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Epoche Test 5

Time: 3 hrs MM:250

• There are EIGHT questions divided in two Sections.

• Candidate has to attempt FIVE questions in all.
• Question No.1 and 5 are compulsory and out of the remaining, THREE are to be
attempted choosing at least ONE from each section.

Sec-A
Q.1 Write short answers to the following in about 150words each :- 50
a) Critically discuss Theory of natural rights as propounded by John Locke.

John Locke 17th century British empiricist: theory of natural rights.

• An individual is born with certain rights these rights are natural rights.
• Inseparable: these rights are intrinsic part of one’s individuality and thus inseparable.
• God is the source of such rights, not state and thus these rights are absolute. Since state
is not the source of these rights it has no authority to put limitation on these rights.
• Locke Supports limited state.
• Natural rights - right to life, liberty, and property.
• Criticism-
- problem for atheists and agnostics.
- Violate scientific understanding and knowledge.
- Huge scope of subjectivity in deciding which rights are to be natural rights and therefore
conflict may arise due to different sets of natural rights but different sections of people.
• Criticism
• Importance: background of monarchy, emphasis on individuality, basis for universal
human rights.

b) ‘What is the difference between positive and negative liberty in the context of
liberalism as a political theory?

Liberalism:
• Individual centric and Human rights
• promotes liberty over equality.
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• Supports economic principle of capitalism.

Negative Liberalism:

• Supporters- John Locke, Herbert Spencer Thomas Paine

• Notion of limited state: limited function like maintenance of law and order.
• Laissez fair economy: no interference of state in Economic Affairs; crude form of
capitalism.
• Automatized individual: individual has an independent existence and enjoys liberty in
its maximum capacity.
• Negative liberty: state should not interfere in affairs of the individual.

Positive Liberalism

• Supporters-T.H Green, Harold Laski,

• Welfare state: the state shall have the duty to work for the welfare of all section specially
disadvantage sections.
• Positive liberty: liberty as non-interference from state but availability of those conditions
required for development of the personality of the individual, thus state can interfere for
developing those conditions.
• Notion of social rights: an individual enjoys right in a society state can regulate those
rights.

c) Differentiate between ‘Equality before law’ and ‘Equal Protection of laws.’

Equality is an ideal worth pursuing. According to Laski ‘equality is the process of

equalization through the means of abolition of privileges I'm providing adequate
opportunity to all.’

Equality before law Equal protection of laws

Negative positive

No one is above law Similar treatment to those in similar

circumstances

No privileges Substantive equality

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Corollary to rule of law Affirmative action by state

Example: if a rich person kills Example: completely healthy person

somebody and a poor person kills
somebody, they both will be subjected
to same law procedure and the code of
punishment.
shall be subjected to same time frame
to attempt questions in a competitive
exam while a persons suffering from
disabilities will given same time to
attempt the paper but different from
the class of healthy persons.

No negative discrimination in Reservation for socio- economic

application of law. backward classes of citizens.

d) Evaluate the relevance of sovereignty in globalised multipolar world of 21st century.

Sovereignty a defining feature of nation state.

• It is the power of the state to take independent decisions in its internal and external
matters.
• Internal matters: type of polity, economic system, Judiciary, and its independence, etc
• External matters: engagement in international forums, diplomatic relations with other
countries, participation in war and peace, etc.
• Globalised multipolar world implies an interconnected world with more than one centres
of power and influence. Although globalization has influences social, political, cultural,
religious, artistic, and economic systems of nearly all territories, yet nations have their
own self-interests rooted in complex cultural histories.
• Sovereignty allows nation-states to assert their self-interest to pursue the customized
development of their people.
• sovereignty balances the relationship between the state and citizens.
• Sovereignty preserves identity of a nation state and its people, its relevance cannot be
undermined in the globalised multipolar world.

e) In the context of political philosophy, how far do you think accountability is

antithetical to corruption? Give reasons for your answer.

