Empiricism - Locke, Berkeley

Leibniz and Spinoza

Descartes

Cogito Ergo Sum

General Video on Descartes

Aristotle

Aristotle on Substance (Peter Adamson) [Audio]

Aristotle's Four causes [Audio]


Aristotle on Causation

Plato

Plato's Allegory of the cave

General Videos on Plato

Why choose Philosophy as an optional?

Let us start with some often repeated general pointers to be kept in mind while choosing optionals:

1. It should be interesting to you
2. You should have access to guidance for the given subject (both in terms of study material and answer-writing)
3. It should be help you in your General studies preparation
4. You should be aware of the scope of the subject (in terms of syllabus, the type of questions...)
5. You should be aware of the track record of the subject in terms of its success rate

There might be other concerns like familiarity with the subject or testimonials of successful candidates, but their applicability might vary from person to person. The 5 points listed above though are universally applicable as guidelines for aspirants planning to appear for CS examination. Let us look at how philosophy satisfies these considerations. I'll start from the fifth point

• Philosophy has always given consistent results for candidates and perhaps that has been one of the reasons for its popularity. According to the 64th annual report published by the UPSC, the success rate( in terms of percentage) for different optional subjects (in 2012 mains) was as follows 
• Political Science .………………..……. 10.9 
• Philosophy……………………….…….  8.9 
• History…………………………………  8.3 
• Psychology…………………………….  7.9
• Geography……………………………..  7.2 
• Public Administration …………….…..  5.1 

        The stats for 2013 are as follows

• Philosophy……………………….…...  7.9 
• History………………………………...  7.7 
• Geography………………………….....  5.6 
• Public Administration ……………......  6.2
• Political Science .………………..……. 6.1 

The stats for 2014 are as follows

• Geography………………………….....  7.3 
• Philosophy……………………….…...  7.0 
• History………………………………...  6.5
• Public Administration ……………......  5.3
• Political Science .………………..……. 6.3 

       
Please note that the two lists are based on the latest available data released by UPSC and the figures represent the number of students who qualify for every 100 people who choose that optional. Philosophy ranks very high and consistently too.

• A look at the Syllabus for the philosophy optional will tell us that it is a convenient mixture of static and dynamic topics. What we mean is that while Paper-I consists of theoretical debates that require conceptual clarity above everything else, Paper- II gives an opportunity to candidates to apply philosophical insights into socio-political mileu around us and relate theory with practice. Thus it offers something for both sets of people ( those who stress on theoretical understanding and those who like to find real life applications of what they study) . 
• The question paper too has been consistent over the years. Both the papers are divided into two sections A & B. Each section has four questions. That makes it eight questions in total.
• Candidates are supposed to answer 5 questions in all. Question no.s 1 and 5 are compulsory. Out of the three remaining questions one has to be attempted from each section. Thus the candidate has the option to leave atleast one question from each section.( Two questions from section A and Three from section B or Three questions from section A and two questions from section B) are the possible combinations
• Question no.s 1 and 5 are in the form of short notes. There are usually five parts each worth 10 marks to be answered. The word limit is 150 words for each
• The remaining questions generally have 3 parts with two questions for 15 marks and one question for 20 marks. No word limit is mentioned. But it's reasonable to assume around 250 words for a 15 marks question and 300 words for a 20 marks question

• Philosophy optional in UPSC has become particularly relevant to GS after the changes brought about in 2013. First let's begin with new pattern for essays. Section A in the essay paper tends to have topics in the form of quotes. They often are abstract and conceptual in nature. Students who have studied philosophy not only are better equipped because of their training but also because many questions in the philosophy paper also tend to be based on quotes. A good preparation for philosophy helps you significantly in the essay paper. Some further overlapping topics in the remaining GS papers are 
• GS - I : Political Philosophies such as Communism, Capitalism, Socialism, Secularism (Evolution, Forms, Effects on Society) -  Philosophy paper II
• GS - III : Land reforms in India  - Philosophy paper II
• GS - IV : Role of family, society in inculcating values ; Contributions of moral thinkers & Philosophers from India & World - - Philosophy paper I & II

• Many people believe that the syllabus assigned for philosophy is manageable and can be covered in about 3 months. With sufficient dedication and focus it is certainly possible. With no pressure to include study of new developments in current affairs or updating statistics, conceptual clarity can surely be achieved.
• A significant advantage is also that  there is nothing to be learnt by rote or mugged up in philosophy. Once you understand a concept you will be bale to articulate it whenever asked. 
• In terms of study material here are some of the authors referred to across the country :
1.  Philosophy paper I  Section A (Indian Philosophy) – Dutta and chatterjee / CD Sharma
2.  Philosophy paper I  Section B (Western Philosophy)- Y. Masih / F. Thilly
3.  Philosophy paper II  Section A (Socio-political philosophy) - O.P.Gauba
4.  Philosophy paper II  Section B (Philosophy of Religion) - Y. Masih
 
