Curtailed/Reduced Syllabus of

BA, Philosophy
(BA I, II and III)

(Prepared in accordance with the Notification Nos.

o5/R/591/2020, dated 07-10-2020 and o5/R/592/2020, dated 07-10-2020)

Only for the Academic Year

2020 – 2021

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITY OF ALLAHABAD, PRAYAGRAJ
 Reduced Syllabus of BA, Philosophy, 2020-21

BA - I
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.
Suggested Books
1. S.L. Pandey, : Nitishastra Ka Sarvekshan
2. V.P. Verma : NitishastraKeMool Siddhant
3. Jata Shankar : Naitik Darshan Ke Vivid Ayam
4. N.N. Mishra : Nitishastra, SiddhantaTathaPrayog
5. J. S. Mackenzie : A Manual of Ethics
6. W.K. Frankena : Ethics
7. W. Lillie : Introduction of Ethics

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 Reduced Syllabus of BA, Philosophy, 2020-21

8. Diwakar Pathak : Indian Ethics

9. J.L. Mackie : Ethics

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)
Suggested Books
1. Datta and Chatterji : An Introduction to Indian Philosophy, Hindi edition available)
2. S.L. Pandey : Bhartiya Darshan Ka Sarveksan, (Only relevant Chapters)
3. M. Hiriyanna : Outlines of Indian Philosophy (Hindi edition available)
4. C.D. Sharma : A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy (Hindi edition available)
5. R.M. Pathak : Bhartiya Darshan Ki SamikshatmakRooprekha

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 Reduced Syllabus of BA, Philosophy, 2020-21

B.A. II
Paper I: Modern Western Philosophy
First Term
1. Rene Descartes: The method of doubt; four rules of investigation, cogito ergo sum,
Interactionism;
2. Spinoza’s Monism; Pantheism; Substance; Attributes and Modes, Parallelism
3. Leibnitz: Monadology; theory of Pre-established harmony
Second Term
4. Locke’s criticism of innate Ideas
5. Locke’s theory of knowledge; kinds of ideas; limits of knowledge; primary qualities and
secondary qualities
6. Berkeley’s criticism of Locke’s realism; esse est percipi
Third Term
7. Hume’s theory of knowledge, his refutation of the existence of God and self, his
refutation of causality, Hume’s skepticism.
8. Kant’s criticism of rationalism and empiricism.

Suggested Books
1. Thilly and Wood : A History of Western Philosophy
2. Falkenberg : A History of Modern Western Philosophy
3. S.L. Pandey : Adhunik Darshan Ki Bhumika
4. H.S. Upadhyaya : Paschatya Darshan ka UdbhavaAurVikasa

Paper II: Logic

First Term
1. The nature, definition and scope of Logic; distinguish between Deductive and Inductive
Logic; Truth and Validity and Soundness. The nature and illustration of thinking.
2. Functions of language and kinds of definition; definition of genus by differentia.
3. Informal Fallacies: Their Definitions and Detection.
4. Inductive and Analogical Argument.
5. Hypothesis and scientific explanation; criteria of evaluation of Hypothesis.
6. Causal Connections. Mill’s methods of Experimental enquiry.
Second Term

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 Reduced Syllabus of BA, Philosophy, 2020-21

7. Categorical Propositions and their kinds.

8. Categorical Syllogism: Figures, Moods, Rules, Validity
9. Disjunctive and Hypothetical Syllogisms.
10. Dilemma.
Suggested Books
1. I.M. Copi : Introduction to logic
2. Pandy & Mishra : Tarkasastra Ka Parichaya (Copi’s Translation)
3. Cohen and Nagel : Logic and Scientific Method
4. Seth and Misra : Tarkashastra

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 Reduced Syllabus of BA, Philosophy, 2020-21

BA - III
Paper I: Western Epistemology
First Term
1. Nature and Scope of Epistemology
2. Nature of Knowledge; Tripartite conditions of knowledge; Gettier’s problem; Fourth
conditions of Knowledge; Knowledge and Belief; Knowing-how and Knowing-that.
3. Types of knowledge: apriori and aposteriori, Analytic and Synthetic propositions;
Synthetic apriori judgment.
Second Term
4. Nature of Truth: Truth and criterion; Coherence, Correspondence and Pragmatic
theories of truth.
5. Problem of Induction: Hume’s Problem and its main solutions: Probability theory,
Hypothetic-deductive method, Pragmatic and Linguistic solutions.
Third Term
6. Personal Identity; knowledge of other minds and its various solutions.
7. Problem of Universals: Realism, Conceptualism, Nominalism and Linguistic theory.

Suggested Books
1. D.W. Hymlyn : Theory of Knowledge
2. J. Hospers : An introduction of philosophical Analysis (Hindi edition available
3. L.P. Pojman(ed): Theory of Knowledge
4. H.S. Upadhyaya: Jnanamimamsa Ke moola Prashna
5. H.S. Upadhyaya: Knowledge and Justification
6. Seth and Misra Jnanamimamsa
7. Daya Krishna: Jnanamimamsa

Paper II: Philosophy of Religion

First Term
1. Nature and Scope of Religion: Distinction between Religion and Dharma
2. Nature and scope of Philosophy of Religion; Distinction between Philosophy of Religion
and theology.
3. Nature of God: Personal, Impersonal and Naturalistic.
4. Relation between God and world: Deism, Theism, Pantheism and Panentheism.
Second Term

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 Reduced Syllabus of BA, Philosophy, 2020-21

5. Foundations of Religious Belief: Faith, Reason, Revelation and Mystical Experience.

6. Traditional Arguments for the existence of God: Ontological, Cosmological, Teleological
and Moral Argument.
7. The problem of Evil and its various solutions.
Third Term
8. Religious Tolerance; Religious Pluralism; Conversion; Secularism and The meeting
point of all Religions.

Suggested Books
1. Ed. L. Miller: God and Reason
2. John Hick: Philosophy of Religion
3. L.N. Sharma: Dharma Darshan
4. Rishi Kant Pandey: Dharma Darshan
5. Seth and Misra: Ishvar Swatantrata Evam Amaratva: Ek Tattva Darshanik Adhyayan
6. V.P. Verma: Dharma Darshan Ki Mule Samasyaye

Paper III: Socio-Political Philosophy

First Term
1. Social Institutions: Nature and Kinds of Family and state.
2. Theories concerning the relation of Individual and state.
Second Term
3. Theories of Punishment: Reformative, Deterrent, Retributive theories and the Issue of
Capital Punishment.
4. Political Ideologies: Democracy, Socialism, Indian Socialism, Communism & Gandhian
Anarchism.
5. Social and Political Concepts: Freedom, Justice, Equality and Sovereignty; Right and
Justice.
Third Term
6. Method of Social Change: Constitutionalism, Revolution, Terrorism and Satyagraha
(Violent and non-Violent).
Suggested Books
1. G.H. Sabine : A History of Political Theory
2. G. Sabine : Rajnitik Siddhant ka Itihas (Hindi edition available)
3. Joshi & Pant : Paschatya Raj Darshan
4. Robet N. Beck : A Hand Book in Social Philosophy

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 Reduced Syllabus of BA, Philosophy, 2020-21

5. Jata Shankar : VedantiSamajavada

6. S.L. Pandey : Samaj Darshan Ki EkPranali
7. V.P. Verma : Philosophical Humanism and Contemporary India

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