cotton college state university · 4. klenk, virginia. 2007. understanding symbolic logic. upper...

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COTTON COLLEGE STATE UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy Postgraduate Syllabus

DISTRIBUTION OF PAPERS/CREDITS (L+T+P format)

Semester – I

Paper Code Paper Name Credits PHL 701C Western Metaphysics 3 + 1 + 0 PHL 702C Indian Metaphysics 3 + 1 + 0 PHL 703C Introduction to Modern Logic 3 + 1 + 0 PHL 704C Ethical Theories 3 + 1 + 0 An Elective Paper to be decided by the Department

from the list given in this syllabus 2 + 1 + 0

Semester – II

Paper Code Paper Name Credits PHL 801C Western Epistemology 3 + 1 + 0 PHL 802C Indian Epistemology and Logic 3 + 1 + 0 PHL 803C Contemporary Political philosophy 3 + 1 + 0 PHL 804C Analytic Philosophy 3 + 1 + 0 An Elective Paper to be decided by the Department


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Semester – III

Paper Code Paper Name Credits PHL 901C Problems in Indian Moral and Social Philosophy 3 + 1 + 0 PHL 902C Asian Philosophy 3 + 1 + 0 PHL 903C Phenomenology and Existentialism 3 + 1 + 0 PHL 904C Philosophy of Religion 3 + 1 + 0 An Elective Paper to be decided by the Department


Semester - IV

Paper Code Paper Name Credits PHL 1001C Contemporary Indian thought 3 + 1 + 0 PHL 1002C Recent Trends in Continental Philosophy 3 + 1 + 0 PHL 1003C Feminist Philosophy 3 + 1 + 0 PHL 1004C Research Paper 0 + 2 + 2 An Elective Paper to be decided by the Department


Elective Papers

Paper Code Paper Name Credits PHL 1201E Practical Ethics 2 + 1 + 0 PHL 1202E Philosophy of Arts 2 + 1 + 0 PHL 1203E Philosophy of Science 2 + 1 + 0 PHL 1204E Sankara Vedanta 2 + 1 + 0 PHL 1205E Gandhian Thought 2 + 1 + 0

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SEMESTER-I Paper: PHL 701C

WESTERN METAPHYSICS

Credits: 4 (3+1+0)

Unit I- Ancient Greek Metaphysics: Aristotle’s critique of Plato’s theory of ideas; his solution –hylomorphism; his teleological account of causality. Unit II – Substance: Cartesian dualism; Spinozist monism; Leibnizian monadism.

Unit III – Causality: Humean attack on causality.

Unit IV –Idealism: Berkeleian subjective idealism and Hegelian absolute idealism. Reading List :

1. Cooper, David E., ed. 200. Metaphysics: The Classic Readings. Malden, MA: Wiley- Blackwell.

2. Taylor, Richard. 1991. Metaphysics, Series: Foundations of Philosophy. New Delhi: Prentice Hall.

3. Copleston, Frederick. 1993. A History of Philosophy, 11 Volumes. New York: Image. (relevant portions).

4. Zalta, Edward N. ed. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/ (relevant articles)


INDIAN METAPHYSICS

Credits: 4 (3+1+0)

Unit I –Theory of causation: Satkaryavada of Samkhya; Asatkaryavada/ Arambhavada of Nyaya; Pratityasamutpadavada of Buddhism; Vivartavada of Advaita; Brahma-parinamavada of Visistadvaita.

Unit II –Theory of the physical world: World as manifestation or evolution of Prakrti in Samkhya; World as a product of atoms in Vaisesika; World as vyavaharika satta in Advaita; World as inseparable from Brahman in Visistadvaita (aprtaksidhi).

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Unit III –Theories of reality (Sat): Vaisesika view of padarthas; Sat as eternal reality in Samkhya and Vedanta; Sat as eternal and non-eternal in Jainism; Sat as momentary in Buddhism; Sat in Carvaka materialism.

Unit IV –Theory of human essence (Jiva/Atman): In the Samkhya-Yoga; in Advaita; In Visistadvaita; In Buddhism; In Jainism; In Carvaka. Reading List :

1. Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli. 1967. A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press

2. Phillips, Stephen H. 1997. Classical Indian Metaphysics. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. 3. Hiriyana, M. 1993. Outlines of Indian Philosophy. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. 4. Dasgupta, Surendranath. 2000. History of Indian Philosophy, 5 Volumes Set. New Delhi:

Motilal Bnarsidass, (relevant portions) 5. Potter, Karl H. 2011. The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Currently in 19 Volumes. New

Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, (relevant portions).


