Philosophy CSS Syllabus | FPSC Topics & Marks

Philosophy FPSC syllabus

I. Introduction:

Definition, Nature and Scope of Philosophy

II. Philosophical Methods:

Socratic Method (Socrates); Inductive Method (Bacon, Mill); Deductive Method (Aristotle, Descartes); Dialectical Method (Hegel); Fallibilistic Method (Popper)

III. Epistemology: Rationalism (Plato, Descartes, Spinoza); Empiricism (Locke, Berkeley,

Hume); Transcendentalism (Kant); Intuitionism (Bergson)

IV. Ontology: Idealism (Plato, Berkeley); Representative Realism (Locke); Historical and

Dialectical Materialism (Marx)

V. Ethics: What is morality? The challenge of cultural relativism; Does morality depend

on religion? Psychological and ethical egoism: Virtue Ethics (Aristotle); Moral Absolutism (Kant), Utilitarianism (J.S. Mill); Social Contract Theory (Hobbes, Rawls).

VI. Muslim Thinkers: Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushid, Ibn Khaldun, Shah

Waliullah, Muhammad Iqbal.

VII. Contemporary Philosophical Movements:

Existentialism (Heidegger, Sartre); Pragmatism (Peirce, James, Dewey); Neo-pragmatism (Rorty); Postmodernism (Lyotard, Foucault, Derrida)

Suggested readings

1. A History of Western Philosophy Bertrand Russell
2. Philosophy: The Power of Ideas Brooke Noel Moore & Kenneth Bruder
3. Elements of Moral Philosophy James Rachels
4. Existentialism & Human Emotions Jean Paul Sartre
5. The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge Jean-Francois Lyotard
6. Descartes to Derrida: An Introduction to European Philosophy Peter Sedgwick
7. Continental Philosophy in the 20th Century Richard Kearney
8. A Short History of Modern Philosophy Roger Scruton
9. A History of Muslim Philosophy. Volume I & II M. M. Sharif
10. A History of Islamic Philosophy Majid Fakhry
11. The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam Muhammad Iqbal
12. Iqbal Mustansir Mir
13. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (plato.stanford.edu). Internet Resources
14. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (www.iep.utm.edu). Internet Resources

Related CSS preparation guides