Philosophy Optional PYQ Topic Wise: 37 Years Question Bank (1990–2026)

“In UPSC Philosophy Optional, more than 85% of questions are direct conceptual derivations or dialectical evolutions of themes tested in previous examinations. Philosophy is the only optional where the syllabus has remained rock-solid for decades—making exhaustive topic-wise PYQs the single highest-yield preparation asset for scoring 300+ marks.”

LotusArise IAS — UPSC Philosophy Optional Mentorship & Paper Analysis

Welcome to the most comprehensive, meticulously categorized UPSC Philosophy Optional Previous Year Questions (PYQ) Topic-Wise Question Bank available anywhere. Covering an unbroken 37-year examination window from 1990 to 2026, this archive organizes all 1,317 official questions across all 40 syllabus units of Paper 1 and Paper 2 with verbatim official phrasing, exam year, and exact marks allocation (including 10M, 15M, 20M, and classical 60M questions).

Each unit is housed within an interactive, expandable accordion pane featuring the verbatim UPSC syllabus micro-topics, the total questions count, the exam year span, and the complete chronological question bank arranged from the latest UPSC Mains 2026 paper back to 1990. Click on any topic to explore its full historical question set.

Looking for Full Year-Wise Question Papers?

If you are practicing full 3-hour timed exam simulations, access all 14 official question papers (Paper 1 & 2 verbatim with marks and trends):
2026 Question Paper · 2025 Question Paper · 2024 Question Paper · 2023 Question Paper · 2022 Question Paper · 2021 Question Paper · 2020 Question Paper · 2019 Question Paper · 2018 Question Paper · 2017 Question Paper · 2016 Question Paper · 2015 Question Paper · 2014 Question Paper · 2013 Question Paper

UPSC Philosophy Optional Topic-Wise PYQs: Master Syllabus Summary (1990–2026)

Paper & Section Syllabus Units Total PYQs Exam Span Quick Section Jump
Paper 1 — Section A Western Philosophy (Units 01 to 11) 365 Qs 1990–2026 Explore Western Philosophy ↓
Paper 1 — Section B Indian Philosophy (Units 12 to 20) 388 Qs 1990–2026 Explore Indian Philosophy ↓
Paper 2 — Section A Socio-Political Philosophy (Units 01 to 10) 283 Qs 1988–2026 Explore Socio-Political ↓
Paper 2 — Section B Philosophy of Religion (Units 11 to 20) 281 Qs 2000–2026 Explore Religion ↓
Grand Total All 40 Syllabus Units 1317 Questions 37 Years (1990–2026) 100% Verbatim Coverage

Paper 1 — Section A: Western Philosophy (Units 01 to 11)

Western Philosophy covers the trajectory of European thought from classical Greek metaphysics through modern rationalism, empiricism, Kantian critical philosophy, Hegel, and 20th-century linguistic, phenomenological, and existential traditions. Click each topic below to view all historical questions:

