MA Philosophy Syllabus, Subjects, Semester Wise, Year Wise, Core Subjects, Elective, Books

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MA Philosophy or Master of Arts in Philosophy is a 2 year postgraduate program which deals with classical as well as modern philosophy. This course includes the study of reality, existence as well as the fundamental nature of knowledge.

See Also: Philosophy Courses in India

The syllabus of MA Philosophy is divided into 4 semesters which include the study of core and elective subjects. Some of the topics included are moral philosophy, theory of knowledge and reality, logic and language, ethics, religion, philosophy of mind etc. The syllabus of MA Philosophy is the same for almost all colleges. This course also includes project work and dissertation with deep research work.

Check: MA Philosophy Colleges

After the completion of course, candidates can be employed as Archivists, Administrators, Researchers, Student Affairs manager, Insurance underwriters, lecturers, social worker, content writers etc. The average salary of a MA Philosophy graduate is INR 3,00,000 - 6,45,000 per annum.

Table of Contents

MA Philosophy Course Details
MA Philosophy Syllabus
MA Philosophy Subjects

3.1 First Year

3.2 Second Year

DU MA Philosophy Syllabus
JNU MA Philosophy Syllabus
BHU MA Philosophy Syllabus
Jadavpur University MA Philosophy Syllabus
Mumbai University MA Philosophy Syllabus
Lucknow University MA Philosophy Syllabus
MA Philosophy Books
MA Philosophy Top Colleges
MA Philosophy Syllabus: FAQs

MA Philosophy Syllabus: Course Details

Tabulated below are some of the important insights about the MA Philosophy course which will the candidates to deciding their course,

Degree	Post Graduate
Full form	Master of Arts in Education
Duration	2 years
Age	Candidate must be minimum of 21 years of age
Minimum Eligibility	Candidate must have completed bachelor’s degree in any discipline preferably Philosophy
Average Fees	INR 2000 - 34,000
Average Salary	INR 2 L- 4 LPA
Employment Roles	Teacher, Professor, Social Worker, Philosopher, Motivational speaker, Administrator, Researcher, etc.
Employment Sectors	Schools, College/university, NGOs, Community and Social service, Diplomacy, etc.

MA Philosophy Syllabus

MA Philosophy is a 2-year postgraduate course that teaches about classical as well as modern philosophy, the study of reality, existence, and the fundamental nature of knowledge. It is quite a demanded course. The intention of this course is to develop philosophical aptitude and analytical skills among the students who pursue this course. The detailed syllabus of MA Philosophy is tabulated below for your reference,

SEMESTER I	SEMESTER II
Classical Indian Philosophy	Philosophical Counseling: Indian & Western
Western Philosophy: Ancient Medieval & Modern	Kant and Hegel
Logic	Symbolic Logic
Moral Philosophy	Applied Ethics
SEMESTER III	SEMESTER IV
Modern Indian Thought	Gandhian Thought & Peace Studies
Philosophy of Science	Contemporary Continental Philosophy
Phenomenology and Existentialism	Philosophy of Mind
Analytical Philosophy	Philosophy of Religion
-	Dissertation
-	Comprehensive Viva-Voice

MA Philosophy Subjects

MA Philosophy is a 2-year postgraduate course that teaches about classical as well as modern philosophy through classroom teaching methods and seminars. In this course, the students are also encouraged to conduct research and submit a dissertation paper as well. Some of the subjects for MA Philosophy are:

Classical Indian Philosophy
Western Philosophy: Ancient Medieval & Modern
Philosophical Counseling: Indian & Western
Modern Indian Thought
Phenomenology and Existentialism
Contemporary Continental Philosophy

See Also: Phd in Philosophy

MA Philosophy First Year Subjects

Classical Indian Philosophy- This paper introduces the students to the debates between essentialists and anti-essentialists and focuses on the theory of pramana, characteristics and definition of knowledge, instruments of valid knowledge, etc.
Applied Ethics- This paper focuses on the moral aspect of the paper and teaches about how there are different moral arguments and obligations.
Symbolic Logic- The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the concept of logic and how it works in the real world.

See Also: MPhil Philosophy

MA Philosophy Second Year Subjects

Philosophy of Religion- The main intent of this paper is to introduce the students to the concept of religion and the various issues and objectives surrounding the term. Religious pluralism, karma, faith, interpretation, religious experience, etc. will be dealt with.
Philosophy of Science- The focus of this paper is to introduce the students to the concept of science and its philosophy, laws in science, theories, empiricism, instrumentalism, etc.
Gandhian Thought and Peace Studies- This course focuses on the concepts and ideals propagated by Gandhi like ahimsa, satyagraha, doctrines of means and end, etc. and the theory of the use of diplomacy.

