UNIVERSITY OF HYDERABAD
DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY
M. A. Entrance Examination, February 2013

Hall Ticket No. Time: 2 Hours Max. Marks: 100 Instructions: The Question Paper consists ofthree Parts: Part Part B and Part C
Part A of the question paper consists of25 objective (multiple-choice) questions of one mark each. There will be a negative marking of 1h for every wrong answer. You have to answer the questions for this part in the question paper itself. Part B consists of two sections. Section I of Part B consists of 10 objective (multiple­choice) queWons based on reading. and comprehension ofa passage. Section II of Part B consists choice questions based on reasoning. There will be no negative marking for any wrong answer. They should be answered in the question paper itself. Part C consists of two sections which should be answered in the separate answer book provided.
Part-A 25 marks
1.
Socrates said that the unexamined life is: Normal A mystery Not worth living Full of sound and fury

2.
Logic is:
Arbitrary, therefore optional in informal conversation
Arbitrary, therefore necessary in informal conversation
Not of primary importance in philosophy
The study of correct reasoning and valid inferences


3.
Ethics deals with the questions regarding ...
What we normally do
What we need to do
What we ought to do
What we like to do


4.
Which of the given passages can be taken as an example ofa valid deductive argument? Whenever children are exposed to sunlight, they get sunburn, Therefore exposure


to sunlight is the cause of sunburn in the case of children If there is thunder, then there is lightning as well. There is thunder. Therefore there is lightning.
Johny insisted that logic as a discipline is a gift from the Greek to the world. Ramu however objected saying that everyone is born with logical intuition. Therefore logic is not a gift from Greek.
Ifyoutakeadvantage ofme,thenIwilltelleveryonethatyouarealiar

5.
In a parliamentary form of government powers of state are vested in ... Council of ministers President People ofthe state All ofthe above

6.
In which year, terrorists crashed two planes into New York's WorldTrade Centre on September 11 in a sequence of destruction? 2000 2001 2002 2003

7.
India's tallest stone statue ofthe Jain sage Gommateswara is at ... Mysore Sravanabelagola Mandya Hampi

8.
In which ofthe following pairs, the two substances forming the pair are chemically most dissimilar? Sugar and jaggery Butter and paraffin wax Charcoal and diamond Chalk and marble

9.
Most ofthe politicians are liars. tells lies. From this choose the right conclusion among the following: Kasinath is a politician Those who do not tell lies are not politicians Some politicians do not tell lies You can be benefited from telling lies

10.
A certain number of horses and an equal number of men are going somewhere. Half ofthe owners are on their horses back while the rem"aining men are walking along leading their horses. Ifthe number of legs walking on the ground is 70, how many horses are there? 16 14 12 10

11.
If you want to be happy, practice honesty. This is a ... Absolute principle Necessary truth Conditional principle Unconditional truth


12. 'Optimist' is to 'cheerful' as 'pessimist' is to Gloomy Mean Petty Helpful
13. 'Embarrassed' is to 'humiliated' as 'frightened to Terrified Agitated Courageous Reckless
14. 'Candid' is to 'indirect' as 'honest' is
Frank Wicked Truthful Untruthful
15. is to 'rowboat' as is to
Running Walking Jumping Skateboard
16. What is the minimum age required to contest for Loksabha? 18 21 25 30
17. A man spent of his life as a teenager. How old was he when he died? 48 56 64 65

18.
A king has a parrot that he used to keep in a golden cage. One day he found the cage empty. Somebody had set the bird free. The king questioned his three jesters, Tic, Tac and Toe. They replied thus: Tic: Tac set it free Tac: I did Toe: 1had nothing to do with it. Later it was found that only one ofthem had told the truth. Who set the bird free? Tic Tac Toe None ofthem

19.
Choose the correct statement below. There are four Vedas There are twenty four puranas



Mahabharath has seven chapters
There are seven Upanisads

20.
The role of philosophy in relation to religion is to Justify religion Criticize religion Rationally understand religion Confirm religion

21.
Buddhism is a nasthika darsana because ... it does not believe in the existence of God it accepts the Buddha as God it critical ofHinduism it does not accept the authority of Veda