INTRODUCTION TO MODERN LOGIC

Credits: 4 (3+1+0)

Unit I –Propositional logic: Logic and the nature of argument; Truth and validity; Symbolic logic; Truth functions; Techniques of symbolization; Proof construction; Shorter truth table technique.

Unit II –Quantification theory: Singular and general propositions; Techniques of symbolization; Quantification rules; Proof construction; Logical truth involving quantifiers

Unit III –The logic of relations: Symbolizing relations; Arguments involving relations; Attributes of relations; Identity and definite description.

Unit IV –Introduction to set theory: Definition of sets; Basic operations; Venn diagrams; Relations, Binary relations, Equivalence relations; Ordering relations; Operations on relations; Functions; Operations on functions. Reading List :

1. Jacquette, Dale, ed. 2001. Philosophy of Logic: An Anthology. Oxford: Blackwell. 2. Copi, Irving M., and Carl Cohen. Introduction to Logic. 11th Edition. Harlow, UK: Pearson. 3. Copi, Irving M. 2009. Symbolic Logic. Fifth Edition. New Delhi: Prentice Hall India. 4. Klenk, Virginia. 2007. Understanding Symbolic Logic. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

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5. Suppes, Patrick. 1999. Introduction to Logic, Series: Dover Books on Mathematics. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.

6. Zalta, Edward N. ed. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/ (relevant articles).


ETHICAL THEORIES

Credits: 4 (3+1+0) Unit I –Virtue ethics: Aristotle’s virtue ethics (Eudaimonism) .

Unit II –Utilitarian ethics: Its hedonism, consequentialism and maximization scheme; Mill’s improved utilitarianism;Problems with utilitarianism; Contemporary improvements:Rule utilitarianism and act utilitarianism, and their problems.

Unit III –Deontological ethics: Kant’s notion of theoretical and practical reason; ethics as practical reason; Categorical imperatives; Principle of humanity and the autonomous moral subject.

Unit IV – Metaethics: Moral realism; Moral naturalism and non-naturalism; Freewill and moral responsibility; Moral relativism and moral nihilism. Reading List :

1. Sher, George. 2012. Ethics: Essential Readings in Moral Theory. New York: Routledge. Deigh, John. 2010. An Introduction to Ethics. Series name: Cambridge Introductions to

Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2. Pojman, Louis. 2005. How should we Live?: An Introduction to Ethics. Belmont, CA:

Wordsworth. 3. Miller, Alexander. 2013. Contemporary Metaethics: An Introduction. Cambridge: Polity

Press. 4. Darwall, Stephen. 1997. Philosophical Ethics, Series: Dimensions of Philosophy. Boulder,

CO: Westview Press 5. Follesdal, Andreas, and Reidar Maliks, eds. 2014. Kantian Theory and Human Rights, Series:

Routledge Innovations in Political Theory. New York: Routledge. 6. Copp, David, ed. 2006. The Oxford Handbook of Ethical Theory. Oxford: Oxford University

Press. 7. Russell, Daniel C. 2013. The Cambridge Companion to Virtue Ethics. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press. 8. Copleston, Frederick. 1993. A History of Philosophy, 11 Volumes. New York: Image.

(relevant portions). 9. Zalta, Edward N. ed. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/

(relevant articles)



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SEMESTER-II Paper: PHL 801C

WESTERN EPISTEMOLOGY

Credits: 4 (3+1+0) Unit I – Knowledge as justified true belief; The Gettier problem; Responses to it

Unit II –Rationalism-empiricism debate: Cartesian method of doubt and modern epistemological foundationalism; Spinoza’s threefold division of knowledge; Leibniz on knowledge; Rationalist notion of innate ideas and Locke’s critique of it; Locke’s account of knowledge acquisition; Berkeley’s idealistic empiricism; Hume’s skeptical empiricism; Relations of ideas and matters of fact.

Unit III –Kant’s critical idealism: Kant’s Copernican revolution; Notion of the transcendental; Structure of sensibility, imagination and understanding; Division of judgments and possibility of synthetic a priori judgments; Transcendental idealism.