MA Philosophy Syllabus: DU

Tabulated below is the detailed syllabus of Master of Arts in Philosophy at Delhi University provided for reference,

Semester I	Semester II
Classical Indian Philosophy-I	Classical Indian Philosophy?II
Greek Philosophy	Modern Western Philosophy
Formal Logic	Meta Ethics/Critical Philosophical Traditions of India
Ethics	Aristotle's Metaphysics/Epistemology/Modal Logic/Indian Logic
-	Any 1 of the following: Gandhi and Libertarian Socialism Philosophical Reflections on Literature The Feminist Thought Approaches to Environmental Ethics Exploring Philosophy Through Films Meaning of Life Logical Thinking of Everyday Life Questioning Normativity Topics in Cognitive Science The Philosophy of Vedic Women Applied Ethics
Semester III	Semester IV
Analytic Philosophy	Philosophy of Language/Continental Philosophy?II /Critical Reading of Western Philosophy
Continental Philosophy?I	Philosophy of Religion/Philosophy of Science
Social and Political Philosophy (Western)/ Social and Political Philosophy(Indian/Philosophy of Mind (Western)/Philosophy of Mind (Indian)	Any 1 of the following: Samkara Advaita Vedanta Phenomenology: Vasubandhu and Husserl Theories of Consciousness Current Issues in Philosophy of Biology Theory of Signs and the Semiotic Method Personal Identity and Accountability Debates in Contemporary Indian Philosophy: Gandhi and Tagore On Conceptual Relativism Philosophy of Action Wittgenstein on Aspect Perception Philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism Concepts: New Directions On Conditionals Theories of Truth Historiography of Indian Philosophy Technology and Ethics Aspects of Cognitive Science Philosophy of History Modality DE Re De Dicto De Se The Essay Course
Any 1 of the following: Environmental Ethics Ethics in Buddhism Philosophy of Human Rights Imagination and Symbolization Indian Philosophy of Language Approaches to Cognitive Science Foundations of Cognitive Science Indian Aesthetics Understanding Multiculturalism Philosophy of Biology Virtue Epistemology Political Liberalism and Communitarianism Philosophy of B.R. Ambedkar Contemporary Indian Reflections on Vedanta The Indian Modernity Phenomenology Part?I Philosophy from Physics Philosophy of Love Feminist Film Theory	Any 1 of the following: Knowledge and Skepticism From Language to Mind Mind Modularity and Cognition Feminist Theory Language and Thought Phenomenology and Ethics of Meditation The Embodied Enactive Cognition Religion and Ecology Philosophy of Contemporary Social Movements Theories of Self A Seminar on Concepts Phenomenology PartII Philosophical Counseling Philosophy of Life and Mind

MA Philosophy Syllabus: JNU

Tabulated below is the detailed syllabus of Master of Arts in Philosophy at Jawaharlal Nehru University provided for reference,

Semester I	Semester II
Philosophical Studies: Problems and Perspectives	Philosophy of Social Sciences
Epistemology and Metaphysics: Issues and Problems of Knowing and Being	Philosophy of Language
Moral and Social Philosophy	Readings in 20th Century Indian Philosophy
Logic and Scientific Methods	Readings in Analytic Philosophy and Phenomenology
Year II
Seminar course: Reading a Philosopher (Any one) Aristotle Sankara Immanuel Kant I Immanuel Kant II John Stuart Mill Bertrand Russell Ludwig Wittgenstein Jean-Paul Sartre Simone de Beauvoir W.V.O. Quine
Seminar course: Project on a Philosophical Theme
Optional course: Any 6 courses Contending Theories on Justice Philosophical Discourses on Modernity and Postmodernity Diversity of Cultures and Multiculturalism: A Philosophical Study Personal Identity Philosophy of Mind Theories of Truth: Reading Quine, Davidson, Dummett and Putnam Facets of Existentialism Discourses on Value Ethics in Practice Debates in Contemporary Political Philosophy Philosophy and Feminism Philosophy and Literature Nagarjuna’s Critique of Essence (Svabhava) Philosophical Foundations of Cognitive Science Philosophical Explorations of Indian Modernity

MA Philosophy Syllabus: BHU

Discussed below is the syllabus of MA Philosophy at Banaras Hindu University for your reference,

