UPSC exam consists of 48 optional subjects where the aspirants can choose their subjects. UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam Optional Subject consists of 2 papers. Each paper is of 250 marks, making a total of 500 marks. Philosophy Books & Syllabus is a popular subject among them. Under this subject, aspirant’s knowledge about the history and evolution of philosophy along with its impact on Indian culture is tested.
Before facing the exam, every aspirant must go through the subject matter and study them well. Though this subject has the shortest syllabus, everyone must go through every topic and understand each and every point. Going through the past year paper and practicing with them is another great way to prepare for the exam. Aspirants can’t write their own philosophy, so they need to learn the philosophy described in books.
Many books written by different writers who show their expertise in the subject of philosophy can be found in the market. Reading them and understanding those facts can lead anyone to earn a high score from the exam easily.
Books for Philosophy Paper-1
There are a lot of books available in the market about philosophy optional for upsc exam. Referring these books is the first step you can do to get a grip over this subject. Philosophy optional upsc books are of great help in cracking the exam in one go. Philosophy includes a vast syllabus and anyone who has opted for philosophy is required to read a lot regarding different topics. Here are some of the best philosophy optional books to refer :
Section A- Problems of Philosophy
- Dr. C.D. Sharma (Indian Philosophy)
- Dr. Deo Raj (Indian Philosophy)
- Dr. Y.Masiaha (Western Philosophy)
- Dr. Daya Krishna (Western Philosophy)
- Dr. Franckena Thilly (Western Philosophy)
- Dr. B.K. Lal (Contemporary Western Philosophy)
- Dr. D. M. Dutta (Contemporary Philosophy)
- Dr. William F. Lawhead (The voyage of Discovery)
- Dr. H. Gene Blocker (Fundamentals of Philosophy)
- Dr. David Stewart (Fundamentals of Philosophy)
- Dr. Dutta (Introduction to Indian Philosophy)
- Dr. Chatterjee (Introduction to Indian Philosophy)
- Dr. M. Hiriyanna ( Indian Philosophy)
- Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (Indian Philosophy (II volumes))
- Dr. P. T. Raju (Indian Philosophy)
Section B- Logic
- Dr. Irvin M. Copi
- Ashok Verma (Symbolic logic)
Section C- Ethics
- Dr. Divakar Pathak (Indian Ethic)
- Dr. V.P. Verma (Western Ethic)
- Dr. B.N. Singh (Ethics)
- Lilly (Ethics)
- William Samuel (Ethics)
Books for Philosophy Paper-2
Section A- Western Philosophy
- Dr. C.D. Sharma (Indian Philosophy)
- By Franckena Thilly
- Dr. C.D. Sharma
- Dr. Dayakrishna
- Dr. Y.Masih
- Dr. B.K. Lal
- Dr. Lakshmi Saxena
- Daya Krishna
- Daya Krishna
- D.M.Dutt
Section B- Indian Philosophy
- Dr. C.D. Sharma
- Dr. Deo Raj
- Dr. Hiriyanna
- Dr. Radha Krishnan
- D.M.Dutt
Section C- Socio Political Philosophy
- Dr. J.P. Sood Vol IV
- Dr. Shiv Bhanu Singh
- Dr. O.P.Gauba
- NCERT Books
- Dr. P. T. Raju(Indian Philosophy )
- Dr. S. Radhakrishnan(Indian Philosophy (II volumes))
Section D- Philosophy of religion
- Dr. Y.Masih
- John Hick
- Dr. V.P. Verma
Philosophy Syllabus Paper-I
Everyone knows that Philosophy Books & Syllabus is vast. But compared to other optional subjects philosophy is considered as a subject with not very vast syllabus. It is considered as a scoring subject. Completion of all topics and revising are some of the best things you could do to prepare yourself for the UPSC Exam
1. History and Problems of Philosophy:
