Suggested Strategy for Philosophy Optional
AN INTRODUCTION TO CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION
The most prestigious, dignified and skilled job profile is desired by almost all the rational youths. But, given the complexity and the vastness of the UPSC syllabus, and the nature of competition, the journey is indeed a rigorous one, which poses tremendous challenges to the aspirant draining him/her physically as well as emotionally. For this I would suggest you, be it the most coveted post or the easiest exam, the journey always begins from the scratch. So buckle yourself up for this new journey right here right now, because procrastination is a never ending thing and tomorrow never comes. With consistency and hard work you can always achieve what you long for.
WHAT THE PHILOSOPHY IS?
It is difficult to define the philosophy in precision, and an attempt to do so forms an interesting and important part of philosophy itself .If you go through the dictionary you will find that the term philosophy is derived from two Greek words – PHILOS & SOPHIA means ‘The love for wisdom or knowledge’. Right from the early period the term philosophy has taken on something of this meaning. Philosophy is different from other subjects not only because it makes an attempt to discover the most general and fundamental underlying principles, but is also different in its method that can be described as rational reflection. So philosophy is actually similar to the simple act of thinking hard about something .Unlike the sciences, the philosophy does not discover new empirical facts, but instead reflect on the facts we are already familiar with. The philosophy differs from other subjects in being normative. By normative we mean that unlike other disciplines philosophy tries to distinguish, in very broad ways, what is from what ought to be.
WHY TO OPT PHILOSOPHY?
This would be too immature to judge any subject as good or bad because subject is totally subjective and relative thing. I just can say that philosophy as an optional subject is preferable:
- On account of its short syllabus.
- It is a marks fetching optional.
- It is based on scientific temper, reasoning and understanding.
- Quick revision and no need to mug it up.
- Analytical, logical and rational subject.
- Nature of question remains almost same, so the student remains in a safe zone even after giving less time.
- Makes you a think tank.
- Above all, it helps in:
- Essay writing
- GS Paper I – Social issues
- GS Paper II – Political issues
- GS Paper IV – Ethics, etc.
- Personality Test
WHO CAN OPT PHILOSOPHY
Regarding a very common query of aspirants that who actually can opt this optional, I say that any student having science background (B.Tech, Medical or Masters in Sciences or Mathematics) or any student having background in humanities (like History, Geography, Philosophy, Sociology, etc.) can opt this optional. Actually the pre-requisite is just innovative and creative mind and academic background anyway, doesn’t make much difference.
STRATEGY TO GET THROUGH THIS EXAM
As a mentor, I would suggest the aspirants to follow the RRW method of studying.
RRW: Read – Revise – Write
PCS: Planning, Commitment and Strategy
To get through the CS Examinations, the necessary pre requisite is PCS: Planning, Commitment and Strategy, absence of which would surely bring failure. Strategy can make your battle very simple and can be a game changer if you are new to this subject with no academic background in the same. And since, this is the case with most of the students the strategy suggested by an experienced mentor will be like the key to the golden door…
Like any other optional philosophy too has two papers in main examinations which are further divided into two subsections. The first paper is related with philosophical theories which cover Western and Indian thinkers under it, and the second paper is related with philosophical problems under which come the socio-political philosophy and the philosophy of religion.
PAPER – I
Since the portion of Western is supposed to be the toughest among the students so I am sharing here the strategy for preparing this section in 35 days only.
For this, you firstly need to understand the syllabus.
You, collectively, have to prepare the history of Western Philosophy which approximately covers a span of 2500 years. Out of almost 20 thinkers included in your syllabus, 2 are Greek philosophers: Plato and Aristotle. The target should be to prepare them in 5 days.
Then there is a jump of 1800 years and you directly arrive on to the philosophy of 17th – 18th century which is the Modern Western Philosophy. There are 8 thinkers included in this portion of your syllabus among them three are rationalists, mathematicians (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz). The next three are British Empiricists (Locke, Berkeley and Hume) and the critical Philosophy of Kant. From 19th century, that is the Post Modern Period, only one thinker has been included in your syllabus, Hegel, basically to bridge the philosophy of Kant and Moore. This whole section should be prepared in 14 days.