• Accountability: Context of political philosophy- Regulation of relation between state and

its citizens. Accountability encapsulates answerability. Of whom? The state. To whom?
Citizens.
• This answerability is insured through transparency in systems and processes that involve
decision making regarding programs and policies that implement the ideals aspired by
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the society.
• In a democratic polity, the state derives its power from its citizens. In Indian context, this
power is derived through a written constitution.
• Corruption is the deviance from conscience. It is the abuse of entrusted power for
personal gains. The abuse is facilitated in the absence of accountability. It is a common
experience that power corrupts those who wield them. Obligation of answerability to the
source of power (citizens) acts as a powerful tool to limit and eliminate corruption.
• Institutions that that ensure accountability: judiciary, media, Academia, civil society, etc.

Reasons that accountability antithetical to corruption:

- Accountability makes people in power answerable to the people.
- Accountability creates transparency in systems and processes of decision making.
- Accountability creates sense of responsibility which discourages corruption.
- Accountability allows establishment of trust between state and citizen .

Q.2
a) Does Boden’s conception of sovereignty lead to totalitarian state? What are the
limitations to the Sovereign? Are these limitations, a contradiction in his theory
of sovereignty? Discuss critically. 20

Jean Bodin, 16th century French philosopher propounded an absolute, legal, undivided,
perpetual and monistic theory of sovereignty. He defines sovereignty as ‘the
untrammelled and undivided power to make general laws.’
• Following are the features of his theory.
- Absolute: Bodin conceptualises sovereignty as, ‘Supreme power over citizens and
subjects unrestrained by law.’
- Legal: Sovereign is the source of law rather than nature sovereign is the supreme law
making body.
- Monistic and Undivided : Sovereign is one. It is undivided. Sovereign is different from
the institution that exercise that sovereignty. It is non-transferable.
- Perpetual: sovereignty is the essential feature of state. any state democratic or
monarchy is characterised by sovereignty.

• Bodin conceptualises sovereignty above law but not above duty and moral responsibility.
Following are the 2 limitations:
- Fundamental law: these are some basic laws that the sovereign cannot violate like the
salic law France which excludes females from dynastic succession.
- Private property: the right to private property is given by nature and therefore beyond
violation. Sovereign cannot tax his subjects without their consent.

• Support to totalitarianism?
- Totalitarianism is best understood as any system of political ideas that is both
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thoroughly dictatorial and utopian.

- Totalitarian states can be broadly summarised as non-democratic political systems
that use modern tools such as the mass media, alongside a political police, to try to
coordinate all aspects of life among an entire population. Examples – Nazi in
Germany ;
• Although, Bodin’s theory of sovereignty advocate a strong Sovereign but the caveat that
allows inviolable fundamental rights and taxing public property without public consent
as the limitation to the power of the Sovereign, is in fact invariance to the concept of
totalitarian state. It is however notable that is strong sovereign may exhibit strong
resemblance to dictatorship.
• Importance: background of monarchy, strong sovereign, strong nation, support to
private property.

b) Rawls’s theory of justice is liberal, distributive, and procedural. Comment. 15

• Theory of justice occupies significant space in political philosophy. John Rawls theory of
justice is an important development in the history of thought. He defines ‘justice as
fairness.’ It has the following features:
- Liberal: Rawls’s theory of justice features in liberal democracies tilting the balance in
favour of liberty rather than equality. It is a conception of justice in a capitalist
framework.
- Distributive: It involves rational distribution of primary social goods among members
of a society.
- Procedural: focuses on fair rules of procedure off distribution. it is argued that if rules
of distribution are fair and just then the outcome will automatically be just and fair.
• Original state: veil of ignorance.
• Principle of equality of liberties: positive liberty.
• Difference principle and equality of opportunity.

Criticism
• Robert Nozick’s argument That Rawls theory of justice supports system of progressive
taxation which will eventually lead to bonded labour and partial enslavement.
• Amartya Sen’s argument that Rawl’s theory of justice tries to idealise justice as universal
missing out the specific cases of inequality and discrimination. He forwards capability
theory of justice.
Importance:
- to provide a robust form of justice in a capitalist framework balancing individual
liberty and social good
- Fair procedures promoting transparency and objectivity as core principles for justice.

c) Can discrimination be good? Bring out the difference between positive and negative
discrimination in the context of equality. 15

