ASSIGNMENTS
BDP (Electives)
PHILOSOPHY(Third Year)
BPY -009: CONTEMPORARY WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
BPY -010: EPISTEMOLOGY
BPY -011: PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN PERSON
BPY -012: PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND COSMOLOGY
BPYE – 001: PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
BPYE – 002: TRIBAL AND DALIT PHILOSOPHY
For July 2011 and January 2012 Sessions
CBCI Chair / School of Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies (SOITS)
Indira Gandhi National Open University
Maidan Garhi, New Delhi – 110 068
Dear Student,
Welcome to IGNOU and the courses and programme of study in philosophy, which are proposed by the CBCI Chair. Those enrolled for July 2011 session must submit these assignments on or before March 2012 and those of you getting enrolled for January 2012 must submit the assignments on or before August 30, 2012. 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. 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.
Prof. Gracious Thomas
(Programme Coordinator)
Date: July 2011
Assignment - 1
BPY -009: CONTEMPORARY WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
Maximum Marks: 100
Note:(i) Answer all thefive questions.
(ii) All questions carry equal marks.
(iii) Answer to question no. 1 and 2 should be in about 400 words each.
1. What are the common features of post-modern Philosophy? What are some of the contributions of post modernism? 20
OR
What is ordinary language theory? Explain Gilbert Ryle’s contributions to the ordinary language philosophy. 20
2. Describe in detail the development of Husserl’s phenomenology. 20
OR
Explain the Heideggerian concept of Dasein as Being-in-the-world.20
3. Answer any two of the following in about 200 words each.
a)Delineate Sartre’s Understanding of freedom and its implications.10
b)What are the main subdivisions of Continental Philosophy?10
c)“A living being seeks above all to dischargeits strength – life is will to power.” – Explain. 10
d)Clarify the authentic and inauthentic responses to absurdity according to Albert Camus.
10
4. Answer any four of the following in about 150 words each.
a)Explain briefly Habermas’ theory of cognitive interests.5
b)Briefly state the main features of Analytic philosophy.5
c)What are the three stages of life according to Kierkegaard?5
d)Describe the Tool-Use Model of Language according to Wittgenstein. 5
e)What is historical materialism?5
f)Explain the concept ‘Alienated Labour’.5
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each.
a)Family Resemblance4
b)Eternal Recurrence4
c)Deconstruction4
d)Epoche (bracketing) 4
e)Facticity4
f)Dogmatism 4
g)Allegory 4
h)Exegesis4
Assignment - 2
BPY -010: EPISTEMOLOGY
Maximum Marks: 100
Note:(i) Answer all thefive questions.
(ii) All questions carry equal marks.
(iii) Answer to question no. 1 and 2 should be in about 400 words each.
1. What is the nature of truth? Describe the classical theories of Truth.20
OR
Define knowledge. Explain propositional knowledge as ‘Justified True Belief’.20
2. Explain briefly the argument for the association of ideas put forth by Hume.How do Impressions and Ideas correspond to each other? 20
OR
How can we know for certain about God and the external world? Explain the Cartesian method of systematic doubting. 20
3. Answer any two of the following in about 200 words each. All
a)What is the scope of Epistemology?10
b)Explain the Naiyayika classification of perception as laukika and alaukika.10
c)Briefly elucidate Kierkegaard’s attack on the objectivity of knowledge.10
d)Explain the controversy between Rationalism and Empiricism.10
4. Answer any four of the following in about 150 words each.
a)Explain foundationalism.5
b)Differentiate between inductive and deductive inference.5
c)What is the understanding of Sabda in Mimamsa school of thought?5
d)Explain synthetic-a priori.5
e)Describe the contextual continuity between sciences and epistemology.5
f)What is the Standpoint theory?5
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each.
a)Pramana4
b)Innate idea 4
c)Certainty4
d)Verification 4
e)Skepticism4
f)Coherentism4
g)Copy Theory4
h)Hume’s Fork4
Assignment - 3
BPY -011: PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN PERSON
Maximum Marks: 100
Note:(i) Answer all thefive questions.
(ii) All questions carry equal marks.
(iii) Answer to question no. 1 and 2 should be in about 400 words each.
1. How does Aristotelian position differ from Platonic position with respect to the relationship between the soul and the body? 20
OR
What is the theory of Karma? Explain human person as a ‘being in need of liberation’. 20
2. Explain briefly the phenomenon of death. Critically narrate the theory for transmigration?20
OR
Describe the concept of human person as an inter-subjective being.20
3. Answer any two of the following in about 200 words each.
a)Define human person. Reflect on the importance of the study of Philosophy of Human Person. 10
b)Prove the existence of will and demonstrate of the freedom of the will.10
c)Explain the Islamic understanding of the origin of the human person. 10
d)Explain human being in the light of evolution. What are the various scientific evidences supporting the same? 10
4. Answer any four of the following in about 150 words each.
a)What do you understand by Human Rights?5
b)Explain gender-based division of labour.5
c)Describe the concept of the Kosas as mentioned in the Kathopanishad.5
d)What is the mechanistic concept of life?5
e)Explain cultural evolution.5
f)What are some of the major challenges towards a gender-just society?5
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each.