• There are two ways to address the issue of interest. One is to simply see the optional from the point of UPSC. This would mean to do all that is necessary for scoring as high as possible in the exam and nothing more. Sticking to the syllabus thoroughly and ensuring that you are comfortable with the kind of questions that are asked, without aiming for any kind of mastery in the subject. In this sense, once you have made a choice, you almost treat like a compulsory paper. 
• The other way is to pick a subject that you feel you'll enjoy learning more about. This would ensure that studying it never becomes a burden. This would ensure that you achieve competence in the subject and as a result it can be expected that you also are able perform exceedingly well in the exam.

       Both are reasonable strategies.  If you belong to the first category, reasons in this blog are enough to help you make a decision. But if you are somebody who believes in the second strategy, then you still have some things to make sure of.  Go through the past years' question papers. Browse through some books mentioned above. That might help you understand what it entails. Here are a few other links that will help you get an idea of the nature of philosophy

• Aspects of western Philosophy ( Video lectures by NPTEL)
• Indian Philosophy ( Video lectures by NPTEL)
• Philosophy of Religion (  Videos by Wi-phi)

All the best!

Syllabus

PAPER – I

HISTORY AND PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY:

Western Philosophy

1. Plato and Aristotle: Ideas; Substance; Form and Matter; Causation; Actuality and Potentiality.

2. Rationalism (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz): Cartesian Method and Certain Knowledge; Substance; God; Mind-Body Dualism; Determinism and Freedom.
3. Empiricism (Locke, Berkeley, Hume): Theory of Knowledge; Substance and Qualities; Self and God; Scepticism.
4. Kant: Possibility of Synthetic a priori Judgments; Space and Time; Categories; Ideas of Reason; Antinomies; Critique of Proofs for the Existence of God
5. Hegel: Dialectical Method; Absolute Idealism
6. Moore, Russell and Early Wittgenstein: Defence of Commonsense; Refutation of Idealism; Logical Atomism; Logical Constructions; Incomplete Symbols; Picture Theory of Meaning; Saying and Showing.
7. Logical Positivism: Verification Theory of Meaning; Rejection of Metaphysics; Linguistic Theory of Necessary Propositions.
8. Later Wittgenstein: Meaning and Use; Language-games; Critique of Private Language.
9. Phenomenology (Husserl): Method; Theory of Essences; Avoidance of Psychologism.
10. Existentialism (Kierkegaard, Sartre, Heidegger): Existence and Essence; Choice, Responsibility and Authentic Existence; Being-in-the –world and Temporality.
11. Quine and Strawson: Critique of Empiricism; Theory of Basic Particulars and Persons.

Indian Philosophy

12. Cārvāka : Theory of Knowledge; Rejection of Transcendent Entities.
13. Jainism: Theory of Reality; Saptabhaňginaya; Bondage and Liberation.
14. Schools of Buddhism: Pratītyasamutpāda; Ksanikavada, Nairātmyavāda
15. Nyāya- Vaiśesika: Theory of Categories; Theory of Appearance; Theory of Pramāna; Self, Liberation; God; Proofs for the Existence of God; Theory of Causation; Atomistic Theory of Creation.
16. Sāmkhya: Prakrti; Purusa; Causation; Liberation
17. Yoga: Citta; Cittavrtti; Klesas; Samadhi; Kaivalya.
18.Mimāmsā: Theory of Knowledge
19. Schools of Vedānta: Brahman; Īśvara; Ātman; Jiva; Jagat; Māyā; Avidyā; Adhyāsa; Moksa; Aprthaksiddhi; Pancavidhabheda
20. Aurobindo: Evolution, Involution; Integral Yoga.

 

 

 

 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; Multiculturalism.
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:

1. Notions of God: Attributes; Relation to Man and the World. (Indian and Western).

2. Proofs for the Existence of God and their Critique (Indian and Western).
3. Problem of Evil.
4. Soul: Immortality; Rebirth and Liberation.
5. Reason, Revelation and Faith.
6. Religious Experience: Nature and Object (Indian and Western).
7. Religion without God.
8. Religion and Morality.
9. Religious Pluralism and the Problem of Absolute Truth.
10. Nature of Religious Language: Analogical and Symbolic; Cognitivist and Non- cognitive.