Union PubliC Service Commission (UPSC) conducts Civil Services Examination for appointment to the various services including India Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and Indian Police Service (IPS). The syllabus to be covered for the Philosophy is divided in two parts as mentioned below:
PAPER - I
History and Problems of 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.
12.Cârvâka:Theory of Knowledge; Rejection of Transcendent Entities.
13.Jainism: Theory of Reality; Saptabhaòginaya; Bondage and Liberation.
14.Schools of Buddhism: Pratîtyasamutpâda; Ksanikavada, Nairâtmyavâda
15.Nyâya-Vaiúesika: Theory of Categories;Theory of Appearance; Theory of Pramâna; Self, Liberation; God; Proofs for the Existence of God; Theory of Causation; Atomistic Theory of Creation.
16.Sâmkhya: Prakrti; Purusa; Causation; Liberation
17.Yoga: Citta; Cittavrtti; Klesas; Samadhi; Kaivalya.
18. Mimâmsâ: Theory of Knowledge
19. Schools of Vedânta: Brahman; Îúvara; Âtman; Jiva; Jagat; Mâyâ; Avidyâ; Adhyâsa; Moksa; Aprthaksiddhi; Pancavidhabheda
20. Aurobindo: Evolution, Involution; Integral Yoga.
PAPER – II
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 P u n-ishment.
8. Development and Social Progress.
9.Gender Discrimination: Female Foeticide, Land and Property Rights; Empowernment.
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 Noncognitive.
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