Year I	Year II
Indian Classics	Indian Philosophy of Language
Indian Epistemology	Western Metaphysics
Western Classics	Biomedical Ethics
Western Ethics	Western Philosophy of Language
Indian Ethics	Set Theory & Philosophy of Logic Continental Philosophy
Indian Metaphysics	-
Principles of Marketing Management	-
Western Epistemology	-

MA Philosophy Syllabus: Jadavpur University

Tabulated below is the detailed syllabus of Master of Arts in Philosophy at Jadavpur University for your reference,

Semester I	Semester II
Logic (Indian)	Ethics (Indian)
Logic (Western)	Ethics (Western)
Epistemology (Indian)	Philosophy of Language (Indian)
Epistemology (Western)	Philosophy of Language (Western)
Semester III	Semester IV
Metaphysics (Indian)	Modern Indian Thought
Metaphysics (Western)	Philosophical Approaches to Consciousness: Indian and Western
Phenomenology and Existentialism	Hermeneutics and Postmodernism
Any 1 of the following: Advaita Vedanta –I Buddhism I Feminist Philosophy I: General Introduction Logic I Philosophy of Mind I Pr?c?na Ny?ya I Philosophy of Science I: Thematic Preliminaries Social and Political Philosophy I: Western Social and Political Thought (Ancient)	Any 1 of the following: Advaita Vedanta III Buddhism III: Buddhist Epistemology and Logic Philosophy of Cognitive Science I Feminist Philosophy III: Ethics Logic III Navya Ny?ya I Philosophy of Science III: Method of Science: 20th Century Perspectives Social and Political Philosophy III: Indian Social and Political Thought: Ancient
Any 1 of the following: Advaita Vedanta II Buddhism II Feminist Philosophy II: Epistemology and Metaphysics Logic II Philosophy of Mind II Pr?c?na Ny?ya II Philosophy of Science II: Conceptual Issues Social and Political Philosophy II: Western Social and Political thought	Any 1 of the following: Advaita Vedanta III Buddhism-IV: Buddhist Ethics & Social Thinking Philosophy of Cognitive Science II Feminist Philosophy III: Ethics Logic IV Navya Ny?ya II Philosophy of Science IV: Theories and Critiques Social and Political Philosophy IV: Indian Social and Political Thought: Recent

MA Philosophy Syllabus: Mumbai University

Tabulated below is the detailed syllabus of Master of Arts in Philosophy at Mumbai University for your reference,

Semester I	Semester II
Metaphysics (Indian and Western)	Ethics (Indian and Western)
Epistemology (Indian and Western)	Philosophy of Consciousness (Indian and Western)
Contemporary Philosophy (Indian and Western) A	Contemporary Philosophy (Indian and Western) C
Contemporary Philosophy (Indian and Western) B	Contemporary Philosophy (Indian and Western) D
Semester III	Semester IV
Any 1 one of the following: Classical Thought Ancient Greek Philosophy Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman Philosophy Early Medieval Philosophy Late Medieval Philosophy Traditional Logic Buddhism and Metaphysics Jaina Metaphysics Samkhya Metaphysics Schools of Vedanta Shaivism, Shaktism and Tantrism. Islamic Philosophy	Ability Enhancement Course (Any One) Critical Thinking Logical Reasoning (Indian & Western) Symbolic Logic ( Second-order Sentential Logic)
Any 1 of the following: Philosophers Plato: Moral Philosophy, Politics, and Art Aristotle: Practical Philosophy Kant: Practical Philosophy Hume Shankaracharya Ramanujacharya Vallabhacharya Madhvacharya Nagarjuna Acharya Kundakunda Sri Aurobindo Swami Vivekananda: Four Yogas	Interdisciplinary/Cross disciplinary Courses (Any One) Philosophy of Art Philosophy of Feminism Philosophy of Film Philosophy of Education Philosophy of Management Philosophy of Science Studies in Meditation. Environmental Ethics Symbolic Logic: Relational Logic and Axiomatic Systems Studies in World Religions Jaina –Value Education Buddhism – Value Education Yoga – Value Education.
Any 1 of the following: Thinkers and Texts Plato: Epistemology Kant : Epistemology Heidegger Wittgenstein Jnaneshwara Gandhi J. Krishnamurti Milinda Prasna (Buddhist Text) Apta Mimamsa (Jaina Text) Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Yoga Text) Viveka Cudamani( Vedanta Text) Commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita	Paper XVI: Dissertation
Any 1 of the following: Philosophical Disciplines Indian Epistemology (Advanced) Western Epistemology (Advanced) Symbolic Logic: First-order Sentential Logic Nyaya Epistemology Jaina Epistemology Buddhist Epistemology Yoga Epistemology Modern Political Thought Contemporary Political Thought Philosophy of Religion and Culture	-
Any 1 of the following: Contemporary Themes Buddhist Psychology and Meditation Jaina Psychology and Meditation Yoga Psychology and Meditation Existentialism Femininities, Masculinities and Language Frankfurt School and Critical Theory Language and Reality Mind and Conceptions of Self Structuralism and Post Structuralism Sufism and Culture	-