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Ideas; Substance; Form and Matter; Causation; Actuality and Potentiality.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 42 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1990–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 20 MWhat, according to Aristotle, is the fundamental problem of metaphysics? Discuss this in relation with Aristotle’s account of the essence of the world, where he rejects the views of both the Atomists and Plato.
  2. 📅 2026 · 10 MCompare and contrast the notion of entelechy as presented in Aristotle’s and Leibniz’s philosophy.
  3. 📅 2025 · 10 MIdeas are timeless and spaceless.” Elucidate this statement with reference to Plato
  4. 📅 2025 · 10 MIn the empirical world, everything is a compound of Matter and Form.” Evaluate this statement with reference to Aristotle
  5. 📅 2024 · 10 MDifferentiate between Plato’s and Aristotle’s conceptions of form
  6. 📅 2023 · 15 MPresent an exposition of Aristotle’s distinction between actuality and potentiality. Does it provide a solution to the problem of being and becoming as presented in ancient Greek philosophy? Discuss with suitable examples
  7. 📅 2022 · 15 MIs Aristotle’s view of nature of identity in consonance with his metaphysical view of causes as processes? Discuss giving suitable examples
  8. 📅 2022 · 10 MHow does Plato use the theory of forms to establish the relation between epistemology and metaphysics? Discuss
  9. 📅 2021 · 10 MThere is a red chair.” How would Plato explain this statement with the use of his theory of forms? Examine
  10. 📅 2021 · 10 MPotentiality is indefinable” according to Aristotle. Explain the relationship between potentiality and actuality with reference to the above philosophical position by taking the example of a “wooden table
  11. 📅 2020 · 10 MHow does Aristotle argue for the priority of Form over Matter and Actuality over Potentiality? Critically discuss
  12. 📅 2019 · 10 MWhat does Plato want to prove by his ‘Allegory of Cave”?
  13. 📅 2019 · 15 MWhat are the reasons for developmental changes in substance according to Aristotle Discuss
  14. 📅 2018 · 15 MIs the relation between the idea and the World as discussed by Plato logically consistent? Discuss Aristotle’s views regarding this and also give arguments in favour of your answer
  15. 📅 2017 · 10 MIn what sense can ideas be both immanent and transcendent? Discuss in this context Plato’s theory of universal and particulars?
  16. 📅 2017 · 15 MExplain Aristotle’s theory of form and matter. How does it help him resolve the problem of change and permanence?
  17. 📅 2016 · 20 MDoes Plato’s ‘Theory of Form’ explain the ‘change’ and ‘sensibility’ of matter? Give reasons for your answer
  18. 📅 2016 · 20 MDoes Aristotle treat matter as a ‘Substance’? Give reasons for your answer
  19. 📅 2015 · 10 MWrite short notes on: Aristotle’s distinction between ‘actuality’ and ‘potentiality’
  20. 📅 2015 · 20 MExplain Plato’s theory of forms? Does it entail a kind essentialism? Discuss
  21. 📅 2014 · 15 MExplain the significance of Aristotle’s doctrine of form & matter in his theory of causation
  22. 📅 2014 · 20 MDiscuss between knowledge and belief according to Plato. How is it based on his metaphysics? Explain
  23. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MExplain Plato’s ontological theory of Forms. Is knowledge one of the Forms? Explain
  24. 📅 2013 · 10 MDiscuss how by refuting different concepts of Substances Aristotle establishes his own theory of a Substance?
  25. 📅 2012 · 15 MDiscuss Aristotle’s metaphysical theory as a polemic Plato’s theory of ideas
  26. 📅 2011 · 15 MHow does Plato relate the world of ideas to the empirical world? Discuss
  27. 📅 2010 · 15 MHow does Aristotle’s notion of causation defer from the modern notion of causation
  28. 📅 2009 · 20 MComment on – Plato’s analogy of the cave and its significance in his theory of knowledge
  29. 📅 2008 · 20 MWrite short notes on: Aristotle’s teleological conception of causation
  30. 📅 2007 · 20 MWrite short notes on: Plato’s recollection theory of knowledge. Short Notes
  31. 📅 2006 · 20 MWrite short notes on: Discuss the theory of matter’ according to Aristotle, Short Notes
  32. 📅 2005 · 20 MWrite short notes on: Distinction between opinion and knowledge. Short Notes
  33. 📅 2004 · 60 MState and discuss Plato’s theory of forms
  34. 📅 2003 · 60 M‘A universal exists only in the particular. Discuss in this connection Aristotle’s notion of universal and the idea of substance that follows it
  35. 📅 2002 · 60 MWhile Plato’s metaphysics is a visionary one, Aristotle’s metaphysics is a descriptive one! Explain fully giving the essential differences between the views of the two thinkers regarding the nature of reality. 4 — Philosophy
  36. 📅 2000 · 20 MPlato’s theory of Ideas. (Short Notes)
  37. 📅 2000 · 20 MAristotle’s theory of causality. (Short Notes)
  38. 📅 1999 · 60 MExplain Plato’s theory of ideas and evaluate Aristotle’s argument against it
  39. 📅 1999 · 60 MAristotle’s arguments for his theory of substance
  40. 📅 1998 · 60 MExplain and examine Plato’s theory of ideas
  41. 📅 1993 · 20M (Short Notes)It has been said that the entire western philosophical tradition consists of footnotes to Plato’s teachings. Evaluate this statement critically with illustrations wherever necessary
  42. 📅 1990 · 20M (Short Notes)Plato’s theory of Ideas