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Discrimination: principle of differentiation. Identifying one from another for functional

practical purposes.
• Equality-
- It is not uniformity.
- It is an ideal that aims at bridging the gap between the top and bottom by abolition of
privileges and providing adequate opportunity to all based on the principle of similar
treatment in similar circumstances.
• Types of discrimination: positive and negative.
- Positive discrimination: it is when the weaker is favoured over the stronger in order
to achieve the ideal of equality taking in consideration the unfavourable situations
that has caused the weaker to be weak.
- Negative discrimination: It is the unfair or prejudicial treatment of people and groups
based on characteristics such as race, gender, age or sexual orientation. It works
through biases and prejudices. It leads to favouring of privileges resulting in
exploitative hierarchies.
• Ideally, equality involves absence of all kinds of discrimination. Natural inequality is
inevitable. Positive discrimination ensures that natural inequality does not translate to
permanent social inequality. Therefore, positive discrimination can be good as it allows
similar treatment in similar circumstances, providing adequate opportunities to all for
the development of personalities and the progressive development of society.

Q.3
a) Can duties sustain in absence of rights? Sketch their relationship from different
perspectives. Which relation do you think suits the Indian context and why? 20

• Rights are those pro social claims that enable conducive conditions for the development
of individual or group personalities(identities). Rights are sanctioned by law and
validated by society. Rights protect against dehumanization and exploitative hierarchies.
Duties are obligations in terms of commission and omission of certain actions. It involves
responsibility for doing or not doing something.
• Within the liberal tradition, broadly defined as invoking centrality of rights, we can
identify five distinct positions with respect to the relation of duties and rights.
Interest Theory:
- This theory was initially stated by Jeremy Bentham who saw rights not as natural or
moral, but as products of law.
- He argued that the law by creating duties stipulates rights.
- There is no right if there is no corresponding duty sanctioned by law. It makes
possession of a right as another’s legal duty and it becomes a legal duty only if it is
liable for punishment.
• Choice theory
- The choice or will theory counter poses itself against the interest theory stipulating
the relation between rights and duties. One of the important proponents of this theory
is H.L.A. Hart.
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- He suggested that a right is a form of choice.

- The essential feature of a right is that the person to whom the duty is owed is able to
control the performance of that duty. The duty-right relation is a chain which binds
one individual, the bearer of the duty, and whose other end is in the hands of another
individual, the bearer of the right to use it according to his will.
- It could beget the following relations:
(a) The right holder may waive or extinguish the duty or leave it in existence.
(b) After a breach or threatened breach of a duty, the right holder may leave the duty
unforced or may reinforce it by suing for compensation.
(c) The right holder may waive or extinguish the obligation to pay compensation
resulting from the breach of duty
• Autonomy
- The philosopher Immanuel Kant advanced a theoretical formulation of this notion.
- He suggested that the behaviour of the non-human world is governed by nature. Non-
human beings did not will to act, but acted subject to natural forces and instinct. To
the extent human beings acted on the basis of their appetites and emotions, they too
acted heteronomously, i.e. according to laws and dictates given externally and not by
themselves.
- The characteristic mark of human beings is their reason, which enabled them to
deliberate the way they should act and will to act accordingly. In following this
reason, they acted autonomously; they acted in accordance with their duty. The
morality prescribed by reason was a matter of ‘practical necessity’.
- Through his capacity for autonomy, an individual acted according to a law that he
had prescribed for himself rather than on external dictates.

• Duties and Rights in the Conservative Perspective:

