The Department of Philosophy, Jadavpur University, is unique in its innovative and extensive academic and research programmes. The Department began its journey on the strong foundations laid by stalwarts like Prof. Gopinath Bhattacharya, Prof. Kali Krishna Banerjee, Prof. Pranab Kumar Sen, Prof. Debi Prasad Chattopadhyay, Prof. Pradyot Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Prof. Sailaja Kumar Bhattacharya. Based on their guiding principles the department continues to flourish under its present leadership and members. The department is the longest running research centre under the UGC, with the first DSA being approved in 1977, continuing up to 2021 as a UGC centre of advanced study in philosophy. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of its members, and the support received from UGC, ICPR and other research and funding agencies, the department has achieved excellence in a wide range of philosophical areas spanning ancient, modern, classical, contemporary, Indian, Western, and theoretical and applied. The department is specially recognized nationally as a syllabus and curricular development centre in philosophy. The department gives equal emphasis on Indian and Western philosophy, and simultaneously encourages significant research in areas of overlap between classical Indian philosophy and Western Philosophy. This is reflected in both our UG and PG syllabi as well as research activities. Though situated in its independent building, the department of philosophy never hesitate in collaborating with other departments within the faculty as well as those of the outside of the faculty of the institution.

Departmental Achievements: Year Recognition

1977 First identified for DSA project by UGC

1984 First identified as a Centre of Advanced Study by UGC Till 2021 Continued as Centre of Advanced Study by UGC

1986 Recognised as the Nodal Centre for Curriculum Development

2004-07 Support under ASIHSS from UGC

2011 Prof. Amita Chatterjee has been appointed as the 1st Vice Chancellor of Presidency University, Kolkata

2019 Department has received assistance from RUSA 2.0. Some of the faculty members received MRPs under RUSA 2.0 for pursuing research

Speciality of the Syllabus:

• From its very inception the syllabi of the undergraduate and post graduate courses have been so designed that provides equal emphasis on Indian and Western thoughts in all the branches of philosophy.

• The syllabi are revised every three years to include contemporary areas of study along with the traditional ones.

• The syllabi of UG and PG are both topic-based and text-based.

• The following special papers are generally offered:

>> Advaita Vedanta

>> Buddhism

>> Nyaya

>> Feminist Philosophy

>> Philosophy of Mind

>> Logic

>> Philosophy of Science

>> Social and Political Philosophy

• The syllabus at the MPhil level includes research methodology, literature survey and optional papers in which the teachers offer courses on topics of contemporary as well as traditional thoughts.

Departmental Activities:

• In addition to the regular teaching and administrative assignments, faculty members are involved in various research activities culminating into a large number of publications of books and articles in peer reviewed journals.
• Two volumes of a peer reviewed bi-annual journal are regularly being published by the department- one volume in English, namely, Jadavpur Journal of Philosophy and the other in Bengali, viz., Darshan Bikkha.
• Weekly research scholars’ seminar where PhD and MPhil scholars present their papers on the theme they are working upon
• Weekly teachers’ seminars are held
• One national level seminar, one state level seminar and one young scholars’ meet are organized
• Refresher Course for College and University Teachers are organised occasionally by the department depending on the grant received from UGC
• The Department has always invited visiting fellows under CAS program from foreign and Indian Universities who delivered lectures and took classes in the Department.
• Department has a commendable publication program under which books, monographs and anthologies are written, edited and published by the faculty members. The Department also publishes rare classics which are no more available in print.

Important Departmental Publications: A Glimpse

1. Pranab Kr. Sen, Logic, Induction and Ontology: Essays in Philosophical Analysis

2. Chanda Gupta, Realism versus Realism

3. Kalyan Sengupta, Mentalistic Turn

4. Indrani Sanyal, Modality, Essence and Possible Worlds

5. Sukharanjan Saha edited, Essays in Indian Philosophy

6. P.K. Mukhopadhyay, Indian Realism

7. Ratna Dutta Sharma, Philosophical Discourse

8. Shefali Moitra, Feminist Thought: Androcentricism, Communication and Objectivity

9. Srilekha Dutta, The Ontology of Negation

10. Srilekha Dutta and Amita Chatterjee eds Some Philosophical Issues in Indian Logic

11. Madhumita Chattopadhyay, Walking Along the Path of Buddhist Epistemology

12. Aparajita Mukhopadhya and Gargi Goswami, Ethics and Culture Vol. III

13. Atashee Chatterjee Sinha and Sashinungla, Tradition and Modernity: Essays on Women of India

14. Lopamudra Choudhury and Soumitra Basu, Determinants of Perception

15. Proyash Sarkar, Maushumi Guha, Madhucchanda Sen eds. Reconstructing Folk Psychology: The Indian Perspective

16. Samar Kumar Mondal, Conditions for Being a Democratic State

Alumni:

• Professor Vrinda Dalmiya (Hawaii University)
• Professor Prashanta Bandyopadhyay (Montana State University)
• Professor Nivedita Gangopadhyay (Copenhagen University)
• Dr. Nilanjan Das (University College, London)
• Smt. Kaushiki Chakraborty (Eminent Singer)

International Visiting Professors: Recent

• Prof. Mark Siderits
• Prof. Arindam Chakravorty
• Prof. Jay Garfield
• Prof. Helen Longino
• Prof. Victoria Lysenko
• Prof. Heidi Maibom
• Prof. Robert Goldman
• Prof. Mandakranta Basu
• Prof. Leonard Skoff
• Prof. Prashanta Bandyopadhyay

Centres:

• The UGC Centre for Sri Aurobindo Studies
• Centre for Buddhist Studies
• B. K. Matilal Centre for Logic
• Centre for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology

Infrastructure:

• Department of Philosophy is probably the only Department in the Faculty of Arts which has a building of its own.
• ‘Darshan Bhavan’ is a three storied building with all modern facilities like elevator, smart classroom, auditorium, computer lab with wi-fi connection.
• The departmental library is very rich having nearly 10000 books and subscribes to national and international journals.