philosophy

Philosophy

Prelims

Reference Book List: [Judicious selection of books is recommended as more than two books are given for each topic]

Section- A Problem of Philosophy:

1. Dr. C.D. Sharma (Indian Philosophy)

2. Dr. Deo Raj (Indian Philosophy)

3. Dr. Y.Masiaha (Western Philosophy)

4. Dr. Daya Krishna (Western Philosophy)

5. Dr. Franckena Thilly (Western Philosophy)

6. Dr. B.K. Lal (Contemporary Western Philosophy)

Section- B Logic:

1. Dr. Irvin M. Copi

2. Ashok Verma (Symbolic logic)

Section- C Ethics:

1. Dr. Divakar Pathak (Indian Ethic)

2. Dr. V.P. Verma (Western Ethic)

3. Dr. B.N. Singh (Ethics)

4. Lilly (Ethics)

Strategy for Prelims

General perception of many about philosophy is that it is abstract and has no practical relevance. But this is not fully correct. Philosophy is very analytical and speculative that makes it very interesting. The syllabus for ‘Preliminary examination has three sections : Section A, B and C.

Section A is Problem of philosophy’. Here we are concerned with Indian Philosophy and Western Philosophy. So we have to read them thoroughly. The questions are generally asked on terminology and theories like ‘What is Pratitya Samutpada?’. We must have understanding of terms and theories. In Indian Philosophy there are nine schools. Six schools are orthodox (Samkhya Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika Mimansa and Vedanta) and two are heterodox (Jainism and Buddhism). One other school is Materialism. UPSC generally asks questions in Indian philosophy on some specific points like substance, attributes. In western philosophy there is no precise syllabus. Generally questions are asked from Thales to Sartre.

Section B deals with Logic. Here we have to read only seven topics from Irwin M. Copi. Plus we have to study Symbolic Logic by Dr. Ashok Verma. Generally 30-35 questions are asked from logic in Prelims. 20 questions are just theoretical : they do not need any explanation. 5-8 questions are on Quantification, which also can be answered at first sight if you have already practised. Remaining 5-8 questions are from Deduction which need explanation: this depends upon your practice and even these are not decisive.

Section C deals with Ethics. It consists of Indian Ethics and Western Ethics. In Indian Ethics questions are from Charvaka to Vedanta. Dr. Divakar Pathak’s book on Indian Ethics is essential for this section. In Western Ethics, questions are from Thales’ to Advanced Ethics. Here we have to study Thilly and another book by Dr. V.P. Verma. The questions in this section are generally factual so we have to collect facts and memorize them.

Mains

Reference Book List: [Judicious selection of books is recommended as more than two books are given for each topic]

Section- A Western Philosophy

1. By Franckena Thilly

2. Dr. C.D. Sharma

3. Dr. Dayakrishna

4. Dr. Y.Masiaha

5. Dr. B.K. Lal

6. Dr. Lakshmi Saxena

7. D.M.Dutt

Section- B Indian Philosophy

1. Dr. C.D. Sharma

2. Dr. Deo Raj

3. Dr. Hiriyanna

4. Dr. Radha Krishnan

5. D.M.Dutt

Section- C Socio Political Philosophy

1. Dr. J.P. Sood Vol IV

2.Dr. Shiv Bhanu Singh

3. Dr. O.P.Gauba

4. NCERT Books

Sec. B Philosophy of Religion

1. Dr. Y.Masiaha

2. John Hick

3. Dr. V.P. Verma

Strategy

There are no exam-oriented books for Philosophy. So, it is advisable to prepare notes from various sources and mug that notes thoroughly. Read Bhagavad-Gita Chapter- 2, it is useful in paper-2. Viveka Chudamani of sankaracharya is very helpful to understand his philosophy. Reading such original books makes your answers stand out from others. Try to mug some standard quotations and use in your answers at relevant positions.