Unit IV – Correspondence and coherence theories of truth. Reading List :

1. Cahn, Steven M., ed. 2012. Classics of Western Philosophy, Eighth Edition. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing

2. Pojman, Louis P. 2003. Theory of Knowledge: Classic and Contemporary Readings, Third Edition. Andover, UK: Cengage Learning.

3. Rescher, Nicholas. 2003. Epistemology: An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge, Series: SUNY Series in Philosophy. Albany, NY: State University of New York

4. Crumley II, Jack S. 2009. An Introduction to Epistemology, Second Edition, Series: Broadview Guides to Philosophy. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press.

5. Copleston, Frederick. 1993. A History of Philosophy, 11 Volumes. New York: Image. (relevant portions).



INDIAN EPISTEMOLOGY AND LOGIC

Credits: 4 (3+1+0)

Unit I – The close relation between logic, epistemology and metaphysics in Indian philosophy; The necessity to refute all other systems in order to establish one’s own system of


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philosophy; The Indian method of purvapaksa and sidhanta; Anviksiki and anumiti

Unit II –Theories of error (Kyativada): Carvaka’s asat-kyativada; Yogacara Buddhist’s atma-kyativada; Prabhakara mimamsaka’s akyativada; Naiyayika’s anyatha-kyativada; Advaitin’s anirvacaniya-kyativada; Madhva’s Abhinava anyata-khyativada; Bhatta mimamsaka’s viparitakyativada; Samkya’s sadasadkyativada; Visistadvaitin’s satkyativada; Debate about the status of dream cognition

Unit III – Valid means of knowledge (pramana): pratyaksa, anumana, sabda, upamana, arthapatti, anupalabdi; The special status of sabda pramana; Svatahpramanyavada and paratahpramanyavada; Valid (prama) and invalid (aprama) cognition;

Unit IV –Anumana pramana: Definition, constituents and types of anumana in Nyaya and Buddhism; inductive elements in Indian logic: vyaptigrahopaya, samanya laksana pratyasatti, tarka, upadhi Reading List :

1. Prasad, Jwala. 1987. History of Indian Epistemology, Third Edition. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.

2. Barlingay, Surendra Sheodas. 1965. A Modern Introduction to Indian Logic. New Delhi: National Publishing House.

3. Matilal, Bimal Krishna. 1992. Perception: An Essay on Classical Indian Theories of Knowledge, Series: Clarendon Paperbacks. New York: Oxford University Press.

4. Matilala, Bimal Krishna. 1998. The Character of Logic in India, eds. Jonardon Ganeri and Heeraman Tiwari, Series: SUNY Series in Indian Thought, Texts and Studies. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

5. Datta, D. M. 1997. The Six Ways of Knowing: A Critical Study of the Advaita Theory of Knowledge. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

6. Rao, Srinivasa. 1998. Perceptual Error: The Indian Theories, Series: Monographs of the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy, No. 15, Book 16. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.

7. Dasgupta, Surendranath. 2000. History of Indian Philosophy, 5 Volumes Set. New Delhi: Motilal Bnarsidass, (relevant portions).

8. Potter, Karl H. 2011. The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Currently in 19 Volumes. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, (relevant portions).


CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Credits: 4 (3+1+0)

Unit I –Introduction: Greek political thought; The social contract tradition of political thought:Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau; The utilitarian tradition of political thought: Bentham,Mill; Marx’s radical challenge of liberalism

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Unit II –Contemporary liberalism: Rawlsian liberal egalitarian justice theory; Nozick’s libertarian critique of liberalism;

Unit III –Contemporary secularism: Western secularism; Indian secularism Reading List :

1. Bailey, Andrew, and others. 2012. The Broadview Anthology of Social and Political Thought: Essential Readings. New York: Broadway Press.

2. Pettit, Philip, and Robert E. Goodin, eds. 1997. Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Anthology. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

3. Kymlicka, Will. 2002. Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction, Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

4. Christman, John. 2002. Social and Political Philosophy: A Contemporary Introduction, Series: Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy. London: Routledge.

5. Bhargava, Rajeev, and Ashok Acharya. 2012. Political Theory: An Introduction. New Delhi: Pearson Education India, (relevant articles).