MA Philosophy Syllabus: Lucknow University

Discussed below is the syllabus of MA Philosophy at Lucknow University for your reference,

Semester I	Semester II
Philosophical Analysis Part - I	Philosophical Analysis Part - II
Logic Part- I	Logic Part- II
Selected Classics- I Part- I	Selected Classics- I Part- II
Ethics Part- I	Ethics Part- II
Semester III	Semester IV
Problems of Knowledge Part- I	Problems of Knowledge Part- II
Selected Classics- II Part- I	Selected Classics- II Part- II
Any 2 of the following: Social and Political Philosophy Part-I Philosophy of Religion Part-I Applied Ethics Part-I Debates on Society and Culture Part-I Readings in Political Philosophy Part-I Gandhian Philosophy Part-I Selected Indian Classics Part-I Early Greek Philosophy Part-I	Any 2 of the following: Social and Political Philosophy Part-II Philosophy of Religion Part-II Applied Ethics Part-II Debates on Society and Culture Part-II Readings in Political Philosophy Part-II Gandhian Philosophy Part-II Selected Indian Classics Part-II Early Greek Philosophy Part-II

MA Philosophy Books

There are a number of books available online and offline published by famous authors and publishers. Some of these reference books have been provided below which provide in-depth knowledge and understanding about teaching and teaching methods.

Name of the book	Author
The Ethics of Hindus	S.K. Maitra
Ethical Philosophies of India	I.C. Sharma
The Theories of Ethics	Phillippa Foot
Philosophy of Mind	J. Shofer

Top Colleges for MA Philosophy

In India, there are many colleges that offer MA in Philosophy. Many of the colleges are government and many are private as well. Some of the top colleges in India that offer MA Philosophy have been mentioned below for your reference:

Name of the College	Average fees (INR)
Lady Shri Ram College for Women	17,980
Loyola College	19,300
Miranda House	14,930
Hindu College	18,010
Ramjas College	14,980
Presidency University	3,840
Jadavpur University	4,800
Indraprastha College for Women	13,000
University of Lucknow	42,160
Banaras Hindu University	4,620

MA Philosophy Syllabus: FAQs

Ques. What is the duration of the MA Philosophy?

Ans. The course duration of MA Philosophy is 2 years and is divided into 4 semesters.

Ques. What are the course fees of MA Philosophy?

Ans. The course fees is INR 2000 - 60,000

Ques. Who are the top recruiters of MA Philosophy?

Ans. Some of the top recruiters are schools, educational institutions, UPSC, PSC, Lectureship, etc.

Ques. What is the eligibility of MA Philosophy?

Ans. Candidates must have completed a graduation degree in bachelor of Arts preferably in Philosophy with minimum aggregate of 50% or above from a recognized institute.

Ques. What are the subjects for MA Philosophy?

Ans. Some of the important subjects of MA Philosophy are classical Indian philosophy, history of western philosophy, philosophy of language, continental philosophy etc.

Ques. How many subjects are there in MA Philosophy?

Ans. The syllabus of MA Philosophy comprises 10 compulsory subjects and 6 optional subjects which the candidates need to take.

Ques. Is MA Philosophy useful?

Ans. Yes, MA Philosophy opens a lot of career opportunities for the candidates in doing philanthropic work through charities, NGOs, civil service, scholars, etc.

Ques. Who can do MA in Philosophy?

Ans. Candidates who have completed a graduation degree in philosophy or other related courses with a minimum aggregate of 50% or above from a recognized institute.

Ques. Is MA Philosophy tough?

Ans. No, the course is not tough but generally lengthy and challenging. One has to read readings and logic to understand.

Ques. Is philosophy a suitable subject for UPSC?

Ans. Yes, philosophy is one of the most considered options for UPSC as it has the shortest syllabus.