The Public Service Commission, West Bengal or PSCWB is the state agency authorized to conduct the Civil Services Examination for entry-level appointments to the various Civil Services of state of West Bengal in India. Here is a Detailed Syllabus for WBPSC Mains Optional Paper - Philosophy.
West Bengal PSC Syllabus
WBPSC Optional Paper - Philosophy
Paper – I
Problems of Philosophy (European and Indian)
- Plato and Aristotle: Ideas, Substance; Form and Matter; Causation; Actuality and Potentiality.
- Rationalism (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz): Cartesian Method and Certain Knowledge; Substance; God; Determinism and Freedom.
- Empiricism (Locke, Berkeley, Hume): Theory of Knowledge; Substance and Qualities; Self and God; Scepticism.
- Kant: Possibility of Synthetic a priori judgments; Space and Time; Categories.
- Moore, Russell and Early Wittgenstein : Defence of Common sense; Refutation of Idealism; Logical Atomism; Picture Theory of Meaning.
- Logical Positivism: Verification Theory of Meaning; Rejection of Metaphysics.
- Cârvâka: Theory of Knowledge; Metaphysics and Ethics.
- Jainism: Anekântavâda,; Saptabhanginaya.
- Buddhism: Four Noble Truths; Pratîtyasamutpâda, Kşaņikavâda, Nairâtmyavâda.
- Nyâya – Vaiśesika : Theory of Categories; Theory of Pramâna; Self; Theory of Causation; Atomistic Theory of Creation.
- Sâmkhya: Prakŗti; Puruşa; Causation; Theory of Evolution.
- Yoga: Citta; Cittavŗtti.
- Mîmâmsâ: Epistemology; Theory of Validity.
- Vedânta : Views of Śamkara and Râmânuja on Brahman; Îśvara; Âtman; Jîva; Jagat; Mâyâ; Avidyâ; Adhyâsa.
- Swâmi Vivekânanda: Practical Vedânta.
- Sri Aurobindo: Evolution; Involution; Integral Yoga. 17. Rabindranath Tagore: Nature of Man; Surplus in Man.
Paper – II:
Socio – Political Philosophy and Psychology
- Social and Political Ideals: Equality, Justice, Liberty: Views of Mill, Locke, Rawls.
- Individual and State: Rights, Duties and Accountability.
- Political Ideologies: Anarchism, Marxism, Socialism and Democracy.
- Humanism; Secularism; Multiculturalism.
- Social Change: Gandhi, Ambedkar.
- Mind – Body Problem: Dualism, Philosophical Behaviourism, Person Theory of Strawson.
- Levels of Mind; Proofs for the existence of the unconscious; Freud’s theory of dream, citta, cittavŗtti (Yoga).
Ethics and Philosophy of Religion
- Standards of Morality: Utilitarianism (Bentham and Mill), Deontological Theories.
- Virtue Ethics: Aristotle.
- Human Rights and Discrimination.
- Feminism: Liberal and Radical.
- Environmental Ethics: Bio-centric ethics and Eco-centric ethics.
- Theories of Punishment; Capital Punishment.
- Terrorism and Just war.
- Indian Ethics : Puruşârtha, Concept of Liberation, Anuvrata and Mahâvrata (Jainism), Brahmavihâra (Buddhism).
- Proofs for the existence of God : Descartes, St. Anselm, Naiyâyikas.
- Religion without God, Religion and Morality.
- Religious Pluralism.
- Nature of Religious Language : Cognitive and Non-cognitive, Analogical and Symbolic.
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