28/08/2018
The post-graduate Department of Philosophy is one of the youngest department on campus and was started in March 1986 by the University of Mumbai. Dr. S.S Antarkar was the founder Head of the department, who laid great stress on the importance of learning all traditions of philosophy with equal openness. The syllabus thus reflected not only Indian philosophy of both, the Vedic and Śramana traditions, but also the Continental and Analytic traditions of the world. Since then, it has expanded its activities to provide foundation and diploma courses in disciplines like Yoga, Jainology, Vallabha Vedanta, Buddhist Studies, Indian Aesthetics and Communal Harmony, thus disseminating interest in the cultural and philosophical foundations of the epistemic, linguistic, metaphysical and creative heritage of humanity.
The discipline of Philosophy, which is both ancient and contemporary, is indispensable in current academia. Nevertheless, its practical import is apparent in all walks of life, such as national policy decisions, corporate management, media, law, ecology, gender, science, technology; in cultures and traditions that we inherit and also in those that influence us. None of these can function without sound and critical philosophical foundations.
Being holistic in nature, Philosophy is necessarily interdisciplinary in its outlook. To encourage this, the Department conducts workshops like the ‘Basic Concepts in Philosophy’ in the month of June/July for those who are from across disciplines and are interested in knowing more about philosophy. These are also intended to guide those attempting the Entrance exams for the MA programmes. Some workshops are specifically designed to help students in giving various exams like PET/NET/SET/UPSC and is an ongoing attempt by the faculty to enable students achieve their career requirements.
The Department offers a variety of Certificate/Diploma Courses in Indian Philosophy initiated primarily due to the efforts of Dr. Shubhada Joshi. Donations from private funders such as the Jaina Academy U.K. and the Bhagirathi Trust in India have helped the Department to set up Chairs under the Jaina Academy Educational and Research Center (JAERC) and the Vallabha Vedanta Academy (VVA) dedicated to the Philosophy of Jainism and Vaishnavism, respectively. Since 2014, the Center for Buddhist Studies in the Department of Philosophy (under the UGC tenth plan scheme), conducts International Conferences, Courses and Workshops in Buddhism.
The certificate and diploma courses run by the department thus are partly sustained by donations and partly function as self-supporting courses. Many of our post-graduate students avail of these courses and many of the students from these courses also avail of our post-graduate programme as continuation of their interest in Philosophy, thus creating an interactive and inter disciplinary
framework within the discipline of Philosophy itself.
