TNPSC Philosophy Syllabus

Paper - I (Indian Philosophy)

The basic features of Indian Philosophy - Natures - Meaning and Scope - Schools of Indian Philosophy.

Vedas - Theism in Vedas Upanisads - Central teachings - Brahman - Atman and World; The Bhagawad Gita - Different Yogas - Niskamakarma, Varna, Aarama Dharma.

Carvaka Philosophy - Theory of Knowledge, materrialism, Hedonism and attititude of Life; Jainism - Jiva and Ajiva, Syadvada, Liberation: Buddhism - Four noble Truth, Eight - Fold Path, Rochine of mementariness, Theory of Department of Origination, Nirvan

Nyaya - Vaisesika - Definition and classification of preception, inference and methods of arriving at Vyapti, Classificaiton of inference, concept of God, Atomism and categories.

Sankhya - Yoga - plurality of purusas and Evolution of Prakrti, yoga psychology, Eight - Limbed Yoga.

Mimamsa and Vedanta - Mimamsa concept of Ritulism, Sankara's views of Brahman, concept of Maya and world, Jiva and Liberation; Ramanuja's concept of Aprtak Siddhi, place of Bhakti in Liberation; Madhva's concept of Difference and Dualism.

Saiva Siddhanta - Pati Pasu and Pasam paths for liberation, Nature of Liberation.

Valluvar's Kural - Universal elements and applicaiton in Kural, Social Relevance of Kural to modern man; Ramalinga Adigalar's concept of Universal Brother - hood.

Gandhi - concept of Non - Violence, Trusteeship; E.V. Ramsamy Self-respect movement; B.R. Ambatkar - Upliftment of suppressed classes.

Swami Vivekanda - Universal Religion, Sri Aurobindo - concept of superman and integral Yoga; Ramana Maharishi Atma Vicara

Paper - II(Western Philosophy)

Greak Thought-common features of Greek philosophy; Socratic method of Doubt and definition; Plato's theory of Ideas - His concept of classification of society and Training; to Aris tle's views on causality.
Augustines views on church:Special characteristics of medieval Western philosophy. Anselm's proogs for the existence of God; Thomas Aquina's theory of knowledge.

Salient features of modern Western philosophy; Rene Decartes - Method of Doubt - Body-mind problem and its influence: Benedict D. Spinoza - Theory of substance - Attributes and modes; Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz - Theory of monads - Pre - estabilshed hazmony.

John Locke - Theory of knowledge; george Berkeley - Refutation of matter, subjective idealism; David Hume - criticism of substance, Refutation of Causality, Mitigated scepticism.

Immanuel Knbat - Copernican revolution, Kant views on space and time, synthetic judgments a priori, phenomonal noumena, Hegal - Dialectical logic, manifestation of the World - Spirit; F.H. Bradley-Appearance and Reality, Absoulte idealism, theory of internal relations.

Naive - Realism; Neo - Realism - epistemology; Refutation of idealism, Critical Realism, Nature of the objects in perception, Bertrand Russel - Theory of sense date.

Pragmatism - Pierce's Theory of meaning; William James concept of workability; John DeweY's instrumentalism; comparison between coherence theory, correspondence theory and Pragmatic theory of Truth.
Existentialism - Kierkegaard's views on life; Martin Heidegger - concept of Desein, existence precedes essence; Jean Paul Sartre-concept of bad faith and falsehood.

Logical positivism - vienna circle and anti - metaphysical attitude; Wittgenstein's views on the role of philosophy; principle of verification - strong and week; Rudolf carnap - place of language.

Ethics - stages of developmemt of morality; pleasure as standard; - Reason as standard; institution as standard; Theories of punishment; Bio-ethics.