a)Archimedean Standpoint4
b)Anthropocentric4
c)Nama-Rupa4
d)Dualism4
e)Freedom4
f)Natural Rights 4
g)Dominant Inclination 4
h)Determinism4
Assignment - 4
BPY -012: PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND COSMOLOGY
Maximum Marks: 100
Note:(i) Answer all thefive 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 philosophy of science. How is philosophy different from and related to science?20
OR
What are the different methods used in science? Explain Newton’s concept of scientific method? 20
2. What is the goal of logical positivism? Make a critical evaluation of various claims of logical positivism. 20
OR
What is Relativity?What are some of the philosophical implications of the Special and General Theory of Relativity? 20
3. Answer any two of the following in about 200 words each.
a)What does Quantum Mechanics say about the ultimate nature of material reality? 10
b)How is science related to philosophy and myths?10
c)What are some of the basic questions in cosmology? What is the scope of cosmology? 10
d)Explain the Galilean theory about the nature of the universe.10
4. Answer any four of the following in about 150 words each.
a)Define innate force.5
b)What is ‘Uncertainty Principle’? 5
c)Give Galileo’s definition of Rest.5
d)Differentiate between geocentric theory and heliocentric theory. 5
e)Write a short note on the Big Bang.5
f)Explain methodological relativism.5
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each.
a)Cosmos4
b)Dynamics4
c)Cosmogony 4
d)Velocity4
e)Frame of Reference4
f)Metascience4
g)Vienna Circle4
h)Momentum 4
Assignment - 5
BPYE – 001: PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
Maximum Marks: 100
Note:(i) Answer all thefive questions.
(ii) All questions carry equal marks.
(iii) Answer to question no. 1 and 2 should be in about 400 words each.
1. The Spirit or the internal aspect of any religion is religious experience. Explain. Discuss some of the types of religious experience in reference to the established religions. 20
OR
What is meant by the socio political origins of religion? Why are the religious beliefs totally incompatible with the philosophy of Marx? 20
2. Define both agnosticism and atheism. Explain critically the claims of the two.20
OR
Explain the significance of religious language. What are the three traditional approaches to religious language? 20
3. Answer any two of the following in about 200 words each.
a)What are the primary requisites for religions to enter and sustain genuine inter-religious dialogue? 10
b)What are the most fundamental themes of worship expressed by the religious language? 10
c)What is the nature of religion? Trace the developmental stages of religion. 10
d)According to William James, what are the three criteria to judge the validity of religious experience? 10
4. Answer any four of the following in about 150 words each.
a)How do you understand the term ‘Holy’ used by Rudolf Otto in defining religion?5
b)What is the etymology of the word religion?5
c)How does religious fundamentalism lead to violence?5
d)Explain the factors that facilitate religious pluralism.5
e)Define the terminologies ‘spirit’ and ‘light’ in Hegel. 5
f)What is the teleological argument for the existence of God?5
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each.
a)Emanation4
b)Agnosticism 4
c)Totemism4
d)Taboo4
e)Myth4
f)Mysticism4
g)Pantheism4
h)Fanaticism4
Assignment - 6
BPYE – 002: TRIBAL AND DALIT PHILOSOPHY
Maximum Marks: 100
Note:(i) Answer all thefive questions.
(ii) All questions carry equal marks.
(iii) Answer to question no. 1 and 2 should be in about 400 words each.
1. Make a critical analysis of the industrial policy in the Scheduled Areas. What are the foreseeable and predictable impacts on the tribals due to such industrial policies? 20
OR
What are the social and moral customs among tribals in order to preserve the purity of the tribe? 20
2. What is the Dalit outlook on life and world? How did the philosophical thoughts of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar influence the Dalit outlook to life and world? 20
OR
What you mean by the term Dalit? Describe the reasons for the transitions in Dalit culture/philosophy? 20
3. Answer any two of the following in about 200 words each.
a)Why do you say that tribal philosophy is part of an indigenous experience? Describe philosophy as tribal wisdom. 10
b)Describe the concept of untouchability. Enumerate the salient features of the law against ‘untouchability’. 10
c)Why violence against dalits is considered as structural violence? What are the preventive and protective safeguards that the constitution of India provides to the dalits? 10
d)Discuss how the untouchables experience their world as exploited people. 10
4. Answer any four of the following in about 150 words each.
a)What is the difference between class and caste?5
b)Why and how do the tribals approach God?5
c)Differentiate between the terms ‘Untouchables’ and ‘Dalits’.5
d)Explain in brief the Gramscian concept of Hegemony.5
e)How do the tribals give expression to their culture?5
f)What is your understanding of Cosmotheandrism?5
5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each.
a)Subaltern4
b)Historiography4
c)Deconstruction of Marginalization4
d)Directed Incentives4
e)Worldview4
f)Untouchables4
g)Ethos4
h)Kinship System4
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