22.
Which number replaces the question mark?


vlhlfh "".i

23. What time should the last watch show?

24. Govind has been visiting friends in Ridge-wood for the past two yveeks. He is leaving tomorrow morning and his flight is very early. Most of his friends live fairly close to the airport. Kishan lives ten Kilometers away. Ram lives five Kilometers away, Samantha seven Kilometers. Hari is farther away than Ram, but closer than Samantha. Approximately how far away from the airport is Hari?
Nine Kilometers
Seven Kilometers
Eight Kilometers
Six Kilometers
B -11

25. University Philosophy Department needs to appoint a new chairperson which will be
based on seniority. Dr. Shetty has less seniQrity than Dr. Murthy, but more than Dr.
Gupta. Dr. Naidu has more seniority than Dr.Shetty, but less than Dr. Murthy. Dr.
Murthy refuses to take the position. Who will be the new chairperson.

Dr. Naidu Dr. Murthy Dr. Shetty Dr. Gupta
Part 40 Section
2-0 Reading comprehension:
Fleas are perfectly designed by nature to on anything containing blood. Like a
shark in the water or a wolf in the woods, fleas are ideally equipped to do what they
do, making them very difficult to defeat. The bodies ofthese tiny parasites are
extremely hardy and well-suited for their job.
A flea has a very hard exoskeleton, which means the body is covered by a tough, tile-like plate called a sclerite. Because ofthese plates, fleas are almost impossible to squish. The exoskeletons of fleas are also waterproof and shock resistant, and therefore fleas are highly resistant to the sprays and chemicals used to kill them.
Little spines are attached to this plate. The spines lie flat against the flea's thin, narrow body as the flea scurries through an animal's fur in search offood. However, if anything (like fingers or a self-grooming pet) tries to pull a flea off through the hair coat, these spines will extend and stick the fur like Velcro.
Fleas are some ofthe best jumpers in the natural world. A flea canjump seven inches, or 150 times its own length, either vertically or horizontally. An equivalent jump for a person would be 555 feet, the height ofthe Washington Monument. Fleas can jump 30,000 times in a row without stopping, and they are able to accelerate through the air at an incredibly high rate which is over ten times what humans can withstand in an airplane.
Fleas have very long rear legs with huge thigh muscles and multiple joints. When they get ready to jump, they fold their long legs up and crouch like a runner on a starting block. Several oftheirjoints contain a protein called resilin, which helps catapult fleas into the air as they jump, similar to the way a rubber band provides momentum to a slingshot. Outward facing claws on the bottom oftheir legs grip anything they touch when they land.
The adult female flea mates after her first blood meal and begins producing eggs injust 1 to 2 days. One flea can lay up to 50 eggs in one day and over 2,000 in her lifetime. Flea eggs can be seen with the naked eye, but they;ire about the size ofa grain of salt. Shortly after being laid, the eggs begin to transform into cocoons. In the cocoon state, fleas are fully developed adults, and will hatch immediately if conditions are favorable. Fleas can detect warmth, movement, and carbon dioxide in exhaled breath, and these three factors stimulate them to emerge as new adults. If the flea does not detect appropriate conditions, it can remain dormant in the cocoon state for extended periods. Under ideal conditions, the entire life cycle may only take 3 weeks, so in no time at all, pets and homeican become infested.
Because of these characteristics, fleas are intimidating opponents. The best way to control fleas, therefore, is to take steps to prevent an infestation from ever occurring.
q

Questions:
The primary purpose of the passage is to ... educate the reader about the physical characteristics of fleas compare fleas to other members ofthe animal kingdom relate the problems that can result frorp a flea infestation explain why a flea infestation is hard to get rid of
The author's tone in the passage is best described as concerned passionate informative opinionated
According to the passage, fleas are resistant to sprays and chemicals because they ... have waterproof sclerites are excellent jumpers reproduce very rapidly can stick to fur like Velcro
Fleas are difficult to squish because they have
I. sclerites II. tough spines III. resilin in their joints
I only
I and II only
II and III only
II, and III

According to the passage, which ofthe following statements is true?
Fleas extend their little spines ifthreatened.
Fleas have the ability to jump higher than humans.
Humans canjump higher if they consume foods containing resilin.
The resilin found in fleas is used to make ruQber bands.