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Cartesian Method and Certain Knowledge; Substance; God; Mind-Body Dualism; Determinism and Freedom.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 54 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1990–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MHow does Spinoza explain the relationship between states of mind and bodily processes?
  2. 📅 2026 · 10 MCompare and contrast the notion of entelechy as presented in Aristotle’s and Leibniz’s philosophy.
  3. 📅 2025 · 20 MWhat are the basic tenets of Rationalism? How does Descartes build a system of Philosophy in consonance with them? Discuss
  4. 📅 2025 · 15 MAll determination is negation.” Comment with reference to Spinoza
  5. 📅 2024 · 15 MAmong the rationalists, whose account of mind-body problem is compatible with the notion of human freedom and free will? Critically discuss
  6. 📅 2024 · 15 MHow does Spinoza establish that God alone is absolutely real with his statement – “Whatever is, is in God”? Critically discuss
  7. 📅 2023 · 15 MDiscuss Descartes’ theory of innate ideas and the grounds on which Locke refutes it
  8. 📅 2023 · 10 MThat thing is said to be free which exists solely from the necessity of its own nature, and is determined to action by itself alone.” Discuss Spinoza’s views on freedom and determinism in the light of the above statement
  9. 📅 2022 · 15 MHow does Rene Descartes explain the notion of certainty with reference to knowledge of the self? Critically discuss the way it differs from the knowledge of the world
  10. 📅 2022 · 15 MDiscuss the concept of substance according to Spinoza. Does his discussion on substance lead to pantheism? Substantiate your view
  11. 📅 2020 · 10 MHow does Leibniz’s conception of monads bear upon his views on determinism and freedom? Discuss with your own comments
  12. 📅 2020 · 15 MFrom the necessity of the divine nature there must follow infinitely many things in infinitely many ways.” Explain this statement by Spinoza along with some possible criticisms
  13. 📅 2019 · 10 MHow does Descartes prove the existence of things other than himself and God? Discuss
  14. 📅 2019 · 15 MWhat do you understand by Spinoza’s statement that what is, cannot be other than what it is? Explain
  15. 📅 2018 · 10 MIs there any place for freedom in Leibniz’s philosophy, when he speaks of ‘pre-established harmony’? Discuss
  16. 📅 2018 · 20 MWhat is the reason for difference in definitions and classifications of substances made Descartes, Spinoza Leibniz spite the fact that they all belonged to rationalist school thought? Discuss
  17. 📅 2017 · 20 MWhat according to Descartes is a clear and distinct idea? What is the epistemological status of clear and distinct ideas? Does this account help Descartes prove that material objects exist? Explain
  18. 📅 2015 · 15 MExplain Leibnitz’s principle of ‘identity of indiscernible’
  19. 📅 2015 · 15 MDoes Descartes cogito principle entail that he is an essentialist? Discuss
  20. 📅 2014 · 15 MExplain the doctrine of Cartesian Dualism and examine critically arguments in favour of it
  21. 📅 2014 · 10 MDoes Leibnitz’s theory of pre-established harmony necessarily lead to determinism? Discuss
  22. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MWrite a short critical essay on Spinoza’s conception of freedom of an individual
  23. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MExplain Descartes’s method of doubt. Can this method be used to justify his belief in the existence of God? Argue your case
  24. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MGive a critical account of Leibnitz’s principle of the identity of indiscernible
  25. 📅 2012 · 15 MDoes Monadology sufficiently explain the nature of Substance? Are monads independent of each other? Explain
  26. 📅 2012 · 15 MDoes Leibnitz succeed in combining the mechanical with the teleological view of the world? Explain his theory of Pre-Established Harmony
  27. 📅 2012 · 15 MIf ‘every determination is negation’ then how can Substance have attributes? Explain
  28. 📅 2012 · 12 MHow does Descartes’ ‘ cogito ergo sum’ affect Hume and Kant’s transcendental philosophy? Explain
  29. 📅 2011 · 30 MIs the concept of freedom consistent with the theory of determinism of Spinoza? Support your answer with arguments
  30. 📅 2011 · 15 MWhy does Descartes not doubt the existence of God? Explain
  31. 📅 2010 · 20 MWhy does Spinoza think that God alone is absolutely real? Explain
  32. 📅 2009 · 20 MInteractionism in the philosophical context
  33. 📅 2009 · 30 MCompare the views of Leibnitz and Hume on the concept of substance
  34. 📅 2009 · 30 MCompare the views of Spinoza and Sartre on Freedom
  35. 📅 2008 · 60 MExplain Leibnitz’s notion of monad. Can monad be regarded as a basic particular in the Strawsonian sense?
  36. 📅 2006 · 60 MDiscuss Descarte’s Dualism
  37. 📅 2006 · 60 MExplain Spinoza’s theory of Substance
  38. 📅 2005 · 20 MMind and Body as two interacting substances
  39. 📅 2005 · 20 MSpinoza’s conception of the Ultimate Substance. Short Notes
  40. 📅 2004 · 20 MI think, therefore I am. Short Notes
  41. 📅 2002 · 60 MState and critically examine Spinoza’s doctrine of the identity of the Substance, God and nature
  42. 📅 2000 · 20 MDescartes’ method of doubt. (Short Notes)
  43. 📅 2000 · 20 MMonadology of Leibniz. (Short Notes)
  44. 📅 1999 · 60 MThe monadism of Leibniz is the climax of the western rationalistic thought.” Present your own view after discussing this statement
  45. 📅 1998 · 20M (Short Notes)(Interactionism.)
  46. 📅 1998 · 60 MExplain Cartesian method and evaluate its contribution to the development of human knowledge
  47. 📅 1998 · 60 MExplain Spinoza’s concept of the Absolute and compare it with the Brahman of Samkara
  48. 📅 1997 · 20M (Short Notes)I think, therefore I am.
  49. 📅 1997 · 20M (Short Notes)The idea of an all-perfect, omnipotent being implies also that it or He exists
  50. 📅 1997 · 60 MExplain the nature of substance and its relation to attributes according to Spinoza
  51. 📅 1997 · 60 MState, explain and discuss the various theories in traditional European philosophy regarding the relationship of body and mind
  52. 📅 1992 · 20M (Short Notes)Everything in the universe is so perfectly timed and so harmonious : God must be a mathematician
  53. 📅 1990 · 20M (Short Notes)Descartes Method of Doubt
  54. 📅 1990 · 60 MExplain the views of Leibniz concerning substances, called monads