- Conservatives stress on duties and the grounds they adduce for the same vary
markedly. Their mainstream arguments, however, are clear. Social institutions and
mores are formed through the efforts of several preceding generations. The thoughts
and efforts of generations have gone into the making of these institutions and mores.
- It is important that every generation be inserted into the culture, mores and
institutions of society. Traditions and legacies assign to people definite tasks and
responsibilities to be fulfilled.
- By performing such tasks and responsibilities, one furthers the purposes of
institutions enabling new generations to be inserted into the collective life of societies.
It is by performing such duties that everyone comes to fulfil himself or herself. Such
a fulfilment contributes to further the purposes of society and reinforce its mores and
institutions.
- Conservatives link duty with a set of values such as trust, loyalty, dedication,
cooperation, obedience and satisfaction with one’s station in life.
- Conservatives, by focussing on centrality of duty, have decried the stress on rights in
liberal and radical thought-currents.
• Duties and Rights in the Communitarian Perspective:
- Influenced by certain ideas underscored by Aristotle and Hegel. Communitarians
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argue that right-based theories ignored the fact that our capacity to conceive and
exercise rights and pursue autonomy can only develop in society, in and through
relations and interactions with others.
- They argue that prioritisation of rights neglects the social conditions that enable us to
exercise choices. They accuse those who accord priority to rights as subscribing to
atomism, wherein individuals are seen as self-sufficient agents outside the society
- Communitarians argue that even if rights are upheld, they will not enjoy respect if
people are not bound together by shared conceptions and ways of life sustained by
duty. It is through duties that we not merely reach out to others, but also sustain an
appropriate milieu for the exercise of rights.
• Duties and Rights in the Gandhian Perspective:
- M.K. Gandhi is well known for his stress on duties and his identification of dharma
as the path of duty. He also upheld the values of ‘swaraj’, i.e., self-rule. Such a fusion
of dharma and swaraj, or duty and freedom, is a characteristic mark of Gandhian
thought
- The notion of self-rule for Gandhi implied the voluntary internalisation of our
obligation to others which will be obstructed by our placing ourselves at the mercy of
our selfish desires. Our civil duties flow from such self-cultivation.
- For Gandhi, real rights were the results of the performance of duty.

• From the above it can be noted that duties cannot sustain in absence of rights. No
theory is perfect. In the Indian setting a balanced combination of liberal perspective
and Gandhian perspective promise a sustainable relation between rights and duties
to achieve ideals enshrined in the Constitution.

b) Critically examine the concept of ‘Saptang State’ of Kautilya? Is it really a theory of

sovereignty? Discuss. 15

• Kautilya Arthashastra- Saptang state or the 7 organs of the state. These organs exhibit
features of external and internal sovereignty of a state.
• These seven organs are as follows:
(i) Swami (The Ruler)
(ii) Amatya (The Minister)
(iii) Janapada (The Population)
(iv) Durga (The Fortified Capital)
(v) Kosha (The Treasury)
(vi) Danda (The Army)
(vii) Mitra (Ally and Friend)
• The swami of kautilya is compatible to modern sovereign. swami is described as
Dharam Pravartak: enforcer of law. Swami is the most important organ of the state.
Arthashastra describes swamy or the king as the state itself. it has the power to make
laws and enforce them. In an event of crisis, the swami must be saved on priority as
the existence of state depends upon his survival.
• External sovereignty: kutneeti;
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- Sama- Persuasion
- Dama-economic incentives.
- Danda- force through aggression.
- Bheda- divide.
• Although kautilya does not mention the terms of sovereignty and his theory is not as
systematic as the modern theories of sovereignty in political philosophy yet it can be
argued that the concept of state contains all essential features of sovereignty, both
external and internal.

c) Do you think Privileges are antithetical to equality? If so, Why? How far ‘Affirmative
Action’ by the state promote equality? 15

• Privilege is an advantage or entitlement, used to one's own benefit and/or to the

detriment of others.
• Privileged groups can be advantaged based on education, social class, caste, age,
height, nationality, geographic location, disability, ethnic or racial category, gender,
gender identity, neurology, sexual orientation, physical attractiveness, and religion.
• Privileges functions through exploitative hierarchies strengthen by natural inequality
and crystallised in perpetual and permanent social inequalities.
• Equality-
- It is not uniformity.
- It is an ideal that aims at bridging the gap between the top and bottom by abolition of
privileges and providing adequate opportunity to all based on the principle of similar
treatment in similar circumstances.
• Privileges is antithetical to equality:
- Privileges skew the availability of opportunities and resources in favour of groups or
individuals who are advantage due to their colour place of birth, sex, race, religion,
etc,.
- Privileges strengthen social inequalities.
- privileges create exploitative hierarchies where the stronger exploits the weaker for
personal gain.
• Affirmative action: it refers to program and policies by the state to promote the
welfare of the weaker And marginalised sections of the society by providing them
with extra And special provisions benefiting From education, health, employment etc
recognising the cultural and historical discrimination against them. example -
reservation in India.
• Affirmative action is an important effective tool to promote equality as it allows
positive discrimination in favour of the weekend marginalised by promoting equality
of opportunity based on similar treatment in simple circumstances principle.
• affirmative action also creates conducive conditions for justice.

