BTech, Computer Science from IIT Delhi
Cleared UPSC Mains 2016

Shantanu Dahiya

This course delves into the minds of great thinkers who sought to answer the question - what is good? The most important ethical thinkers and their theories are described and discussed. Students will be able to understand the diverse viewpoints on ethics, so they can approach ethical issues with a broader horizon.

Crack UPSC CSE Prelims and Mains Exams. Know how to prepare for UPSC 2019 and 2020, complete syllabus, exam patterns, latest notifications to join IAS, IFS, IPS and other cadres of Civil Services.

UPSC CSE - GS

UPSC - Civil Services Examination (IAS) Preparation

English

Contributions of Moral Thinkers & Philosophers of India and the World

Religions in India

Art & Culture

Art & Culture free courses for UPSC IAS prelims exam 2018-2019 including syllabus, NCERT summary, strategy, MCQs etc.These courses are taken by India's best educators, led by Roman Saini.

UPSC CSE

Ace the toughest competitive and government exams in India 

Test Preparation

Union Public Service Commission Exams (UPSC)

Socrates plato and aristotle were the first philosophers in the western tradition to propound a  theory of ethics. Virtue theory defines morality as arising from a person's virtuous character traits. It is different from other theories, which are action-based. We discuss the hierarchy of virtues, Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Golden mean. We end with criticisms of virtual theory.

Virtue Ethics - Socrates, Plato & Aristotle

Stoicism and Epicureanism are the two major schools of Greek philosophy that followed Plato and Aristotle. They contrast each other in many ways. While Stoicism is the culmination of virtue ethics, Epicureanism moves on into action-based ethics. Both these philosophies have been very influential in later ethical thought.

Stoicism and Epicureanism

St. Thomas Aquinas propounded the ethical theory of natural law - what is good is what fulfills the natural (divine) purpose, and what hinders it is bad. We discuss practical ethical positions, Aquinas's doctrine of double effect and end with criticisms of natural law ethics.

Natural Law Ethics - St. Thomas Aquinas

Utilitarianism is a very important and influential philosophy, especially in modern times. We discuss its formulations, its applicability, its pitfalls and how it deals with the problems that it raises. Finally, we discuss the criticisms levelled against it.

Utilitarianism - Bentham and Mill

Deontology is the complete opposite of consequenctialism, wherein the consequences of the action are irrelevant and only the essential nature of the action is relevant to its moral value. We discuss Kant's concept of moral law, his formulations of the categorical imperative, examples of ethical positions and finally the criticisms of his ethical philosophy.

Deontology (Duty-based Ethics) - Kant

Sentimentalism and intuitionism explain morality as creations and primitive perceptions of the human mind respectively. We discuss positivism and its fallout for ethics, moral expressivism, moral intuitionism and end with their criticism.

Sentimentalism and Intuitionism

Existentialism says that the only moral is to be authentic, to be your true self. We discuss existentialist philosophers, the basics of existentialist philosophy, the focus on freedom, modes of inauthentic existence, and end with criticism of the philosophy.

Existentialism

Karl Marx is one of the most influential thinkers in the modern world. We examine his ideas on the unethical nature of capitalism, history as dialectical materialism, and his vision of a socialist state and the communist utopia. We end with the criticism of his ideas.

Political Ethics - Karl Marx

John Rawls and Amartya Sen have theorised about justice in a society. We examine their ideas and see where they differ. We look at Rawls's Original Position and Veil of Ignorance, Sen's capabilities approach and niti-nyaya distinction, and also examine criticisms of both philosophers.

Political Ethics - John Rawls & Amartya Sen

Chanakya is known as the Indian Machiavelli for his pragmatic political ethics. We discuss the Arthashastra, the saptanga state, the characteristics of the ideal state and end with criticisms.

Political Ethics - Chanakya

The Hindu philosophical tradition also deals with the questions of what is the ideal life and the right mode of behaviour. We discuss the sources of Hindu ethics, the four Purusharthas the Ashram system. We end with criticisms of Hindu ethics.

Hindu Ethics

Buddhism and Jainism emerged as reactions to dissatisfactions with brahminical religion. They have their own philosophical frameworks that lie at the Bedrock of their ethics. We discuss the 4 noble truths, the 8-fold path, the theory of manyness of reality and the Panchamahavrata. We end with the significance and criticisms of Buddhist and Jaina philosophies.

Buddhist & Jaina Ethics

MK Gandhi was not just a political activist but also a philosopher in his own right. He had varied influences and the will-power to put his ideas into practice as well. We discuss the basic tenets of Gandhi's ethical philosophy, its significance and finally its criticisms.

Gandhian Ethics

Writer, Educator, Ex-IRS Officer, Author of books on 'Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude' & 'Essay and Answer Writing'  for UPSC Civil Services

Awdhesh Singh

In this course, the educator discusses the important teachings of Buddha and the key practices of Buddhism.

Essence of Buddhism: UPSC CSE

Masters in Philosophy from Delhi University. Unflinching dedication for teaching, dancing, panting and reading 

Ishanee Akshda

The course has lessons on topics under Logic, like its basic concepts, how to frame and analyse arguments, identifying fallacious argument and the categorical propositions. It also has some MCQs for better understanding, along with summary of the course.

Philosophy of Logic and its Aspects

Pulkit Jain

This course discusses about important National and International thinkers/philosophers.

(Hindi) Philosophical Thinkers from Ethics for UPSC/ MPPSC

Sociologist by profession and a learner by nature. Passionate about teaching and has been teaching for more than 5 years on various Civil Se

Neelapareddy Vijay

This course give insights on Western as well as Indian Moral philosophers. This will help raise philosophical knowledge of the learners which in turn help them handle any statement based questions.

Chapter-3: Moral Thinkers

Tulika Tulika

This briefly describes about how Indian Philosophy has played its role in the field of Philosophy.

Indian Philosophy

Director - CivilsPLus IAS. I have 9+ years experience as Mentor and Trainer for UPSC aspirants for the subjects History, Art and Culture and

Ranganathan Svn Kondala

In this course, Nathan provides an outlook into the Indian Cave and Mural paintings. This course is targeted for UPSC CSE and other aspirants.

Lessons

13 lessons • 2h 50m