Professional Documents
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CBCI Chair
Indira Gandhi National Open University
Maidan Garhi, New Delhi – 110 068
Dear Student,
Welcome to IGNOU and the programme of study in philosophy. Those enrolled for July
2017 session must submit these assignments on or before March 2018 and those of you
getting enrolled for January 2018 must submit the assignments on or before August 30, 2018.
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. Keep the word limit mentioned against each question. Preparation 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.
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.
1. Write short essays on the moral philosophy of Vidura and the political philosophy of
Bheeshma. 20
OR
How do the Upanishads discuss unity and oneness? Explain. 20
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a) Describe the meaning and significance of the word “darsana”. 10
b) Explain the means and significance of self-knowledge according to the kathopanishad. 10
c) Write a short essay on the doctrine of dependent origination. 10
d) Can life and religion be distinguished from philosophy? Discuss in the Indian context. 10
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a) Yajna 4
b) Nishkamakarma 4
c) Nirvana 4
d) Rita 4
e) Sunya Vada 4
f) Duhkha 4
g) Avidya 4
h) Hiranyagarbha 4
Assignment – 2
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.
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a) Write short essays on the categorical propositions and distribution of terms. 10
b) Explain various rules of logical division. 10
c) What do you mean by formal proof of validity? Discuss. 10
d) Is Logic a positive science or a normative science? Discuss. 10
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a) Mood 4
b) Concept 4
c) Logical reduction 4
d) Probability 4
e) Modus Tollens 4
f) Inverse Variation 4
g) Logic and Language 4
h) Genus et differentia 4
Assignment – 3
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.
2. What do you know about the Sophists? Explain the significance of Sophist thought. 20
OR
Explain the allegory of the cave. 20
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a) Is there a difference between wisdom and knowledge? Discuss. 10
b) Explain Plotinus‟ position on religion and salvation of the soul. 10
c) Write a short essay on the philosophy of Pythagoras. 10
d) Discuss Zeno‟s arguments against Plurality. 10
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a) Socratic Method 4
b) Agnosticism 4
c) Matter and form 4
d) Natural law 4
e) Myth 4
f) Being 4
g) Rhetoric 4
h) Individuation 4
Assignment – 4
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.
1. Elaborate various metaphysical theories of religion like theism, deism and pantheism. 20
OR
How do you approach the reality of religious pluralism? 20
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a) Explain the fundamental beliefs of Islam. 10
b) Is religion and morality related? Discuss. 10
c) Explain the external elements of religion. 10
d) Write a short essay on the Hindu ethics. 10
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a) Kami 4
b) Mystery 4
c) Shamanism 4
d) Ratna-traya 4
e) Yin – Yang 4
f) Hajj 4
g) Revelation 4
h) Sangat 4
Assignment – 5
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.
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a) Explain the eight fold path of Yoga. 10
b) Explain the eternal and non-eternal substances as presented by Vaisesika. 10
c) What are the proofs presented for the existence of Prakriti? Explain the gunas of Prakriti.
10
d) Examine the epistemology of the Dvaita School of Vedanta. 10
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a) Ahamkara 4
b) Anirvacaniya Khyativada 4
c) Alwars 4
d) Saguna Brahman 4
e) Satyagraha 4
f) Qadriya order of Sufism 4
g) Kabir 4
h) “Back to the Vedas” 4
Assignment – 6
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.
2. Discuss how the notion of being is approached in the modern and contemporary western
philosophy. 20
OR
Explain matter and form as potency and act. 20
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a) What is change? Mention different kinds of change. 10
b) Explain the fundamental metaphysical notions discussed in the Upanishads. 10
c) Write a short essay on the material and formal objects of Metaphysics. 10
d) Explain substance and accidents. How are they united? 10
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a) Skepticism 4
b) Efficient cause 4
c) Potency 4
d) Analogy 4
e) Hylemorphism 4
f) Freedom 4
g) Knowledge as relation 4
h) Individuation 4
Assignment – 7
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.
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a) What do you know about meta-ethics? 10
b) Why should one be moral? 10
c) Write a short essay on the ethical teachings of Brahma Samaj? 10
d) Is pleasure the end of human life? Discuss. 10
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a) Knowledge is virtue 4
b) Samanya dharma 4
c) Eudaimonia 4
d) Principle of mean 4
e) Moral dilemma 4
f) Mercy killing 4
g) Ethics of capability 4
h) Four cardinal virtues of Plato 4
Assignment – 8
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.