6. Gaus, Gerald F., and Fred D’Agostino, eds. 2013. The Routledge Companion to Social and Political Philosophy, Series: Routledge Philosophy Companions. New York: Routledge, (relevant articles).

7. Goodin, Robert E., Phillip Pettit and Thomas W. Pogge, eds. 2012. A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy, Series name: Blackwell Companions to Philosophy. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, (relevant articles).



ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY

Credits: 4 (3+1+0)

Unit I –The Ideal Language Phase I: The linguistic turn of Moore, Russell and Frege; Ideal language and logical atomism of Russell and Wittgenstein; Theory of descriptions of Frege and Russell; Wittgenstein’s picture theory of meaning in the Tractatus

Unit II –The Ideal Language Phase II: Vienna circle’s logical positivism: Verification and falsification; critique of logical positivism

Unit III –The Ordinary Language Phase: Later Wittgenstein’s notions of family resemblance, form of life and the use theory of meaning; Austin’s speech act theory.


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Reading List :

1. Martinich, A. P., and David Sosa, eds. 2011. Analytic Philosophy: An Anthology, Second Edition. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

2. Glock, Hans-Johann, ed. 1997. The Rise of Analytic Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell. 3. Glock, Hans-Johann. 2008. What is Analytic Philosophy?. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press. 4. Schwartz, Stephen P. 2012. A Brief History of Analytic Philosophy: From Russell to Rawls.

Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. 5. Stroll, Avrum. 2000. Twentieth-Century Analytic Philosophy. New York: Columbia University

Press. 6. Mandik, Pete. 2014. This is Philosophy of Mind: An Introduction. Malden, MA: Wiley-

Blackwell. 7. Zalta, Edward N. ed. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/

(relevant articles).

SEMESTER-III Paper: PHL 901C

PROBLEMS IN INDIAN MORAL AND SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY

Credits: 4 (3+1+0)

Unit I –Dharma: Indian metaphysics of human existence in terms of karma-dharma-moksa; The place of virtuous life within this metaphysical scheme in Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism and Jainism;The ideal of niskamakarma; Is Indian ethics fatalistic?

Unit II –Varnsrama Dharma: The social scheme of varnasrama dharma; The purusartha scheme of gradation of human goods within the varnasrama dharma social scheme; Varna dharma and sadharan dharma

Unit III – Caste and Untouchability: Untouchability and the ethics of purity; Critique of the varnasrama scheme; The ability/aptitude account of varnasrama defended by Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi; Is the ability account defendable in terms of the modern social ethos?; Dr. Ambedkar’s attack against the varnasrama social scheme; Daya Krishna’s criticism of the purusartha scheme; Possibility of Indian ethics independent of the varnasrama-dharma-pursusartha scheme; Social egalitarianism in the Bhakti movement and practical Vedanta. Reading List :

1. Prasad, Rajendra. 2008. History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Vol. XII, Part 1: A Conceptual-Analytic Study of Classical Indian Philosophy of Morals. New Delhi: Centre for Studies in Civilizations.

2. Prasad, Rajendra, ed. 2009. History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Vol. XII, Part 2: A Conceptual-Analytic Study of Classical Indian Philosophy of Morals. New


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Delhi: Centre for Studies in Civilizations. 3. Perrett, Roy W. 1998. Hindu Ethics: A Philosophical Study. Honolulu, HI: University of

Hawaii Press. 4. Billimoria, Purusottama, Joseph Prabhu, and Renuka M. Sharma. 2007. Indian Ethics:

Classical Traditions and Contemporary Challenges, Vol. 1. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Publishing.

5. Ambedkar, B. R. 2014. Annihilation of Caste: The Annotated Critical Edition. New Delhi: Navyana.

6. Sharma, Urmila, and S. K. Sharma. 1996. Indian Political Thought. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers.

7. Coward, Harold. 2003. “Gandhi, Ambedker and Untouchability.” In Indian Critiques of Gandhi, ed. Harold Coward, 41-66. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

8. Dasgupta, Surendranath. 2000. History of Indian Philosophy, 5 Volumes Set. New Delhi: Motilal Bnarsidass, (relevant portions).

9. Potter, Karl H. 2011. The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Currently in 19 Volumes. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, (relevant portions).