Q.4
a) Examine the debate between Sen and Rawls regarding their theory of Justice. Can this
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debate be resolved? 20
• Rawls theory of justice: Liberal, procedural, and distributive.
• JUSTICE AS FAIRNESS.
- Liberal: Rawls’s theory of justice features in liberal democracies tilting the balance in
favour of liberty rather than equality. It is a conception of justice in a capitalist
framework.
- Distributive: It involves rational distribution of primary social goods among members
of a society.
- Procedural: focuses on fair rules of procedure off distribution. it is argued that if rules
of distribution are fair and just then the outcome will automatically be just and fair.
• Original state: veil of ignorance. (state of nature)
- Principle of equality of liberties: positive liberty.
- Difference principle and equality of opportunity.

Criticism by Sen: the debate;

- The first objection which Sen raises is that the ‘original position’ which Rawls is
talking about, creates a hypothetical situation, in practicality it may never be able to
incorporate multifaceted, diverse, variegated, conflicting but very genuine and cogent
demands of a large plurality.
- priority has been given to the liberty
- Rawl’s idea of perfect justice exclude specific cases of injustices.
- Rawls theory of justice fails to distinguish resources and capacity. someone with the
availability of resources may simply not be able to access the resources due to lack of
capability.
- factors that affect capability:
• personal conversion factors
• social conversion factors
• environmental factors
Sen’s Capability Theory: Niti & Nyaya
• Niti: stands for the structural and organizational property as well as behavioural
correctness.
• Nyaya: concerned with the actual lives that people lead; particular cases.
• Sen wants justice to correlate to a recognition focused perspective rather a social
arrangement based perspective (concerned with transcendental institutionalism).
• A form of bottoms up approach;
• an ideal form of justice universal in nature will eventually lead and perpetuate
injustice.
• focus has to be in developing personalities show that the capacities are developed.
even doe they would they might be lack of resources, but with capacity people can
acquire the ability to create new resources.
• Reconciliation
- By pointing out the flaws in Rawls theory Sen provide solutions which overall make
the theory of justice better.

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- prioritizing capacity development over resource distribution promises equitable and

egalitarian society
- Nonetheless Sen’s has given a huge scope of subjectivity in his theory because of the
space given to particular cases of injustices where deviation from niti is allowed to do
nyaya. This makes it vulnerable to be misused by people in power.

b) ‘Rights are crystallization of customs.’ Bring out the meaning of the statement and
differentiate moral rights from and legal rights in this context. 15

• The above statement refers to theory of historical rights also called theory of prescriptive
rights;
• The main proponent of historic theory of rights is Edmund Burke;
• Features of historical theory of rights
- State is a product of historical progression
- all Right are a product of customs and traditions
- As traditions and customs stabilise owing to their constant and continuous usage,
they take the shape of rights.
- Condems legal theory of rights and natural theory of rights;
• Criticism
- Not all rights can emanate from traditions and customs. some customs and traditions
can be regressive for example sati and child marriage;
- Social Security is the right developed independent of customs and traditions.

Legal Rights Moral Rights

Source: law Source: morality

Involve punishment in case of May or may not involve

violation punishment.

No reward or appriciation for Appreciation for non violation

non violation

Necessarily justiciable No such necessity

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c) Critically discuss Austin’s conception of monistic sovereignty. Mention Laski’s

criticism. Are these justified? 15

• John Austin theory of sovereignty - Absoluteness, Universality Permanence, Non-

Transferability Exclusiveness, Indivisibility
- sovereignty is the supreme power of the state.
- sovereignty is always vested in human authority
- rejects idea of divine on natural law
- support positive/municipal law - manmade law is greater than natural or divine law;
- it is always determinant
- sovereignty is an essential feature of a state.
- Law is the command of the Sovereign: sovereign is the source of all laws.

• Criticism off monistic sovereignty by laski

-
This theory is against popular sovereignty:
-
It ignores the power of public opinion and political sovereignty
-
Law is not the command of the sovereign- law is bound by traditions, customs, natural
laws;
- This theory makes the sovereign completely absolute: leads to totalitarianism and
dictatorship.
- Force is not the only sanction behind laws: when people participate through
representatives in democracy, law is the will of the people.
- Sovereignty does not reside with a determinate person in the federation
- Sovereign is not indivisible: shared by state and various associations of citizens.
- Austin defines law as the command of a superior to an inferior. In participative
democracies hierarchies are abhorred and people are treated equally with dignity. The
law represents the will of the people and thus the concept of command to inferior
becomes meaningless. In a federation, sovereignty is not wasted in one but shared by
different actors of the state who exercise it with coordination and cooperation.
• The criticism by Laski is justified as they support basic tenants of participative
democracy and discourage any tendency of dictatorship or totalitarianism.

