s Utilitarian Theory; The

Hedonic Calculus & the limitations of theory.

6. Mill’s Qualitative Utilitarianism: Statement of Mill’s Utilitarian theory; Critique of

Bentham’s Quantitative theory and the limitations of Mill’s Theory.

7. Sidgwick’s Utilitarian Theory: Critique of Bentham’s and Mills Utilitarian theories; The

concept of Ideal Utilitarianism & limitations of Sidgwick’s theory.

Third Term

8. Kant’s Deontological Ethics: The Doctrines of Good Will, Freedom of Will, Autonomy

and Heteronomy of Will and Holy will, The Theory of Imperatives: Nature of Ethical

Imperatives, Hypothetical and Categorical Imperatives, Formulations of Categorical

Imperatives; The Doctrines of Duty for Duty’s sake and Man as an end-in-himself;

Evaluation of Kantian Ethics with reference to the charges of Formalism, Regorism.

9. Basic features of Indian Ethics; An Outline of Bhagvatgita, Jaina and Buddhist Ethics;

Concepts of Rita, Rina and the four Purusharthas.

                                                         

                                     Paper II: Indian Philosophy

First Term

1. Jainism: Anekantavada; Syadvada; Saptaphanginaya; the doctrine of Substance;

Bondage and Liberatioan.

2. Early Buddhism: The doctrine of four noble truths, especially the doctrine of

Pratityasamutpada and Nirvana; the Philosophy of Change and No-soul theory; the

ideal of Bodhisattva and the distinction between Hinayana and Mahayana.

Second Term

3. Samkhya: theory of Satkarvavada; Purusa and the arguments for its existence and

plurality; Prakrti and the arguments for its existence; the theory Gunas and the theory of

Evolution.

Third Term

4. Sankara: Meaning of Advaita Philosophy; nature of MayaAvidya; the nature of

Brahman; the nature of Consciousness, the nature of Moksa and means of Moksa and

Tattvamasi.

5. Ramanuja: Meaning of Visistadvaita; Ramanuja’s refutation of Sankara’s theory of Maya;

the nature of God; the nature of Consciousness; the nature of Moksa and means of

Moksa and Tattvamasi (Aprithaksiddhi)