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Theory of Knowledge; Substance and Qualities; Self and God; Scepticism.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 50 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1990–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MExplain the distinction between Intuitive knowledge and Demonstrative knowledge as propounded by Locke.
  2. 📅 2026 · 15 MHow does Hume account for ideas of reason? How does Kant respond to Hume’s views in this regard? Critically discuss.
  3. 📅 2025 · 15 MExamine Hume’s refutation of Causal relation and Kant’s response to it. 5 — Philosophy
  4. 📅 2025 · 15 MExplain Berkeley’s doctrine of nominalism and his refutation of Abstract ideas
  5. 📅 2024 · 20 MIs rejection of Locke’s notion of primary qualities instrumental in Berkeley’s leaning towards idealism? In this context, also discuss how Berkeley’s subjective idealism is different from the absolute idealism proposed by Hegel
  6. 📅 2023 · 20 MCritically analyse Hume’s argument that causality is a matter of habit/custom involving psychological principle of association
  7. 📅 2021 · 15 MWhy and how does John Locke refute the innate ideas? Elucidate the nature and source of knowledge in Locke’s epistemology
  8. 📅 2021 · 10 MSensible things are those only which are immediately perceived by sense.” Explain Berkeley’s theory of knowledge with reference to the above statement
  9. 📅 2021 · 10 MExamine the concept of personal identity by Locke
  10. 📅 2021 · 10 MThe relation between cause and effect is one of constant conjunction”. Examine Hume’s criticism of causation in the light of the above statement
  11. 📅 2020 · 20 MI never can catch myself at any time without perception, and never can observe anything but the perception.” How does this statement by Hume problematize the philosophical notion of personal identity? How does Kant deal with this problem in his Critique of Pure Reason?
  12. 📅 2019 · 15 MIs there any element of necessity in causal relations according to Hume? Discuss
  13. 📅 2018 · 10 MThe Sun will rise tomorrow’ and ‘2+2=4’ of the same necessity for Hume? Give reasons in favour of your answer
  14. 📅 2018 · 20 MHow does Berkeley establish that Mind and its ideas alone are real? How do Moore and Russell react to Berkeley’s view in this regard? Do you find any difference between Moore’s reaction and Russell’s one? Discuss
  15. 📅 2017 · 10 MShow how Hume’s analysis experience leaves no ground for belief in any permanent reality either physical or mental
  16. 📅 2017 · 20 MHow does Locke draw a distinction between primary and secondary qualities? Does he also draw a distinction between the idea of primary qualities and primary qualities as well as the idea of secondary qualities and secondary qualities? Discuss
  17. 📅 2016 · 10 MWhat is the logical necessity for Locke to introduce the concept of secondary qualities? Give reasons for your answer
  18. 📅 2016 · 15 MCritically examine Hume’s views on the relation of cause and effect
  19. 📅 2015 · 10 MShort note on “esse est percipi. ”
  20. 📅 2014 · 15 MEvaluate critically Hume’s criticism of theory of causation
  21. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MGive a critical account of Hume’s theory of self
  22. 📅 2012 · 15 MCritically examine John Locke’s categorization of primary and secondary qualities and explain the problem it posed for later empiricist
  23. 📅 2012 · 15 MIf ‘to be is to be perceived’ then how does Berkeley explain the permanence of things?
  24. 📅 2012 · 15 MWas Hume skeptic? If not then what is his contribution to philosophy?
  25. 📅 2012 · 12 MJohn Locke said that ‘ No man’s knowledge can go beyond his experience’. Discuss critically the implications of this statement
  26. 📅 2011 · 20 MWhat, according to Empiricists is the concept of Substance? Discuss
  27. 📅 2010 · 30 MWhat metaphysical implications can be derived from Berkeley’s statement “Esse Est Percipi
  28. 📅 2010 · 15 MDoes Hume deny the possibility of knowledge? Discuss
  29. 📅 2009 · 20 MTo be is to be perceived”. Discuss
  30. 📅 2009 · 30 MCompare the view of Leibnitz and Hume on the concept of substance
  31. 📅 2008 · 20 MHume and Kant on metaphysics. Short notes
  32. 📅 2007 · 60 MState and discuss Locke’s views on Substance
  33. 📅 2006 · 20 MExplain the theory of knowledge according to Locke
  34. 📅 2006 · 60 MDiscuss Hume’s Scepticism
  35. 📅 2004 · 20 MHume’s views on Induction. Short Notes
  36. 📅 2003 · 20 MTo be is to be perceived. Short Notes
  37. 📅 2002 · 20 MHume’s Phenomenalism. Short Notes
  38. 📅 2000 · 20 MEsse est percipi.” (Short Notes)
  39. 📅 2000 · 60 MExamine Hume’s view of personal identity.
  40. 📅 1999 · 60 MEvaluate Hume’s theory of personal identity
  41. 📅 1999 · 60 MExplain and examine Hume’s theory of causality.)
  42. 📅 1998 · 60 MDiscuss Locke’s criticism of theory of innate ideas and trace out the development of empiricism in the western philosophy after Locke
  43. 📅 1996 · 20M (Short Notes)Distinction between solipsism and scepticism
  44. 📅 1995 · 60 MTo be is to be Perceived.” Elaborate the import of this statement. Does it lead to subjective idealism? Support your answer with argument
  45. 📅 1995 · 20M (Short Notes)Hume’s arguments against induction
  46. 📅 1994 · 60 MExplain and examine Empiricist theory of Knowledge
  47. 📅 1993 · 20M (Short Notes)Hume’s doctrine of causality
  48. 📅 1991 · 60 M‘Empiricism eluminates into scepticism.’ Explain and examine the statement
  49. 📅 1990 · 60 MNo empirical proposition is ever certain. Comment
  50. 📅 1990 · 60 MDiscuss Empiricism in respect of attainment and ascertainment of Knowledge

