UPSC Philosophy Syllabus – Syllabus of Philosophy Optional

To begin with, choosing the right optional subject plays a major role in the UPSC exam. In this article, we will be discussing the UPSC Philosophy Syllabus. If you plan to take this subject as your optional subject for the UPSC mains, this article will provide you all the necessary details of the UPSC Philosophy optional syllabus PDF. Let’s begin.

UPSC Philosophy

In the first place, one must understand their skills before choosing the optional subject. Understand your skills and go through the complete syllabus. Know what skills that subject demands. Further, talking about the Philosophy subject, it is the favorite subject of the IAS aspirants. As it is easy to understand and it also has a less syllabus. Some of the advantages of taking this subject as optional we have mentioned below.

• In the first place, it has less syllabus and it easy to understand. Further, it doesn’t need any prior knwledge, students from any background can take up this subject.
• It also helps you with other subjects, like for the subjects ethics and essay. So, it will save your time in covering the syllabus.
• When compared to the other subjects, this subject you can cover easily without any coaching. So, know which are the best books and study according to that.

Further, you can visit the official page for more information on the IAS exam and UPSC. Click Here. Let us now understand UPSC Philosophy Syllabus

Things to know before choosing the optional subject

As we have already mentioned above, one must understand their skills before choosing the optional subject. Hence, below we have added some tips that will help you to select the optional topic.

• In the first place, understand your skills and know which subject will suit with your skills. Don’t choose only because everyone else is choosing that subject.One must also go through the complete syllabus and you can also choose subjects according to your academic background.
• Understand how that particular subject going to help you with the GS papers. Subjects like philosophy and political science will contribute some concepts to the GS papers. It willsave your time in the exam preparations.
• Know the performance of the optiomal subject in the past three years. By doing this you will also get an understanding about which subject to choose.
• Further, you can also contact your seniors or friends to know about the subject if they have given the exam. From their experience they can help you in a better way.

UPSC Philosophy Syllabus

Paper I: History and Problems of Philosophy

• Plato and Aristotle – It includes Causation; Actuality, and Potentiality. Ideas; Substance, Form and Matter.
• Rationalism (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz) – It includes God; Mind-Body Dualism; Determinism and Freedom. Cartesian Method and Certain Knowledge; Substance.
• Empiricism (Locke, Berkeley, Hume) – Substance and Qualities; Self and God; Scepticism, and Theory of Knowledge.
• Kant – It includes Ideas of Reason; Antinomies; Critique of Proofs for the Existence of God.
• Moore, Russell and Early Wittgenstein – Incomplete Symbols; Logical Constructions; Picture Theory of Meaning; Saying and Showing. Further, Defence of Commonsense; Logical Atomism, Refutation of Idealism;
• Logical Positivism – Linguistic Theory of Necessary Propositions. Verification Theory of Meaning; Rejection of Metaphysics;
• Carvaka – Theory of Knowledge; Rejection of Transcendent Entities.

Continued – UPSC Philosophy Syllabus

• Theory of Pramana; Self, Liberation; God; Theory of Categories; Theory of Appearance;
• Samkhya – Prakrti; Purusa; Causation; Liberation.
• Schools of Vedanta: Brahman; Îúvara; Atman; Jiva; Jagat;
• Aurobindo: Evolution, Involution; Integral Yoga.

Socio-Political Philosophy

Further, below you will find the syllabus of Paper-II

• Social and Political Ideals – Equality, Justice, Liberty.
• Forms of Government – Monarchy; Theocracy and Democracy.
• Gender Discrimination – Female Foeticide, Land and Property Rights;
• Caste Discrimination: Gandhi and Ambedkar

Philosophy of Religion

• Notions of God – Attributes; Relation to Man and the World. (Indian and Western).
• Problem of Evil and Religion and Morality.
• Soul: Immortality; Rebirth and Liberation.

Click on the below link for the complete UPSC philosophy optional syllabus PDF. We have covered everything, and you can download the document.

Books – UPSC Philosophy Syllabus

• An Introduction to Indian Philosophy by Satishchandra Chatterjee
• A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy by Chandradhar Sharma
• Contemporary Indian Philosophy by Basant Kumar Lal
• Introduction to Religious Philosophy By Y Masih
• Philosophy of Religion by John H Hick

You can check out some books with our other articles to help you cover the UPSC philosophy optional syllabus PDF details. Referring to the best books is also equally important. So, try to know the best books for all the subjects and try to study from them.

Quick Tips for the Exam

Exams like UPSC requires a high level of dedication and commitment. So, below we have added some of the tips for the exam preparations.

• To begin with, one must understand the exam syllabus. When you know the IAS exam syllabus, you need to cover everything. So, refer to the previous year’s papers and books.
• Further, to understand the paper pattern also, you can refer to the previous year’s papers. There you will find the details of question patterns, marks, trending topics, etc. So, we suggest you try to solve as many papers as possible.
• Then, you have to give time to all the subjects, it is important. Further, give time for the mock tests and for the revision.
• This many tend to ignore, that is, answer writing practice. Along with studying for the exam, one must also practice answer writing. Try to write an answer by including all the important points and try writing within time and number of words.
• Giving mock tests is important for the exam. It will give you the feel of the final year paper. It will also increase your skills. One must also give equal importance to current affairs, and they are also important from an exam point of view.
• Lastly, talking about the coaching, you can go for the coaching, or you can study on your own. If you can cover the syllabus and work hard, you can self-study. But, if you think you want to improve your skills and need guidance, then you can go for the coaching classes. However, in both the methods working hard remains the same. There are examples who have cleared the exam without classes on the first attempt.

IAS Exam Highlights

Now you have understood the complete philosophy optional syllabus UPSC exam. Further, we will look into the IAS exam details; as we all know, the UPSC conducts the IAS exam every year. Besides, it is one of the toughest exams present in India. Along with that, it also has the longest syllabus. Talking about the exam difficulty, it is not easy to clear the exam, and it requires special efforts and hard work.

Suppose you are looking for the complete IAS exam details. We will help you by providing all the details of the IAS exam. You can click here for more information.

Conclusion – UPSC Philosophy Syllabus

In summary, in the article, we have added complete information Philosophy optional syllabus PDF. Studying from the best books available is also essential, so we have also listed the book list to cover the philosophy syllabus pdf. Further, this subject is easy to understand, and it has less syllabus. Therefore, one can make important points and study during exam time. As it is impossible to study from all books, you can learn from those books that complete your requirements.

Make sure that you will cover the complete syllabus of the exam, and then you can score well in the exam. Further, as we all know, this exam will check your subject knowledge, along with your dedication and hard work towards your goals. Many are planning to give exams. Only those who work hard can make their dreams come true. Finally, we wish you all the best with the exams.

FAQs – UPSC Philosophy Syllabus

Lastly, check out a few FAQs for more details.

Editor’s Note | UPSC Philosophy Syllabus

In summary, you will find all the necessary information on the UPSC philosophy optional syllabus in the above article. Further, you will also find books on the subject. In any exam one must take care of many things. In the first place, one must thoroughly understand the exam syllabus and the exam pattern. It will make your remaining work easy. We have also added some points on how one can choose the optional subject. Besides, you will find some tips for the exam, try to use them during the exam preparations. Many leave their jobs to become an IAS officer and prepare for the exam. But, there are also people who go back to their normal jobs as they couldn’t clear the exam. So, the choice is yours, work hard and make your dream count. Good Luck, prepare well for the exam.