SEMESTER-III Paper: PHL 902C

ASIAN PHILOSOPHY

Credits: 4 (3+1+0)

Unit I –Zoroastrianism: Ahura Mazda and Ahriman

Unit II –Taoism: The concept of Tao

Unit III –Cofucianism: Moral teachings of the Analects

Unit IV –Islam: Basic philosophical teachings, Sufism

Unit V –Shintoism: The concept of Kami

Reading List:

1. Boyce, M.: Zoroastrians, Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1987

2. Chan, W: A Sourcebook of Chinese Philosophy, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963 3. Fakhry, M: A History of Islamic Philosophy, London, Longmans, 1983 4. Nakamura, H: A History of the Development of Japanese Thought, 2 Volumes, Tokyo:

Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai, 1967

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SEMESTER III Paper: PHL 903C

PHENOMENOLOGY AND EXISTENTIALISM

(Credits: 3+1+0) Unit I – Husserl’s descriptive science of phenomenology; Structure of intentionality; Epoche or phenomenological reduction; Constitution of things; Time, space, self (transcendental ego), others (intersubjectivity)

Unit II – Existentialism as foreshadowed in Kierkegaard’s notions of subjectivity as truth and the leap of faith, and Nietzsche’s notions of the death of God, nihilism and the overman; Heidegger – Existential phenomenology: hermeneutics and ontology; Everydayness: Structures of Being-in-the-world and disclosedness; Authenticity: Being-towards-death, anticipatory resoluteness and temporality

Unit III – Sartre – Existentialism; Being-for-itself and being-in-itself; Being and nothingness; Bad faith; Authenticity and freedom characteristics; perception; freedom Reading List :

1. Moran, Dermot, and Timothy Mooney, eds. 2002. The Phenomenology Reader. London: Routledge.

2. Kauffman, Walter, ed. 1975. Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre, Revised and Expanded Edition. New York: Penguin.

3. Moran, Dermot. 2000. Introduction to Phenomenology. London: Routledge. 4. Lewis, Michael, and Tanja Staehler. 2010. Phenomenology: An Introduction. London:

Continuum. 5. Barrett, William. 1990. The Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy. New York:

Anchor Books. 6. Oaklander, Nathan L. 1995. Existential Philosophy: An Introduction, Second Edition. Upper

Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. 7. Zalta, Edward N. ed. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/


SEMESTER III Paper: PHL 904C

PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

(Credits: 3+1+0) Unit I- Nature of Religion: Understanding the concept of religion and the philosophy of religion; Different religious theologies like polytheism, animism, monotheism, monism, pantheism, panentheism, deism; Religious pluralism and religious absolutism; Science


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Unit II- Nature of the Ultimate: Arguments for and against the existence of God: Indian and western; Isvara and Brahman distinction; Revelation and faith; The concept of apauriseya, sabda and its authority; Theories of creation: Indian and Western Unit III- Nature of Religious language: Unit IV- Human Destiny: Immortality of the soul; Karma and reincarnation; God-human relation; Problem of evil (theodicy) Reading List:

1. Eshleman, Andrew, ed. 2008. Readings in the Philosophy of Religion: East Meets West. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

2. Clark, Kelly James, ed. 2008. Readings in the Philosophy of Religion, Second Edition. New York: Broadview Press.

3. Zagzebski, Linda, and Timothy D. Miller, eds. Readings in Philosophy of Religion: Ancient to Contemporary. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

4. Hick, John H. 1991. Philosophy of Religion, Fourth Edition. New Delhi: Prentice Hall. 5. Murray, Michael J., and Michael C. Rea. 2008. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 6. Ramamurty, A. 2002. Indian Philosophy of Religion, Series: Hyderabad Studies in

Philosophy. Delhi: D. K. Printworld. 7. Perrett, R. W., ed. 1989. Indian Philosophy of religion, Series: Studies in Philosophy and

Religion. New York: Springer. 8. Taliaferro, Charles, Paul Draper and Phillip L. Quinn, eds. 2010. A Companion to Philosophy

of Religion, Series: Blackwell Companions to Philosophy. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. 9. Copleston, Frederick. 1993. A History of Philosophy, 11 Volumes. New York: Image. 10. Zalta, Edward N. ed. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/


SEMESTER IV Paper: PHL 1001C

CONTEMPORARY INDIAN THOUGHT

(Credits: 3+1+0)

