Master Degree Programme in Philosophy

(MAPY)
First Year
MPY-001 : INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
MPYE-001 : LOGIC
MPYE-002 : ETHICS
MPYE-003 : EPISTEMOLOGY
MPYE-004 : PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN PERSON
MPYE-005 : WORLD RELIGIONS
MPYE-006 : DALIT PHILOSOPHY
MPYE-007 : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY IN PHILOSOPHY
School of Social Work
Indira Gandhi National Open University
Maidan Garhi, New Delhi 110068
Course Title
Assignments
July, 2013 and January, 2014 Sessions
Last Date of Submission of Assignments to the Study Centre
July Session - January 30, 2014
January Session - July 30, 2014
2
Dear Student,
Welcome to IGNOU and to the courses and programmes of Study in M.A. philosophy. Those
enrolled for July 2013 session must submit these assignments on or before Jaunary 30, 2014 and
those of you getting enrolled for January 2014 must submit the assignments on or before July 30,
2014. Copies of assignments are available on IGNOU website as well.
Assignments are open book examination and we at IGNOU assign 30 per cent weightage to the
assignment while calculating the overall grade for each course. Assignments are to be hand-written
or neatly typed and duly signed on it before its submission in the study centre. In order to prepare a
good set of assignment-responses, you must first of all read the chapter(s) from which a particular
question has been framed. Discuss with your peer-group and academic counselors or professors
who teach you. Prepare a draft, do the necessary correction on it and then, prepare the final version
for submission to the Study Centre.
Make sure that each question answer starts on a new page. For long and medium answers, ensure
that there is an introduction, sub-titles for main body and a conclusion. One line should be left
between each paragraph. Make sure your answers are specific and in your own words and do not
copy from books. Your answers will be exclusively based on the IGNOU materials only. Prepara-
tion of assignments is preparation for your term-end examination. Therefore take the assignments
seriously.
You must keep a duplicate/carbon/Xerox copy of your assignment for future reference. Always take
an acknowledgement receipt from the study-centre while submitting your assignments. Ensure that
you read the programme guide carefully which will answer most of your doubts. Wish you all the
best for your studies.
Prof. Gracious Thomas
(Programme Coordinator)
3
INDIANPHILOSOPHY
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code: MPY-001
Total Marks: 100
Note: i) Answer all five questions
ii) All questions carry equal marks
iii) Answer to question no.1 and 2 should be in about 400 words each
iv) Before writing the assignment-responses, read the questions, understand
them, refer the texts and write down the answers in your own words.
1. Explain the theory of evolution according to Sankhya. 20
Or
Write an essay on the social and political philosophy of B. R. Ambedkar. 20
2. Explain the four noble truths of Buddhism. In Buddhism, what are the methods
prescribed for the cessation of suffering? 20
Or
Explain in detail the Atomic theory of Vaisesika. 20
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a. Elucidate Upanishadic concept of Atman-Brahman. 10
b. Describe the purusharthas as the goal of life. 10
c. What is the concept of Jiva according to the Visistha Advaita school of Vedanta? 10
d. Critically evaluate Syadvada of Jainism. 10
4. Answer any four of the following in about 150 words each:
a. What is the nature of Universal Religion according to Vivekananda. 5
b. Briefly explain Aurobindos concept of the Sacidananda. 5
c. Write a short note on the Mimamsa concept of sabda. 5
d. Explain the Triratna of Jainism. 5
e. Discuss the moral teachings found in Mahabharata. 5
f. Illustrate the syllogism of Nyaya logic with example. 5
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a. Satkaryavada. 4
b. Avatara. 4
c. Aranyaka 4
d. Anatma vada 4
e. Concept of God in Saivism 4
f. Concept of rasa 4
g. Nishkama Karma 4
h. Darsana 4
4
LOGIC
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code: MPYE-001
Total Marks: 100
Note: i) Answer all five questions
ii) All questions carryequal marks
iii) Answer to question no.1 and 2 should be in about 400 words each
iv) Before writingthe assignment-responses, read the questions, understand
them, refer the texts and write down the answers inyour own words.
