CS Mains 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, Skepticism Self, Causality.
• Kant: Distinctions between synthetic and analytic judgments and between aprion and aposteriori judgments, Space, Time Categories, Possibility of Synthetic Apriori Judgments, Ideas of Reason and Antimonies; Criticism of the Proofs for the Existence of God.
• Hegel: Dialectical Method, Absolute Idealism.
• Precursors of Linguistic Analysis: Moore (Defence of common sense, Reputation 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.
• Existentialism: Kierkegaard, Sartre.
• Quine: Radical empiricism.
• Strawson: theory of person.

Section B

• Carvaka: Theory of Knowledge, Materialism.
• Jainism: Theory of Reality, Saptabhangi Naya, Bondage and Liberation.
• Buddhism: Pratityasamutpada, Ksanikavýds, Ñairãtmyavãda, Schools of Buddhism, Sautrantika Theory of Pramana, Ideal of Bodhisattva.
• Samkhya: Prakriti, Purusa, Theory of Causation, Liberation.
• Naya-Vãisesika: Theory of Pramãna, Self, Liberation, God and Proofs of God’s Existence, Categories, Theory of Causation, Atomistic theory of Creation.
• Mimãnsã: Theory of Knowledge.
• Vedãnta: Schools of Vedãntã Sankara, Rãmãnuja, Madhva (Brahman, Isvara, Ãtman, Jiva, Jagat, Mãyã, Avidyã Adhyãsã, Moksã).

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.
• Proofs 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.