Why Philosophy as an optional subject for UPSC? - Level Up IAS

Why Philosophy –

1. Shortest syllabus – the whole syllabus gets covered in 3 months
2. The whole syllabus is fixed and well defined
3. One can actually revise the whole syllabus more than 10 times
4. Helps in preparation in GS-IV(Ethics), Essay and in Personality Test (Interview)

Last but not the least, study of philosophy helps you in life in general. “Unexamined life is not worth living” said Socrates, and most effective tool to examine life is to study Philosophy.

Booklist :

1. Western Philosophy –

• A Critical History of Western Philosophy: Greek, Medieval and Modern by Y. Masih
• IGNOU notes of M.A. Philosophy for post-modern philosophy

2. Indian Philosophy –

• An Introduction to Indian Philosophy by Datta & Chatterjee
• A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy by C. D. Sharma

3. Socio-political Philosophy –

• An Introduction to Political Theory by O.P. Gauba

4. Philosophy of Religion –

• Philosophy of Religion by John H Hick