1. Discuss the rule of quantificationin detail. Howwould you applythese quantification
rules? Illustrate with examples. 20
Or
Explain in detail the concepts of Definition and Division. 20
2. Describe Proposition and its kinds. 20
Or
Narrate the growth of Symbolic Logic and its utility. 20
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a. Enumerate categorical syllogism. 10
b. Give a brief account of Logic Gate. 10
c. Elucidate Square of opposition. 10
d. What do you mean by Denotation and Connotation of Terms? 10
4. Answer any four of the following in about 150 words each:
a. Define Truth-table with an example. 5
b. Give a formal proof of validity for the following: 5
c. What is a Universal Quantifier? 5
d. Explain the rule of replacement. 5
e. Explain universal generalization 5
f. Distinguish between propositions and sentences 5
5
5. Write short notes on anyfive of the followingin about 100 words each:
a. ArgumentumAd populum 4
b. Multi-valuelogic 4
c. Conditional proof 4
d. Conjunction 4
e. Principles of indirect proofs 4
f. Hasty generalization 4
g. Bi-conditional 4
h. Disjunctive Syllogism 4
6
ETHICS
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code: MPYE-002
Total Marks: 100
Note: i) Answer all five questions
ii) All questions carry equal marks
iii) Answer to question no.1 and 2 should be in about 400 words each
iv) Before writing the assignment-responses, read the questions, understand
them, refer the texts and write down the answers in your own words.
1. What do you understand by Virtue Ethics? Elaborate and contrast it with Deontology.
Or
Discuss the debate between Consequentialism and Non-consequentialism. 20
2. Analyse the ethical responsibilities of the social institutions. 20
Or
Narrate the development of the concept of human rights. Why is right to life
considered the prime one? 20
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a. What is the importance of Bioethics? Explain some contributions made by
Bioethics to medicine. 10
b. Distinguish carefully between moral relativity and ethical relativism 10
c. Explain the four asramas and show their significance in an individuals life. 10
d. Critically look at Hedonism from ethical point of view. 10
4. Answer any four of the following in about 150 words each:
a. Write a short note on purusharthas. 5
b. What do you understand by Situation Ethics? 5
c. Differentiate between Values and Norms. 5
d. What are the ethical issues in mass-media today. 5
e. Discuss the moral teachings of Bhagavat Gita on Karma. 5
f. What do you mean by Environmental Ethics? 5
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a. Simple subjectivism 4
b. Teleology 4
c. Perceptual relativism 4
d. Pancasila 4
e. Intuitionism 4
f. Normative ethics 4
g. Respect for human person 4
h. Double-effect in ethics 4
7
EPISTEMOLOGY
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code: MPYE-003
Total Marks: 100
Note: i) Answer all five questions
ii) All questions carry equal marks
iii) Answer to question no.1 and 2 should be in about 400 words each
iv) Before writing the assignment-responses, read the questions, understand
them, refer the texts and write down the answers in your own words.
1. What is naturalized epistemology? What are its implications? 20
Or
Briefly discuss Quine-Duhem thesis and its implications for epistemic justification. 20
2. What do you understand by certitude? What are the different kinds of certitude? 20
Clarify the term certitude. Explain various types of certitude.
Or
Which are the major sources of valid knowledge accepted by the different schools
of Indian thought? 20
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a. Explain in detail the nature and the scope of epistemology. 10
b. Explain hermeneutics. What are three components of hermeneutical enterprise? 10
c. Explain contextualism and foundationalism as theories of justification 10
d. Discuss the linguistic turn in philosophy and the reconstruction of metaphysics 10
4. Answer any four of the following in about 150 words each:
a. What do you understand by the capacity of the reader? 5
b. Describe the Aristotelian division of Episteme. 5
c. What is the Dhvani theory? 5
d What is epistemological realism? 5
e. What do you understand by radical translation? 5
f. Explain the Picture Theory of Language. 5
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a. Picture theory 4
b. Nescience 4
c. Linga paramarsa 4
d. Syadvada 4
e. Fallibilism 4
f. Perceptual error 4
g. Qualia 4
h Manas or Antahkarana 4
8
PHILOSOPHYOFHUMANPERSON
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code: MPYE-004
Total Marks: 100
Note: i) Answer all five questions
ii) All questions carry equal marks
iii) Answer to question no.1 and 2 should be in about 400 words each
iv) Before writing the assignment-responses, read the questions, understand
them, refer the texts and write down the answers in your own words.
1. Are we really free? Reflect philosophically. 20
Or
Explain the hierarchy of needs according to Abraham Maslow. 20
2. Elaborate mans being as dependent, interdependent and independent existence. 20
Or
Reflect on the concept of self in Indian Philosophy. 20
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a. Write a short essay on the I Thou Relationship according to Marcel. 10
b. Critically look at Heideggerian concept of being-in-the-world. 10
c. Describe the purusharthas as the goal of life. 10
d. Show how everything in the world, no matter what it is, depends on
something else for its existence. 10
4. Answer any four of the following in about 150 words each:
a. What is the difference between self and centre of gravity? 5
b. Explain persons as ends in themselves. 5
c. What is the last and greatest freedom, according to Viktor Frankl? 5
d. Every understanding is self understanding. Explain. 5
e. How do you understand the human search for a meaning? 5
f. What are some of the characteristics of a self-actualised person? 5
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a. Care 4
b. Total reflection 4
c. Animal symbolicum 4
d. Peak experience 4
e. Appetite in the philosophical sense 4
f. Bundle theory of self 4
g. Cosmic extinction or extension? 4
h. Courageous despair 4
9
WORLDRELIGIONS
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code: MPYE-005
Total Marks: 100
Note: i) Answer all five questions
ii) All questions carry equal marks
iii) Answer to question no.1 and 2 should be in about 400 words each
iv) Before writing the assignment-responses, read the questions, understand
them, refer the texts and write down the answers in your own words.