Sec-B

Q.5 Write short answers to the following in about 150 words each :- 50
a) If mysticism cannot be verified, what purpose does it serve? Explain with arguments.

§ Mysticism encapsulate practices beliefs and experiences that do not fall under the category of
logical verification.
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§ It's a form of purest and intense experience.

§ Part of all religions
§ highly subjective
§ Conveyed through religious language
Features of mystical experience:
§ Ineffable
§ noetic quality
§ transiency
§ passivity

• Mystical experiences are source of religious knowledge.

• they are inspiration for faith in religion.
• account for things which yet remains unknown and accounted.
• these are subjective experiences of highly respected and credible individuals at different points
of time in different religions with similar experiences.
• Verification is not a necessary condition for faith and belief.
• The systems of verification are in constant improvement, what remains unverified today could be
verified tomorrow.
Conclusion: verifiability is not a necessary criterion for relevance of religious beliefs and practices.
Mysticism and mystical experiences serve as a source of religious knowledge for believers.

b) Can robots have a religion of their own? If yes, what would that be? If no, why?

• Definition of religion and its features.

Arguments:
• Robots are machines designed to perform certain tasks based on particular set of commands.
• They do not enjoy freedom of will, neither do they have a sense of personal identity.
• Religion is an organised form of beliefs, practices and lived experiences that enable progressive
pursuit of spirituality.
• Religion involved huge space of faith which in turn involves lack of certainty. Robots don't
function with doubts and uncertainty. Therefore, it is nearly impossible for them to have religion.
• Religion presupposes conscious beings for its existence, propagation, and perpetuity.
• Since, robots are not conscious as the human self, the idea of religion does not arise.

c) Does development in science and technology affect religion? Discuss with relevant
examples.

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• Science works on the principle of quantification, experimentation, and verification. It provides

proof and validation of our beliefs. In the process some of our beliefs are changed and modified
with the available certainty.
• Definition of religion and its features.
• How development in science and technology affects religion:
• Our religious beliefs are governed by our belief and faith. Development in science and technology
provide tools and mechanism to test these beliefs and obtain a valid proof.
• for example in medieval times Christianity believed that the whole universe centres around earth
but after the invention of telescope Galileo was able to provide the proof that it is the sun around
which the whole solar system rotates. The geocentric model was replaced by heliocentric model.
• similarly, it was believed that beyond skies lies heaven but with development of science and
technology it has been shown that it's infinite space.
• Earlier in Hinduism it was believed that's diseases like leprosy and other disabilities are a direct
result of certain bad karma in the past and the person has to necessarily suffer in order to pay off
the karmic debt. With the advancement in medical science it has been shown that these diseases
are curable. The unnecessary suffering has been removed.
• Science and technology also effect and modify various religious practices for example the way in
which temples are managed it involves a lot of application of technology for example queue
management, darshan timing, distribution of Prasad etc.

d) Is evil and benevolent and omnipotent God, a contradiction? What is the possible
solution?

• Benevolent & Omnipotent God:

- Personalistic God: determinate and all powerful. Can do anything.
- Possesses Qualities like kindness, love, bliss, serenity, etc.
• Problem of evil: natural and moral.
1. God is all powerful.
2. God is perfectly good.
3. evil exists.
4. all powerful and believe in God exist there would be no evil in the world.
5. there is evil in the world
6. therefore god does not exist.
• Yes there exists a logical contradiction between the qualities of God and the existence of evil.
Nonetheless various arguments have been provided to reconcile this contradiction.
Arguments as possible solutions:
• Evil is a means to the good -instrumentalist view of evil.
• Argument based on freedom of will
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• argument based on illusion or unreal evil.

e) ‘There is no necessary relation between idea of God and existence of God.’ Critically
analyse.

• Ontological argument: existence of God is deduced from the qualities of God.

