Modern Western Philosophy

By Dr. Aquil Ahmad | Aligarh Muslim University

Learners enrolled: 105

ABOUT THE COURSE:

This course will introduce and explore the key ideas and features of Modern Western Philosophy. It will introduce the major philosophical movement and its impact and contributions in the development of Western thought. It focusses mainly on Rationalism, Empiricism and Enlightenment period and its impact on Western thought.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: UG / PG Students, NET and UPSC Aspirants

PREREQUISITES: 10+2

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: UGC/AICTE

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Philosophy
Credit Points :	3
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	21 Jul 2025
End Date :	10 Oct 2025
Enrollment Ends :	28 Jul 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	15 Aug 2025
Exam Date :	24 Oct 2025 IST
NCrF Level	6.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Introduction to Modern Western Philosophy

Week 2: Rationalism - René Descartes

Week 3: Rationalism - Baruch Spinoza

Week 4: Rationalism - Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Week 5: Empiricism - John Locke

Week 6: Empiricism - George Berkeley

Week 7: Empiricism - David Hume

Week 8: Enlightenment - Immanuel Kant

Week 9: Post-Kantian Idealism - G.W.F. Hegel

Week 10: Other Key Figures and Movements; Marx, Nietzsche

Week 11: Impact of Modern Western Philosophy and Emergence of New School of Thoughts

Week 12: Conclusion and Contemporary Relevance

Books and references

F.Thilly :A History of Philosophy
R.Pati :History of Modern Philosophy
R.Falckenberg :History of Modern Philosophy
S.Stumpf : Socrates to Sartre
B.Russell :A History of Western Philosophy
Antony Flew: An Introduction to Western Philosophy
Archana Roy: Western Philosophy from Descartes to Kant

Instructor bio

Dr. Aquil Ahmad

Aligarh Muslim University

An Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy, AMU has teaching experience of more than 21 years, done his doctorate on Postmodernist-Pragmatist American Philosopher; Richard Rorty. He started his teaching career as Lecturer of Philosophy in Karim City College, Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) 2003. His areas of interest are Contemporary Western Philosophy, Contemporary Political Philosophy, Indian Philosophy. He has participated in many seminars, conferences, workshops and published research papers in national and international research journals. He also rendered his service as Program Officer of the College NSS unit, (2008-2014). He was also associated with Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI), Ranchi (State Resource Centre of National Literacy Mission, Govt. of India) as a board member of Executive Committee (2013-2015).

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: 24 October 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup. It will have the logos of INI and AMU.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- INI team

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