February 15th, 2020 
This assignment is an exercise in comparing philosophical schools on a single topic, and developing your own response to the issue at hand.
Begin by selecting a question you will attempt to answer:
Does the Atman exist?
Is testimony a reliable cause of knowledge?
Is inference a reliable cause of knowledge?
Once you have decided which question you wish to answer, select two competing schools of thought to work with. In other words, if you are answering the Atman question you would want to contrast the Astika tradition (Nyaya, Upanishads, Gita) with either the Carvaka tradition or the Buddhist tradition; if you are answering the inference question you would want to contrast the Astika tradition with the Carvaka tradition; if you are answering the testimony question you would want to contrast the Astika tradition with either the Carvaka tradition or the Buddhist tradition. Remember, you only need to cover two schools, but these schools must disagree with each other on the topic at hand.
Your paper should (a) clearly summarize and communicate the positions and arguments of two, contrasting schools, (b) make good use of the relevant assigned readings [include at least four citations from at least two sources], and (c) include a statement of your own answer to the questionwith a reasoned defense (it is fine to agree with one school, or to propose a third option, just be sure to provide reasons for your position).
Posted in 