Unit I- Vivekananda – Practical Vedanta and universal religion; Nationalism; Aurobindo –reality as ‘sat-cit-ananda’, three phases of evolution of the Absolute, mind and super-mind, integral yoga Unit II- Tagore –The surplus in humans; philosophy of art; religion and artist;


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Unit III- K. C. Bhattacharya – The Absolute and Its alternative forms, subject as freedom, Unit IV- Radhakrishnan –God and the Absolute; the idealist view of life Unit V- M. K. Gandhi: Truth; Satyagraha; Swaraj; Sarvodaya; Trusteeship; Critique of modern civilization; Inter-religious dialogue and tolerance; Nation Reading List:

1. Radhakrishnan, S., and Muirhead, J. H. 1936. Contemporary Indian Philosophy. London: Macmillan (readings).

2. Guha, Ramachandra. ed. 2011. The Makers of Modern India. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press (readings).

3. Raju, P. T. 2008. Idealistic Thought of India. Abingdon: Routledge. 4. Lal, Basant Kumar. 2010. Contemporary Indian Philosophy. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. 5. Singh, Mahendra Prasad, and Himanshu Roy, eds. 2011. Indian Political Thought: Themes

and Thinkers. Noida: Dorling Kindersley (India).


RECENT TRENDS IN CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY

(Credits: 3+1+0)

Unit I- Hermeneutics: Gadamer – prejudice, tradition, understanding and fusion of horizon; Ricoeur – the narrative view of self and identity; Discourse, agency, action, time, memory, history Unit II- Critical Theory: Its emancipatory vision and differences from traditional Marxism; Horkheimer’s critique of ideology; Adorno’s negative dialectics; Marcuse’s one-dimensional society; Habermas and universal pragmatics, critique and practical action Unit III- Postmodernism: Lyotard’s definition of postmodernism; Poststructuralism and postmodernism; Differences with modernity; Foucault’s notion of power-knowledge and the death of the subject; Derrida’s critique of the metaphysics of presence, and his notion of difference; Habermas’s critique of postmodernism Reading List:

1. McNeill, William, and Karen S. Feldman, eds. 1998. Continental Philosophy: An Anthology. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

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2. West, David. 2010. Continental Philosophy: An Introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press. 3. Porter, Stanley E., and Jason Robinson. 2011. Hermeneutics: An Introduction to Interpretive

Theory. Cambridge: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 4. Malpas, Simon, and Paul Wake, eds. 2006. The Routledge Companion to Critical Theory.

Abingdon: Routledge. 5. Sarup, Madan. 1993. An Introductory Guide to Post-Structuralism, Second Edition. Athens,

GA: Georgia University Press. 6. Zalta, Edward N. ed. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/



FEMINIST PHILOSOPHY

(Credits: 3+1+0)

Unit I- Introduction to Feminist philosophy; Sex, gender, sexuality, sexual difference Unit II- Feminist ontology: Essentialism and constructionism; Critique of representation; Feminist theory of self-identity Unit III- Feminist epistemology: Method of feminist epistemology; Critique of knowledge; Critique of philosophical knowledge; Feminism and science Unit IV- Feminist ethics and politics: Critique of traditional ethics; Care ethics; Public-private distinction; Politics and the private Reading List:

1. Bailey, Alison, and Chuomo Chris, eds. 2008. The Feminist Philosophy Reader. New York: MacGraw-Hill.

2. Garry, Ann, and Marilyn Pearsall, eds. 1996. Women, Knowledge, and Reality: Explorations in Feminist Philosophy. New York: Routledge (readings)

3. Fricker, Miranda, and Jennifer Hornsby, eds. 2000. The Cambridge Companion to Feminism in Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

4. Schott, Robin May. 2003. Discovering Feminist Philosophy: Knowledge, Ethics, Politics. Lanham, MA: Rowman and Littlefield.

5. Kourany, Janet A. 1998. Philosophy in a Feminist Voice: Critiques and Reconstructions. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

6. Stone, Alison. 2007. An Introduction to Feminist Philosophy. Cambridge: Polity Press. 7. Jagger, Alison M., and Iris Marion Young, eds. 2000. A Companion to Feminist Philosophy,

Series: Blackwell Companion to Philosophy. Malden, MA: Blackwell. 8. Donovan, Josephine. 2012. Feminist Theory: The Intellectual Traditions, Fourth Edition.

London: Continuum.