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Possibility of Synthetic a priori Judgments; Space and Time; Categories; Ideas of Reason; Antinomies; Critique of Proofs for the Existence of God.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 44 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1990–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MHow does Hume account for ideas of reason? How does Kant respond to Hume’s views in this regard? Critically discuss.
  2. 📅 2026 · 15 MAnalyze and discuss the different ways in which Kant and Hegel conceived the relationship between reality and our thinking about reality.
  3. 📅 2024 · 15 MCritically examine Kant’s objections against the ontological argument for the existence of God
  4. 📅 2024 · 10 MHow does Kant respond to Hume’s scepticism with regard to a priori judgments? Discuss
  5. 📅 2023 · 10 MWhat are the main arguments offered by Kant to prove that a-priori synthetic judgements are possible? Discuss with examples
  6. 📅 2023 · 10 MPrecepts without concepts are blind and concepts without precepts are empty.” In the light of this statement discuss how Kant reconciles rationalism with empiricism
  7. 📅 2022 · 20 MHow does Kant construct antinomies to illustrate the illusory tendencies of pure reason? Explain and examine the antinomies presented by Kant. 6 — Philosophy
  8. 📅 2022 · 10 MWhat is apperception, according to Immanuel Kant? Discuss with reference to his transcendental exposition of space and time
  9. 📅 2021 · 15 MExplain how Cartesian formulation of ontological argument is criticised by Kant
  10. 📅 2020 · 20 MI never can catch myself at any time without perception, and never can observe anything but the perception.” How does this statement by Hume problematize the philosophical notion of personal identity? How does Kant deal with this problem in his Critique of Pure Reason?
  11. 📅 2020 · 15 MWhen does Pure Reason enter into the realm of Antinomies according to Kant? Is Kant’s notion of Antinomies of Pure Reason a natural culmination of his distinction between Phenomena and Noumena? Give reasons in favour of your answer
  12. 📅 2019 · 20 MHow does Kant argue for the transcendence of Space and Time? Discuss
  13. 📅 2018 · 15 MExplain significance of Kantian dictum, ‘Understanding makes Nature’. How far do you agree that Absolutism is culmination of the Kantian Dualism? Discuss. Give reasons favour of answer
  14. 📅 2017 · 20 MHow is ‘all bodies are extended’ an analytic judgement but ‘all bodies are heavy a synthetic judgement? Is ‘every event has a cause’ an analytic or a synthetic judgement? Explain
  15. 📅 2017 · 20 MElaborate Kant’s theory of space and time. How does this theory enable him to explain how mathematical propositions can be both synthetic and a-priori ?
  16. 📅 2016 · 15 MWhat, according to Kant, are ‘pure concepts? Examine their role in the process of knowing
  17. 📅 2016 · 10 MExamine Kant’s criticism on Descartes’ view of Self
  18. 📅 2015 · 20 MExplain Kant’s division of categories
  19. 📅 2014 · 10 MHow are synthetic a-priori judgement justifiable according to Kant? Explain
  20. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MExplain Kant’s view of causality. How far is Kant able to answer Hume’s objection that causal relation lacks logical necessity
  21. 📅 2013 · 10 MWhat is Antinomy? Describe the major antinomies discussed by Kant
  22. 📅 2012 · 15 MWhy Kant’s philosophy known as Copernicus revolution in metaphysics? What was revolutionary about Kantian philosophy? Give reasons for it
  23. 📅 2011 · 20 MHume aroused me from my dogmatic slumber”. In what context Kant has made this statement? Explain
  24. 📅 2010 · 30 MWhat is the basic difference between Leibniz and Kant on the concept of space and time?
  25. 📅 2010 · 15 MWhy does Kant say that existence is not a predicate?
  26. 📅 2009 · 20 MComment on Kant’s objections against the ontological argument for the existence of God
  27. 📅 2008 · 20 MHume and Kant on Metaphysics. Short Notes
  28. 📅 2007 · 20 MNature of synthetic a-priory judgment according to Kant. Short Notes
  29. 📅 2006 · 20 MExplain Kant’s criticism of the proofs for the existence of God. Short Notes
  30. 📅 2005 · 60 MHow does Kant respond to Hume’s scepticism?
  31. 📅 2004 · 20 MThe significance of Kant’s distinction between phenomena and noumena. Notes
  32. 📅 2003 · 20 MHow is synthetic a-priori judgment possible? Short Notes
  33. 📅 2002 · 60 MKant’s “Critical Philosophy” is a reconciliation between Rationalism and Empiricism. Elucidate the remark fully and bring out the consequence of such reconciliation for the possibility of traditional metaphysics
  34. 📅 2000 · 60 MState and examine Kant’s criticism of the proofs for the existence of God.
  35. 📅 1999 · 20M (Short Notes)Kant’s idea of Reason
  36. 📅 1999 · 60 MAccording to Kant, how are synthetic a priori judgements in the sciences possible.’ Explain
  37. 📅 1997 · 60 MHow Kant reconciles rationalism with empiricism by superseding them?
  38. 📅 1997 · 60 MAre synthetic a priori judgements possible? Evaluate Kant’s answer and show its importance in his philosophy
  39. 📅 1996 · 60 MWhat do you understand by Kant’s claim that space and time are forms of pure intuition? Explain the arguments he gives in support of his position in this regard
  40. 📅 1995 · 20M (Short Notes)Doctrine of transcendental deduction
  41. 📅 1994 · 60 MCan synthetic truths be known a priori? If so, must such Knowledge be Knowledge of universal and necessary truths? In this context critically consider Kant’s view
  42. 📅 1993 · 60 MKnowledge begins with, but does not originate from experience.” Discuss this statement of Kant with special reference to his theory of Knowledge
  43. 📅 1992 · 60 MDiscuss Kant’s theory of reality. How does he attempt to reconcile the claims of science, philosophy and religion? Ascertain if he succeeds in his task
  44. 📅 1990 · 60 MGive a critical account of Kant’s theory about space and time