According to the passage, fleas are able to jump
I. with a high rate ofacceleration II. up and down and from side to side
III. because the blood they drink contains resilin
I only
I and II only
II and III only
D)I,II,andIII

Based on information in the passage, the reader can infer that ... fleas will die without access to blood fleas survive at a higher rate in outdoor habitats fleas will die after they produce 2,000 eggs newly hatched fleas are the size ofa grain ofsalt
The author mentions the Washington Monument in order to ...
estimate the extreme distance that a flea is able to jump
illustrate a comparison made between fleas and humans
clarify a point made regarding fleas and acceleration
demonstrate the superiority of fleas over humans
It can be inferred that fleas will emerge from eggs as adults ...
when they outgrow the cocoon
after a period of3 weeks
when they sense there is access to blood
ifthere is too much carbon dioxide in the cocoon

10) Using the information in the passage as a guide, it can be concluded that humans do not possess the physical characteristics ofthe flea they have no use for them humans do not pay much attention to fleas because they do not pose a serious threat fleas have many physical advantages, although these are outweighed by their many disadvantages fleas are physiologically organized in such a way as to give them unique physical advantages in life
Section

In each ofthe following questions, two statements numbered I and II are given. There may be cause and effect relationship between the two statements. These two statements may be the effect of the same cause or independent causes. These statements may be independent causes without having any relationship. Read both the statements in each question and mark your answer.
1. Statements:
I. The police authority has recently caught a group of house breakers.
II. The citizens group in the locality have started night vigil in the area.

Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect;


Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect;


Both the statements I and II are independent causes;


Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes


Both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.


2. Statements:
I. There has been a high increase in the incidents of atrocities against women in the city during the past few months.
II. The police authority has been unable to nab the culprits who are committing crime against women.

Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect;


Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect;




Both the statements I and II are independent events


Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes


Both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.


3. Statements:
I. There is increase in water level of all the water tanks supplying drinking water to the city during the last fortnight.
II. Most of the trains were cancelled.. last week due to water-logging on the tracks.

Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect;


Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect;


Both the statements I and II are independent causes;


Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes


Both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.


4. Statements:
I. The performance of most ofthe students in final exam of class X in the schools run by the Government was excellent.
II. Many teachers of the Government schools left the school and joined private schools.

Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect;


Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect;


Both the statements I and II are independent causes;


Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes


Both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.


5. Statements:
I. There is considerable reduction in the number of people affected by water-borne diseases in City A during this rainy season.
II. The government has opened four civil hospitals in City A in the beginning of the year.

Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect;


Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect;


Both the statements I and II are independent events


Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes


Both the statements I and II are of some common cause.


6. Statements:
I. The employees of the biggest bank in the country have given an indefinite strike call starting from third of the next month.
II. The employees of the Central Government have withdrawn their week long demonstrations.
Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect;


9

r

Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect;


Both the statements I and II are independent causes;


Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes


Both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.


7. Statements:
I. Majority of the citizens in the locality belong to higher income group
II. The sales in the local super market are comparatively much higher than in other localities.

Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect;


Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect;


Both the statements I and II are independent causes;


Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes


Both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.


8. Statements:
I. Standard of living among the middle class society is constantly going up since past few years.
II. Indian Economy is observing remarkable growth.

Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect;


Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect;


Both the statements I and II are independent causes;


Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes


Both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.


9. Statements:
I. Importance of Yoga and exercise is being realized by all sections of the society.
II. There is an increasing awareness..about health in the society particularly among middle ages group of people.

Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect;


Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect;


Both the statements I and II are independent causes;


Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes


Both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.


10. Statements:
I. The Government has decided to hold a single entrance test for admission to all the medical colleges in India.
II. The State Government has debarred students from other States to apply for the seats in the medical colleges in the State.
3


Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect;


Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect;


Both the statements I and II are independent causes;


Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes


Both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.


Part
Section Marks: 15 Answer any three of the following questions in 100 words each. All questions carry equal marks.
1.
What is the role of media in today's life?

2.
Is there any need of philosophy in human life?

3.
What are the basic teachings of Buddhism?

4.
What is your position on the notion of God? Substantiate your position.

5.
What do you understand by the "Good Governance".

6.
Is Nuclear energy bane or boon? Discuss.


Section Marks: 20 Answer anyone of the following questions in 500 words. All questions carry equal marks.
Write an essay on anyone ofthe following. All questions carry equal marks.
1.
Discuss the role of Epics in Hindu tradition.

2.
What is Religion? How it is different from Philosophy? Discuss.

3.
What is secularism? How can it be effectively practiced?


3