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9. Rich, Jennifer. 2007. Modern Feminist Theory: An Introduction. Tirril, UK: Humanities E- Books.

10. Stanley, Liz, and Sue Wise. 1993. Breaking Out Again: Feminist Ontology and Epistemology, Second Edition. London: ROutledge & Kegan Paul.

11. Tanesini, Alessandra. 1999. An Introduction to Feminist Epistemologies. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

12. Lindemann, Hilde. 2005. An Invitation to Feminist Ethics. New York: MacGraw-Hill. 13. Bryson, Valerie. 2003. Feminist Political Theory: An Introduction, Second Edition. New York:

Palgrave Macmillan. 14. Zalta, Edward N. ed. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/



RESEARCH PAPER

(Credits: 0+2+2)

1. 8 hrs of work per week for the whole semester 2. A research paper on a suitable philosophical theme of about 10,000 words composed in

a proper philosophy paper format 3. Appropriate referencing style is to be followed (preferably, the Chicago Manuel of Style

Notes-Bibliography format; a ready reference is available here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/1300991022_717.pdf

ELECTIVE PAPERS

Elective Paper: PHL 1201E

PRACTICAL ETHICS (Credits: 2+1+0)

Unit I- Life: Suicide; Abortion; Euthanasia; Capital punishment; War Unit II- Equality: Intrinsic worth of nature; Animal rights; Rights of children; Rights of the disabled; Economic rights (of the disadvantaged); Racial and caste discrimination; Ethics of affirmative action (reservation) Unit III- Other debates: The gene revolution and cloning; Nationalism, rights of foreigners and right to secession; Corruption and whistleblowing; Terrorism


https://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/1300991022_717.pdf

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Reading List:

1. Singer, Peter, ed. 1986. Applied Ethics, Series: Oxford Readings in Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

2. Camp, Julie C. Van, Jeffrey Olen, and Vincent Barry, eds. 2013. Applying Ethics: A Text with Readings, Eleventh Edition. Stamford, CT: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

3. May, Larry, Kai Wong, and Jill Delgston. 2010. Applied Ethics: A Multicultural Approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

4. Frey, R. G., and Christopher Heath Wellman, eds. 2005. A Companion to Applied Ethics, Series: Blackwell Companions to Philosophy. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

5. Almond, Brenda, ed. 1995. Introducing Applied Ethics. Oxford: Blackwell. 6. Lafollette, Hugh, ed. 2003. The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics. Oxford: Oxford

University Press. 7. Singer, Peter. 2011. Practical Ethics, Third Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 8. Zalta, Edward N. ed. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/


Elective Paper: PHL 1202E PHILOSOPHY OF ART

(Credits: 2+1+0)

Unit I- Platonic and Aristotelian theories of art Unit II- Aesthetic philosophies of Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche Unit III- Aesthetics of Wittgenstein, Heidegger and Sartre Reading List:

1. Cahn, Steve, Aaron Meskin, eds. 2008. Aesthetics: A Comprehensive Anthology. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

2. Cazeaux, Clive ed. The Continental Aesthetics Reader. Abingdon: Routledge. 3. Lamargue, Peter, and Stein Haugom Olsen. 2003. Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art: The

Analytics Tradition – An Anthology. Malden, MA: Blackwell. 4. Wood, Robert E. 1999. Placing Aesthetics: Reflections on Philosophic Tradition. Athens, OH:

Ohio University Press. 5. Beardsley, Monroe C. 1975. Aesthetics from Classical Greece to the Present: A Short History.

Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press. 6. Lewis, Peter. 2004. Wittgenstein, Aesthetics, and Philosophy. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate

Publishing. 7. Copleston, Frederick. 1993. A History of Philosophy, 11 Volumes. New York: Image.

(relevant portions). 8. Zalta, Edward N. ed. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/




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Elective Paper: PHL 1203E PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

(Credits: 2+1+0)

Unit I- Introduction: Nature of philosophy of science; Inductive probability Unit II- Popper’s Philosophy of Science: Falsifiability; Accumulation of human knowledge; Probability, knowledge and verisimilitude Unit III- Kuhn’s philosophy of science: The idea of the development of science; the concept of paradigm; Incommensurability; Paradigm shift; Kuhn and the social sciences. Reading List:

1. Popper, Karl. 2002. The Logic of Scientific Discovery. New York: Routledge. 2. Kuhn, Thomas S. 2012. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition.