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Dialectical Method; Absolute Idealism.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 20 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1990–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MExplain Hegel’s idea that the concept of the Absolute as being is the concept of the Absolute as becoming as a process of self-development.
  2. 📅 2026 · 15 MAnalyze and discuss the different ways in which Kant and Hegel conceived the relationship between reality and our thinking about reality.
  3. 📅 2025 · 10 MHow does Hegel challenge Kant’s distinction between Phenomena and Noumena? Discuss
  4. 📅 2023 · 10 MHistory is a process of dialectical change.” In the light of this statement discuss Hegel’s approach in understanding history
  5. 📅 2022 · 15 MWhat is the dialectical method in the philosophy of Georg Wilhelm Hegel? How does this method help in realizing the Absolute? Discuss
  6. 📅 2021 · 20 MDiscuss Hegel’s Dialectical method. Explain how his dialectical method leads him to the Absolute Idealism
  7. 📅 2020 · 10 MExamine the reality of the phenomenal world in the light of Hegel’s Absolute Idealism
  8. 📅 2019 · 10 MWhat is the role of dialectics in realizing the truth in Hegel’s philosophy?
  9. 📅 2017 · 10 MElaborate Hegel’s dictum “All identity is identity and difference”
  10. 📅 2016 · 15 MWhat is Hegel’s view on God? Do you think that his interpretation of God was contributive to the colonial and imperial expansionist design? Explain
  11. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MComment: ‘Movement is contradiction itself Examine in this context Hegel’s dialectical method
  12. 📅 2012 · 15 MExplain Hegelian dialectical method and show how it is useful in explaining the historical development process?
  13. 📅 2009 · 20 MThe rational is real and the real is rational
  14. 📅 2007 · 20 MHegel’s Dialectical method. Short Notes
  15. 📅 2006 · 20 MCritically discuss the Hegel’s Dialectical method. Short Notes
  16. 📅 2002 · 20 MHegel’s Dialectical Method. Short notes. 7 — Philosophy
  17. 📅 2000 · 60 MExplain Hegel’s dialectical method. How does it culminate in Absolute Idealism?
  18. 📅 1997 · 20M (Short Notes)The Dialectical method simply consists of challenging every typical attitude or belief by rendering its partisan claims logically ridiculous
  19. 📅 1992 · 20M (Short Notes)Hegel’s view stands on its head; it must be turned right side up again
  20. 📅 1990 · 20M (Short Notes)Hegel’s Dialectical method