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a) Discuss the significance of enlightenment for the development of philosophy. 10
b) Explain mind body problem with reference to the Cartesian system. 10
c) Is this world the “best of all possible worlds”? Explain. 10
d) Write a short essay on Hegel‟s organic theory of truth and reality. 10
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a) Humanism 4
b) Skepticism 4
c) Innate Idea 4
d) Tractatus theologico-politicus 4
e) Deconstruction 4
f) Monad 4
g) Dialectical Materialism 4
h) Subjective Idealism 4
Assignment – 9
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.
2. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a) Discuss Sartre‟s understanding of freedom and its implications. 10
b) Explain the common themes discussed in Poststructuralism. 10
c) How does Heidegger situate Dasein as a being in the world? Explain. 10
d) Discuss Nietzsche‟s presentation of “will to power”. 10
4. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a) Intentionality 4
b) Morphology 4
c) Philosophy of Leap 4
d) Dogmatism 4
e) Atomic facts 4
f) Pragmatism 4
g) Care 4
h) Super ego 4
Assignment – 10
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.
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a) Explain the structure of Anumana with an example. 10
b) Discuss the constructivist approach towards perception. 10
c) Was idealism of Hegel a reaction to Kant‟s rejection of Noumena? Discuss. 10
d) Discuss the universality of truth. 10
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a) Epistemic justification 4
b) Relativism 4
c) Inductive generalization 4
d) Syllogism 4
e) Certainty 4
f) Synthetic-a priori judgments 4
g) Sabda 4
h) Communicative rationality 4
Assignment – 11
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.
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a) Briefly explain the concepts of Atman and Brahman. 10
b) Make a critical analysis of the extraterrestrial origin of human person. 10
c) How does Levinas understand human inter-subjectivity? 10
d) Discuss various reasons for considering human person as a spiritual being. 10
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a) Inter-Subjectivity 4
b) Homo Sapiens 4
c) Resuscitation 4
d) Empathy 4
e) Gender Stereotypes 4
f) Responsibility 4
g) Human Rights 4
h) Immortality 4
Assignment – 12
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.
1. Define philosophy of science. How is philosophy different and related to science? Explain.
20
OR
Make a critical evaluation of Logical Positivism. 20
2. Write an essay on the methods used in science with special reference to Newton‟s
understanding of a scientific method. 20
OR
Explain the causes of uncertainty and discuss the philosophical consequences of uncertainty
principle. 20
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a) Explain the purpose and importance of Cosmology. 10
b) Explain Plato‟s views on the origin and development of the universe. 10
c) Can we call the pre-socratic thinkers as scientists? Do they have something to contribute to
modern science? Explain. 10
d) What is a myth? How is it related to philosophy and science? 10
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a) Inertial system 4
b) Falsifiability 4
c) Skepticism 4
d) Quantum Physics 4
e) Hypothesis 4
f) Multiple universes 4
g) Cosmogony 4
h) Frame of reference 4
Assignment – 13
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.
1. Explain the idea of interreligious dialogue. What attitudes are essential for religions to
enter and sustain genuine inter-religious dialogues? 20
OR
Explain various forms of atheism and agnosticism. Present arguments for and against them.
20
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a) How does Marx approach the question of religion? Explain. 10
b) How is religious feeling different from the feeling of the sublime? Explain. 10
c) What do you understand by sacred languages? Explain various components of religious
language. 10
d) Explain religious experience as the internal aspect of religion. 10
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a) Substance 4
b) Category of the Holy 4
c) Totemism 4
d) Emanation 4
e) Religious antagonism 4
f) Sacred 4
g) Philosophy of Religion 4
h) Innate idea of God 4
Assignment – 14
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.
3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 200 words each:
a) Explain how religious myths are exemplary sources of moral behaviour among the tribals.
10
b) Explain the major themes discussed in tribal folklore? 10
c) Discuss various socio-religious rites among the tribes. 10
d) How is the untouchables‟ outlook on life and world influenced by their being exploited
and treated as impure? 10
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each:
a) Dalit 4
b) Homogenous people 4
c) Clan 4
d) Marginalsation 4
e) Casteism 4
f) Untouchables 4
g) Bringing in the „shade‟ 4
h) Harijan 4