Then comes the philosophy of 20th century, which is the Contemporary Western Philosophy. In this section, there are 10 thinkers in your syllabus whom you have to prepare in 4 parts. In first part, you can include Moore, Russell, Wittgenstein and logical positivism mainly supported by A. J. Ayer. In the second part you can prepare the phenomenology of Edmund Husserl. Third part is Existentialism, including thinkers like Kierkegaard, Sartre and Heidegger. Finally in the fourth part thinkers like Quine and Strawson can be included. This section is to be prepared in 16 days.
Although these thinkers may be appearing in different blocks but actually whole Western Philosophy is like a wire, “If you vibrate one end of wire other end will vibrate”. This is the strategic interlinking of Western Philosophy on which many questions are asked.
An important note for the students,
Along with the topics mentioned directly in your syllabus, you need to be aware about the periphery of the syllabus.
For example-
In unit 1, there are written only two words, ideas and substance from Plato, but actually you have to cover topics like, Plato as a perfect Greek, what are ideas, realism of idea, characteristic of ideas, pyramidal structure of system of ideas, example of cave, Plato’s epistemology as criticism of Sophists, example of vertical line, theory of soul and god, Plato’s criticism by Aristotle and it evaluation.
The important reference books for the section of Western Philosophy are:
- History of Western Philosophy by Frank Thilly
- Critical History of Western Philosophy by Y. Masih
- Contemporary Philosophy by D. M. Dutta
- The voyage of Discovery by William F. Lawhead
- Fundamentals of Philosophy by H. Gene Blocker and David Stewart
Similarly, you can plan and prepare other sections of philosophy. For reference and preparation purpose I have enclosed an outline of strategy which would be helpful to you.
For strategic preparation of Indian Philosophy section (in 29 days), divide the 9 schools of Indian Philosophy in two parts – heterodox and orthodox. In heterodox category, , Jainism ad Buddhism are included which can be covered in 9 days (5days on Buddhism and 2 each on and Jainism). While in orthodox category, 6 schools of Indian Philosophy are included. This can be classified into 3 parallel groups, each consisting of two schools. Yoga : 4 days, : 7 days, including Aurobindo : 9 days.
Reference sources are recommended as:
- Introduction to Indian Philosophy : Dutta and Chatterjee
- A critical survey of Indian Philosophy : C. D. Sharma
- Indian Philosophy by M. Hiriyanna
- Indian Philosophy (II volumes) : Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
- Indian Philosophy by P. T. Raju
PAPER – II
Generally this paper is least focused by the students which is a wrong strategy as this paper also consists of 250 marks.
Socio-Political Philosophy: This section is neither Philosophy nor political science, and is also not in General Studies, although topics look alike. Here your content may be from sociology or political science but the way of presentation should be philosophical that is based on arguments. This is the applied and dynamic part of your syllabus. So along with recommended books it is better to keep yourself in touch with newspaper, magazines and article on certain topics.
Prepare it in 15 days.
Recommended readings:
- Social and Political Philosophy: O. P. Gauba
- Routledge Encyclopedia
Philosophy of Religion: In this section mostly students are confused and treat this section as simply religion. But in reality, Philosophy and Religion are antonyms because the former is based on logic while later is based on faith. So, Philosophy of Religion becomes a rational enquiry of religious theories. Here aspirants have to do the deep analysis of structure of argument and counter argument as well regarding the metaphysical problems like God, soul, liberation, epistemological problems like religious knowledge and language and applied problems like religion and morality, religion pluralism and absolute truth. Majority treats this as the easiest section, but according to me this is the most difficult section and you would find the trickiest brain teasers from this section. Consider it my very personal advice and don’t take this section lightly.
Recommended Readings:
Introduction to Religious Philosophy : Y. Masih
Philosophy of Religion : John Hick
Detailed Analysis of UPSC Syllabus
Paper-1
(Western & Indian Philosophy)
Study until the things get internalized within you so that subject becomes a part of your life and you start enjoying its company the most.
Plan well, prepare well and do well!
Wishing you luck for your civil services examination!
MENTOR, VVR IAS:
AMBUJ SRIVASTAVA (Ph.D. PHILOSOPHY)