• It is said the God is perfect, it possesses all qualities thus it also possesses the quality of being
existent.
• St. Anselem formulation:
1. God is being greater than which nothing can be conceived and
2. I just such a being exist both in one's imagination and in reality or exist only in one's imagination.
3. A being that exist in both is greater than one that exists only in once imagination.
4. therefore, the greatest conceivable being exist in both and hence exist in reality.
• Ontological : nerve of all other argument
• Critic

Q.6
a) Can Jaina’s theory of ‘Syadvad’ and ‘Anekantvad’ reconcile problem of evil with that
of perfect God. Explain and evaluate in detail. 20

• syadvad: epistemological aspect of Jainas philosophy - Implies relativity of knowledge;

• For Jainas truth is relative; reality is plural; knowledge is not absolute;
• two judgments which may seem contradictory may both be true individually, owing to two
different contexts.
• Problem of evil: natural and moral.
1. God is all powerful.
2. God is perfectly good.
3. evil exists.
4. all powerful and believe in God exist there would be no evil in the world.
5. there is evil in the world
6. therefore god does not exist

• With the help of syadvad and anekantvad- it can be said that evil exists, and God is all powerful
at the same time ( such as syat asti nasti ). what looks evil from one point of view , may not be
evil from another point of view. so evil is not absolute. There remains no contradiction from one
perspective.

b) What is Henotheism, polytheism and atheism? How is one different from another? Is
there a common property that all three of these share? 15
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• Henotheism (Greek "one god") is a term coined by Max Müller, to mean devotion to a single
primary god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities. Müller stated
that henotheism means "monotheism in principle and polytheism in fact".
• Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one God.
• Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of God.
• Polytheism and henotheism together as an idea are opposed to monotheism on one side and
atheism on another.
• Henotheism as a subset of Polytheism;
• Example charvakas and sankhya are atheists.
• Hinduism shows features of henotheism and polytheism.
• Islam is monotheistic.
Common feature:

• Two dimensions:
• Quantitative assessment of God: singular or plural;
• Belief in existence and nonexistence of God: relation of man to God:

c) How is any discussion on nature of religious experience relevant to philosophy of

religion? Are there any challenges with respect to these claims? Explain with logical
arguments. 15

• Religious experience: refers to experiences that one encounters by his or her engagement in
religious thoughts, beliefs and practices. It is the experience of something sacred

• Features of religious experience: universality, diversity and Importance.

• Modes of religious experience: reason, revelation, and faith:
• types of religious experience- personal to an individual, public through narration or written record
like religious texts.
• Categories of religious experience: Regenerative, Charismatic and Mystical.
Relevance to philosophy of religion:

• Religious experiences are a source of religious knowledge: philosophy has epistemological stake
in this.
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• Religious experiences provide different insights into metaphysics- philosophy assess the
coherence of these metaphysical claims.
• Philosophy critically analysis the claims of religious experiences to find the assumptions and
presuppositions of religious morality.
Challenges to religious experience as justification for religious beliefs:

• Lack of verifiability
• Conflicting claims within variety of religious experiences
• The circularity objection
• Explanations by science

Q.7
a) Discuss relation of God with Man in the context of Nimbarka and Vallabhachharya
of Vedanta.

Nimbarka: doctrine of dualistic monism (Dvaitadvaita).

• Difference as well as non-difference or identity (Bhedabheda) between Brahman and the

individual souls and the world.
• Svabhavik bhedabheda
• His doctrine is that of a relation of “identity-in-difference” between Brahman and souls/world.
He advocated brahma-parinamvada or the doctrine of the transformation of Brahman into the
world.
God=Brahman

• Brahman is the greatest, Supreme Person.