1. Elaborate the six articles of faith in Islam. 20
Or
Explain the Jaina concept of substance and its division. 20
2. Explain the Concept of God according to Christianity. 20
Or
How far is the Indian ashram system helpful in attaining the purusharthas or
the goals of ones life? 20
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a. Explain the Zoroastrian concept of God. 10
b. Explain the Islamic concept of God 10
c. Do Jews believe in a life after death? Explain the different concepts related to it. 10
d. Write an essay on Yajna, the Vedic sacrifice 10
4. Answer any four of the following in about 150 words each:
a. Briefly explain the doctrine of no soul (Anatta). 5
b. Explain the Concept of kami in Shintoism. 5
c. Differentiate between Nirguna and Saguna Brahman. 5
d. What are the pancavratas of Jainism? 5
e. Discuss the understanding of dharma in Hinduism. 5
f. Describe Human Person from Quaranic perspective. 5
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a. Adi Granth 4
b. Kami 4
c. Tirthankara 4
d. Navjote 4
e. Concept of Yin and Yang 4
f. Purusa Sukta 4
g. Rta 4
h. Tower of silence 4
10
DALITPHILOSOPHY
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code: MPYE-006
Total Marks: 100
Note: i) Answer all five questions
ii) All questions carry equal marks
iii) Answer to question no.1 and 2 should be in about 400 words each
iv) Before writing the assignment-responses, read the questions, understand
them, refer the texts and write down the answers in your own words.
1. What do you know about Dalit aesthetics? What are the Dalit contributions to
Indian music and dance? 20
Or
What do you understand by the term Dalit? Explain dehumanization through
exclusion and denial through exploitation. 20
2. Explain bhakti as peoples philosophy. What was the impact of Bhakti Movement on
the conditions of the Dalits? 20
Or
What is the Dalit image of the divine? What are the affective and emotive aspects of
their ritualistic expressions? 20
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a. Write an essay on the denial of the Dalits through exploitation. 10
b. Discuss the philosophical analysis of religion byAmbedkar. 10
c. Write a short essay on the pragmatic and constructive religious symbols
among the Dalits. 10
d. Spell out the phases of the process of philosophizing from a Dalit perspective. 10
4. Answer any four of the following in about 150 words each:
a. Do you know about the Shramana Tradition? 5
b. Does change of religion change the social status of the Dalits? 5
c. What is the philosophy of liberation? 5
d. How do the Dalits view the problem of evil? 5
e. Is the dalit eschatology mostly materialistic? 5
f. What is the Dalit concept of the divine? 5
11
5. Write short notes on anyfive of the followingin about 100 words each:
a. Subalternphilosophy 4
b. Shamanism 4
c. Varnas 4
d. Dalitization 4
e. Narayana Guru 4
f. Anthropomorphism in Dalit religious life 4
g. Manudharma Sastra 4
h. Dalit world-view 4
12
RESEARCHMETHODOLOGYINPHILOSOPHY
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code: MPYE-007
Total Marks: 100
Note: i) Answer all five questions
ii) All questions carry equal marks
iii) Answer to question no. 1 and 2 should be in about 400
each
iv) Before writingthe assignment-responses, read the questions, understand
them, refer the texts and write down the answers inyour own words.
1. Discuss the importance of Dialectical Method and show its relevance. 20
Or
Describe the different components in documentation and explain their importance. 20
2. Define research. Explain in detail various tools used in scientific research. 20
Or
Enumerate the method and contents of thesis proposal. 20
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a. Explain the importance of material gathering and notes taking in research. 10
b. How do rationalists differ from empiricists in their method? Explain. 10
c. Explain semantic autonomy and pre-understanding of the text. 10
d. Discuss various criteria involved in choosing a topic for research. 10
4. Answer any four of the following in about 150 words each:
a. What do you understand by theory-dependence of observation? 5
b. Mark the relation between Thesis, Anti-Thesis and Synthesis. 5
c. What is Language Game? 5
d. What are the different steps involved in notes taking? 5
e. Explain why citation is imperative in a research paper. 5
f. What is the difference between arguments and conclusion? 5
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a. Bracketing (epoche) 4
b. Plagiarism 4
c. Ellipsis 4
d. Triangulation 4
e. Hypothesis 4
f. Appendix 4
g. Citation 4
h. Statement of thesis 4