Plato and Aristotle: Ideas; Substance; Form and Matter; Causation; Actuality and Potentiality, Rationalism (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz): Cartesian Method and Certain Knowledge; Substance; God; Mind-Body Dualism; Determinism and Freedom, Empiricism (Locke, Berkeley, Hume): Theory of Knowledge; Substance and Qualities; Self and God; Scepticism, Kant: Possibility of Synthetic a priori Judgments; Space and Time; Categories; Ideas of Reason;
Antinomies; Critique of Proofs for the Existence of God, Hegel: Dialectical Method; Absolute Idealism, Moore, Russell, and Early Wittgenstein: Defense of Common Sense; Refutation of Idealism; Logical Atomism; Logical Constructions; Incomplete Symbols; Picture Theory of Meaning; Saying and Showing, Logical Positivism: Verification Theory of Meaning;
Rejection of Metaphysics; Linguistic Theory of Necessary Propositions, Later Wittgenstein: Meaning and Use; Language-games; Critique of Private Language, Phenomenology (Husserl): Method; Theory of Essences; Avoidance of Psychologism, Existentialism (Kierkegaard, Sartre, Heidegger): Existence and Essence; Choice, Responsibility and Authentic Existence; Being–in–the–world and Temporality, Quine and Strawson: Critique of Empiricism; Theory of Basic Particulars and Persons, Cârvâka: Theory of Knowledge; Rejection of Transcendent Entities, Jainism: Theory of Reality; Saptabhaòginaya; Bondage and Liberation, Schools of Buddhism: Pratîtyasamutpâda; Ksanikavada, Nairâtmyavâda, Nyâya- Vaiúesika: Theory of Categories; Theory of Appearance; Theory of Pramâna; Self, Liberation; God; Proofs for the Existence of God;
Theory of Causation; Atomistic Theory of Creation, Sâmkhya: Prakriti; Purusa; Causation; Liberation, Yoga: Citta; Cittavrtti; Klesas; Samadhi; Kaivalya, Mimâmsâ: Theory of Knowledge, Schools of Vedânta: Brahman; Îúvara; Âtman; Jiva; Jagat; Mâyâ; Avidyâ; Adhyâsa; Moksa; Amrtasiddhi; Pancavidhabheda, Aurobindo: Evolution, Involution; Integral Yoga.
Philosophy Syllabus Paper-II
1. Socio political Philosophy :
Social and Political Ideals: Equality, Justice, Liberty, Sovereignty: Austin, Bodin, Laski, Kautilya, Individual and State: Rights; Duties and Accountability, Forms of Government: Monarchy; Theocracy and Democracy, Political Ideologies: Anarchism; Marxism and Socialism, Humanism; Secularism; Multiculturalism, Crime and Punishment: Corruption, Mass Violence, Genocide, Capital Punishment, Development and Social Progress, Gender Discrimination: Female Foeticide, Land, and Property Rights; Empowerment, Caste Discrimination: Gandhi and Ambedkar
2. Philosophy of Religion:
Notions of God: Attributes; Relation to Man and the World. (Indian and Western), Proofs for the Existence of God and their Critique (Indian and Western), The problem of Evil, Soul: Immortality; Rebirth and Liberation, Reason, Revelation, and Faith, Religious Experience: Nature and Object (Indian and Western), Religion without God, Religion and Morality, Religious Pluralism and the Problem of Absolute Truth, Nature of Religious Language: Analogical and Symbolic; Cognitivist and Noncognitive.
Bottom Line
So finally, it is clear that there are many sources to gather information about this subject. Philosophy Books & Syllabus provides and helps with the major syllabus related to philosophy optional exam. Philosophy Books & Syllabus are very helpful to understand the subject better and in a best way. All you need is a proper study plan and consistency. The subject matter can be well understood after following the content topic wisely. studying is the most important thing. Since it’s a scoring paper it’s better to go through all the topics at least once. With hardwork and determination, everything is possible.
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