• He is possessed of infinite, inconceivable qualities and powers. He is omniscient, omnipresent,
and omnipotent. He is transcendent and immanent.
• He is knowable through Vedas only.
• He is the final of end individual souls.
• The highest Reality is Brahman called Kṛṣṇa or Hari. He is a personal God. There is
• nothing that is equal to Him, nothing that is superior.
Man=soul=jiva
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• Soul is a part of Brahman. It is both different and non-different from him

• The cit or individual soul is of the nature of knowledge and is also the knower.
• There is both a difference and a non-difference between the qualifies and the quality.
Suddhadvaita of vallabha: pure non-dualism

• Brahaman is qualified and determinate. He is the cause of the world. He is the Lord of souls and
of the world.
• Prakrati (the stuff of the world) and Maya is the power of God.
• Brahman has no body, but he can assume bodies for the benefit of his devotees in sport. Pure
Brahman is the only reality.
• He possesses SAT, CIT and ANANDA.
• Jagat or world is real. Jīvas are parts of God. Samsara is due to the soul’s ignorance of its non-
difference between from Brahman. Avidya is due to a false sense of individuality.
• Liberation is due to the true knowledge of non-difference (abheda) of world, jīva, and Brahman.
Liberated souls do not become one God, but acquires affinity with him. Merciful God makes his
devotee enjoy his supreme bliss.

b) Explain the terms Transcendent and Immanence in terms of God: which God do you
think suits theistic conceptions?

1. Immanence -
• It does not mean omnipresence. It refers to all pervasiveness and indwellingness.
• An immanent God is the power by which the world sustains, functions and retains its structure.
example Spinoza’s natura naturans.
• Immanence also means that in every bit of this universe God is inherently immanent.
• God is the material cause of the universe.
• Key concept of pantheism.
2. Transcendence -
• Key concept of deism.
• implies dualism
• God is beyond the world and thus do not interfere in the affairs of the world.

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• God is the creator of the perfect world.

• Not a God of worship.
• no place for miracle and magic.
• Immanent God suits theistic conception. God has the power to interfere in the affairs of the world.
God is the object of worship.
• Shankar’s level of reality : attempt to reconcile immanence and transcendence

c) Critically discuss various attributes of traditional God. 15

• Necessity: exists necessarily. Problem of Proofs of existence of God.

• Omnipotence: all powerful; problem of evil.

• Omniscience: all knowing; problem of Freedom of will and determinism.

• Eternity: no beginning or end; problem of change and continuity.

• Immutability: the property of changelessness.

Q.8
a) Compare and contrast the difference between Deism and Theism? Which conception
is better suited for religion? Logically argue. 15

Deism:

• Philosophical form of theism

• Primacy of reason and its role as the source of knowledge
• God is the efficicent cause of the universe but there is no interference thereafter from God;
• analogy of watch and watchmaker.
• World is like a perfect machine and thus requires no interference from god. God’s superior
engineering
• Man is born with free will, Natural rights and reason.
• Moral duty is a product of Man’s intuition.
Theism:

• Belief in the existence of one God viewed as the creative source of the human race and the world
who transcends yet is immanent in the world.
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Deism Theism

God is transcendent God is both transcendent and immanent.

God is absolute God is personalistic and supreme and may

not be absolute.
God is a creator of a perfect world. God is a creator of world which is constantly
evolving perhaps to a perfect state.
God is only the efficient cause of the God is the efficient and material cause and
world. no interference thereafter. the sustaining power of the world.
source of knowledge: reason source of knowledge: faith, religious
experience, revolution and reason too.
No place for miracles miracles do happen.

Both design and theism are suitable for religion depending upon the context and the conception of religion
being talked about. religion is personal. it may be the case that for some deism is appealing while for
others theism is appealing.

There can be no universal category of suitability for religion in terms of theism or deism.

b) Explain and evaluate the concept of panpsychicism in Indian and western thought. Is
it a logically framework for God-World or Man- world relation? 15

• Panpsychism is the view that all things have a mind or a mind-like quality.
• The word itself was coined by the Italian philosopher Francesco Patrizi in the sixteenth century
and derives from the two Greek words pan (all) and psyche (soul or mind).
• Western philosophy: Leibnitz monodology in detail: spiritual items, unextended, independent,
self-existent, pre-established harmony
• Indian philosophy: Jaina: Anekantvad: theory of plurality of reality; All things are conscious:
variability of consciousness from material atoms to Jina
• Qualitative alike but quantitative differ
• Common feature:

- Immanence of God in the world in form of consciousness in varying degrees.

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- all things are conscious.

- Subset of pantheism.

Panpsychism provides a framework for God-Man-World relation; limitations of panpsychism:

- difficulty to explain material things.

- problem of evil
- problem of free will and autonomy.
- problem of determinism
c) Are mystics neurotics ? Critically examine. 15

- See booklet

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