Is philosophy a good optional for UPSC?

Philosophy is an optional that is gaining popularity among UPSC aspirants. It has the reputation of having the shortest syllabus out of all the optional subjects offered by the UPSC.

What is the syllabus of philosophy for UPSC?

Paper I include History and Problems of Philosophy. Paper II include Socio-Political Philosophy and Philosophy of Religion.

Is philosophy easy for UPSC?

UPSC Philosophy optional syllabus subject is considered one of the easiest optional subjects for the UPSC IAS Mains exam. Keep on reading to get more insights on the comprehensive syllabus, booklist, and strategies.

How to prepare philosophy for UPSC?

UPSC Philosophy Optional: Preparation Strategy Go through the entire UPSC Philosophy Syllabus. Highlight the important topics by referring to the previous year's question papers. Cover the topics with the highest weightage first. Prepare notes for all important topics. Revise the notes every day.

What is philosophy subject in IAS?

Philosophy – the love of wisdom – is an activity of attempting to understand the world, in all its aspects. There are four pillars of philosophy: theoretical philosophy (metaphysics and epistemology), practical philosophy (ethics, social and political philosophy, aesthetics), logic, and history of philosophy.

UPSC Philosophy Syllabus 2025 for Mains Optional Paper

Table of Contents

Philosophy is popular among students, the 48 optional subjects listed by UPSC for the IAS Exam. Philosophy is one of the optional subjects in the UPSC mains examination, covering topics such as the history and evolution of philosophy, religion and social structures.

Philosophy is regarded as one of the top 10 most challenging subjects in the UPSC exam. Despite its difficulty, many students opt for Philosophy as their optional subject because the syllabus is known to be scoring. The UPSC Philosophy syllabus includes two papers, Optional Paper I and Paper II, as part of the Mains stage of the IAS Exam, which comprises a total of nine papers. Below, we provide a detailed discussion of the Philosophy optional syllabus for the Mains exam.

UPSC Philosophy Syllabus 2025

Choosing Philosophy as an optional subject for the UPSC Mains exam is ideal for candidates with strong skills and a passion for the field. Numerous books are available for students to prepare for the UPSC Philosophy optional subject.

Students need to answer five questions out of the given eight, with one compulsory question from the last three. A strong performance in the Philosophy optional exam can significantly boost the overall score of an IAS aspirant in the UPSC Mains.

Aspect	Details
Exam Type	Civil Service Examination
Mode	Offline
Total Duration	3 Hours
Total Papers	2 Papers
Impact on Overall Score	A strong performance in Philosophy can significantly boost the overall score in the UPSC Mains exam

UPSC Philosophy Syllabus 2025 for Mains

The syllabus for Philosophy is released annually by the UPSC Commission in conjunction with the UPSC Notification. The Philosophy subject consists of two papers, each worth 250 marks, a total of 500 marks. Each paper is divided into two sections, with a total of 8 questions asked in the exam.

In this article, we provide the detailed UPSC Philosophy Syllabus for the Mains optional subject, along with a downloadable PDF of the UPSC Psychology Optional Syllabus.

UPSC Philosophy Syllabus 2025 for Optional Paper I

Candidates can check out the Topic-wise UPSC Philosophy syllabus for Mains optional paper I.

History and Problems of Philosophy
Topics	Sub-Topics
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	Defence of Commonsense; 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.
Carvaka	Theory of Knowledge; Rejection of Transcendent Entities.
Jainism	Theory of Reality; Saptabhanginaya; Bondage and Liberation.
Schools of Buddhism	Pratityasamutpada; Ksanikavada; Nairatmyavada.
Nyaya—Vaiesesika	Theory of Categories; Theory of Appearance; Theory of Pramana; Self, Liberation; God; Proofs for the Existence of God; Theory of Causation; and Atomistic Theory of Creation.
Samkhya	Prakrit; Purusa; Causation; Liberation.
Yoga	Citta; Cittavrtti; Klesas; Samadhi; Kaivalya.
Mimamsa	Theory of Knowledge.
Schools of Vedanta	Brahman; Isvara; Atman; Jiva; Jagat; Maya; Avida; Adhyasa; Moksa; Aprthaksiddhi; Pancavidhabheda.
Aurobindo	Evolution; Involution; Integral Yoga.

UPSC Philosophy Syllabus 2025 for Optional Paper II

Candidates can check out the Topic-wise UPSC Philosophy syllabus for Mains optional paper II.

Socio-Political Philosophy
1. Social and Political Ideals: Equality, Justice, Liberty.
2. Sovereignty: Austin, Bodin, Laski, Kautilya.
3. Individual and State: Rights; Duties and Accountability
4. Forms of Government: Monarchy; Theocracy and Democracy.
5. Political Ideologies: Anarchism; Marxism and Socialism.
6. Humanism; Secularism; Multi-culturalism.
7. Crime and Punishment: Corruption, Mass Violence, Genocide, Capital Punishment.
8. Development and Social Progress.
9. Gender Discrimination: Female Foeticide, Land and Property Rights; Empowerment.
10. Caste Discrimination: Gandhi and Ambedkar.
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).
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 Non-cognitive.

UPSC Philosophy Syllabus 2025 Download PDF

Candidates who are appearing in the UPSC Philosophy mains Exam can download the UPSC Philosophy Syllabus PDF Here. Click on the link below to Download the UPSC Philosophy Syllabus 2025.

Download PDF: UPSC Philosophy Syllabus 2025 PDF

UPSC Philosophy: Preparation Tips

Candidates can check some of the preparation resources added to you like using books and newspapers. You can use online resources through different web portals and platforms. Solve UPSC previous year’s questions to build a strong understanding of these topics.

Create a Study Plan
Current Affairs
Focus on Key Concepts
Analyze Previous Years’ Papers
Practice Answer Writing
Attempt Mocks

Note that consistency, discipline, and a thorough understanding of concepts are key to success in the UPSC Mains Philosophy examination. Good luck with your preparation.

Reference Books –

W. T. Stace: A Critical History of Greek Philosophy (Plato and Aristotle).
Copleston: A History of Philosophy (Relevant Chapters from volume I, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX & XI).
Anthony Kenny: A New History of Western Philosophy. OUP Oxford.
Datta & Chatterjee: An Introduction to Indian Philosophy. Rupa Publishing.
C. D. Sharma: A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy. MLBD.
Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy.
Bertrand Russell: A History Of Western Philosophy
John Hick: Philosophy of Religion.
Michael B. Wilkinson: Philosophy of Religion: An Introduction.
O. P. Gauba: Social & Political Philosophy.
Political Theory, An Introduction. Edited By Rajeev Bhargava & Ashok Acharya.
Oxford Dictionary of Politics.

Best Books for Philosophy Optional

The best books to prepare for UPSC optional paper and score high marks are –

A Critical History of Western Philosophy by Y. Masih,
Political Theory by O.P. Gauba.
Indian Philosophy by Radhakrishnan

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