IAS Mains Philosophy Papers 2005
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IAS Mains Philosophy 2005
Paper I
Time Allowed: Three Hours Maximum Marks: 300
Candidates should attempt Questions 1 and 5 which are compulsory, and any THREE of the remaining questions selecting at least
ONE question from each Section.
Section A
- Write short notes on any three of the following in about 200 words each: 20 × 3 = 60
- Distinction between opinion and knowledge
- Mind and Body as two interacting substances
- Spinozas conception of the Ultimate Substance
- Quines criticism of analytic-synthetic distinction
- How does Kant respond to Humes scepticism? 60
- State and discuss the logical positivists attempts to eliminate metaphysics. 60
- What is epoche? Bring out its significance for Husserls conception of rigorous science. 60
Section-B
- Write short notes on any three of the following in about 200 words each: 20 × 3 = 60
- Jaina definition of Dravya
- The nature of Brahman, Jiva and Jagat according to Madhva
- Nature and kinds of pratyaksa according to Nyaya
- Samkhya conception of Purusa.
- State and discuss the Buddhist notion of Sunyata. 60
- State and discuss the nature and kinds of Dravyas according to Vaisesikas. 60
- Elucidate Sari. Karas conception of Adhyiisa. 60
Paper II
Section A
- Write critical notes on any THREE of the following in about 200 words each: 20 × 3 = 60
- “State is the actuality of concrete freedom.”
- “Political democracy is hollow unless accompanied by power in the area of economics.”
- “Sex is the biological category, whereas gender is the culturally shaped expression of sexual difference.”
- “Socialism avoids the totalitarian implications of Communism, and works within liberal democratic Constitutions.”
- What do you understand by progress? Have human beings made progress in all fields of their activity? Discuss. 60
- Examine the central issues in the philosophy of ecology. Are these concerns merely utilitarian? Discuss. 60
- What is humanism? What are its different kinds? In what way, if any, is M N Roys Radical Humanism different from Marxism? Discuss. 60
Section B
- Write critical notes on any THREE of the following in about 200 words each: 20 × 3 = 60
- “God is the first reason of things.”
- “If God exists only in someones mind, the greatest conceivable being is not after all the greatest conceivable being.”
- “The Problem of evil is the problem of reconciling the imperfect world with the goodness of God.”
- “Mysticism is the power of spiritual access to domains of knowledge closed off to ordinary thought.”
- Is Christian doctrine of the immortality of the soul compatible with Gitas doctrine of atman? Discuss. 60
- Can Atheism be a religion? Discuss. 60
- What do you understand by liberation? Is it possible for one to be liberated in this very life? If it is, what are the, characteristics of a liberated person? Discuss. 60