Chicago, IL: The Chicago University Press. 3. Gattei, Stefano. 2009. Karl Popper’s Philosophy of Science: Rationality without Foundations.

New York: Routledge. 4. Hoyningen-Guene, Paul. 1993. Reconstructing Scientific Revolutions: Thoms S. Kuhn’s 5. Philosophy of Science, trans. Alex Levine. Chicago, IL: The Chicago University Press. 6. Fuller, Steve. 2004. Kuhn Vs. Popper: The Struggle for the Soul of Science, Series: 7. Revolutions in Science. New York: Columbia University Press. 8. Rosenberg, Alex. 2012. Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary Introduction. New York:

Routledge. 9. Zalta, Edward N. ed. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/


Elective Paper: PHL 1204E

SANKARA VEDANTA (Credits: 2+1+0)

Unit I- The three-tier structure of consciousness of the system of Advaita: pratibhasika, vyavaharika, paramarthika; The doctrine of Brahman’s absolute reality and the relative unreality of the world and jiva; Establishing the system through the criticism of rival systems like Samkhya, Vaisesika, Buddhism, Jainism and Mimamsa Unit II- The World of Maya: Nirguna Brahman; Maya; Adhyasa; Avarana sakti and viksepasakti; Rejection of Samkhya’s prakrti as the (jada) cause of the universe; Cetana-Brahman as the material and efficient cause of the universe; theory of causation Unit III- Nature of the jiva; Jivanmukti;; The higher and the lower teachings of the Prasthanatrayi; The relative importance of reason and Sruti; Jnana as the means to


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Reading List :

1. Sankara. 1965. Brahma Sutra Bhasya, trans. Swami Gambhirananda. Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama.

2. Rangaswami, Sudhakshina, ed. 2012. The Roots of Vedanta: Selections from Sankara’s Writings. New Delhi: Penguin.

3. Sundaram, P. K., 1981. Advaita and Other Systems. Madras: University of Madras. 4. Pande, Govind Chandra. 1998. Life and Thought of Sankaracarya. New Delhi: Motilal

Banarsidass. 5. Mahadevan, T. M. P. 2011. The Philosophy of Advaita. Delhi: Bharatiya Kala Prakashan. 6. Isayeva, Natalia. 1992. Shankara and Indian Philosophy, Series: SUNY Series in Religious

Studies. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. 7. Dasgupta, Surendranath. 2000. History of Indian Philosophy, 5 Volumes Set. New Delhi:

Motilal Banarsidass, (relevant portions). 8. Potter, Karl H. 2011. The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Currently in 19 Volumes.

New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, (relevant portions).

Elective Paper: PHL 1205E GANDHIAN THOUGHT

(Credits: 2+1+0) Unit I- Gandhi’s ideas of knowledge, truth and love; Understanding of culture and tradition; Understanding of the relationship between self, world and God. Unit II- Moral foundations of good life; Swaraj, satyagraha and ahimsa; Brahmacarya and sexuality; Religion, spiritual practice and service; Means-end relationship; Critique of modern civilization. Unit III- Community and fellowship; The good society; Statelessness (anarchism), rural republic; trusteeship, sarvodaya, panchayati raj; Idea of India; Hindu-Muslim unity; Religious Reading List :

1. Johnson, Richard L., , ed. 2006. Gandhi’s Experiments with Truth: Essential Writings by and about Mahatma Gandhi. Oxford: Lexington Books.

2. Parel, Anthony J., ed. 1997. Gandhi: ‘Hind Swaraj’ and Other Writings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

3. Bhikhu, Parekh. 1991. Gandhi’s Political Philosophy. New Delhi: Macmillan. 4. Allen, Doughlas, ed. 2008. The Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi for the Twenty-First Century.

Oxford: Lexington Books. 5. Parel, Anthony J., 2007. Gandhi’s Philosophy and the Quest for Harmony. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press. 6. Parekh, Bhikhu. 2000. Colonialism, Tradition and Reform: An Analysis of Gandhi’s Political

Discourse. New Delhi: Sage. 7. Richards, Glyn. 1995. The Philosophy of Gandhi: A Study of his Basic Ideas. Abingdon:

Routledge.

cotton college state university · 4. klenk, virginia. 2007. understanding symbolic logic. upper...

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