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Defence of Commonsense; Refutation of Idealism; Logical Atomism; Logical Constructions; Incomplete Symbols; Picture Theory of Meaning; Saying and Showing.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 44 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1993–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MI can prove now, for instance, that two human hands exist.” How does Moore use this illustration to prove the existence of an external world? Critically discuss.
  2. 📅 2026 · 20 MWittgenstein’s difficulty about not being able to say anything within a given language about the structure of that language can be met by the idea of a hierarchy of languages.” Do you agree with this statement? Give reasons and justifications for your answer.
  3. 📅 2025 · 10 M“The golden mountain is very high.” Discuss this statement in the context of Russell’s theory of descriptions
  4. 📅 2025 · 15 MBlue is one object of sensation and green is another, and consciousness, which both sensations have in common, is different from either.” Present an account of Moore’s refutation of idealism with reference to this statement
  5. 📅 2024 · 20 MExplain Russell’s notion of incomplete symbols. Also explain how this notion leads to the doctrine of logical atomism
  6. 📅 2024 · 10 MWhat arguments are offered by Moore to prove that there are certain truisms, knowledge of which is a matter of common sense? Critically discuss
  7. 📅 2023 · 15 MWhy according to Russell is the proposition — “The present king of France is bald” problematic? Critically discuss
  8. 📅 2022 · 15 MIs there any difference between pictorial form and logical form in Ludwig Wittgenstein’s picture theory of language? How does the logical form define the relation between language and reality? Explain
  9. 📅 2022 · 10 MWhat is Bertrand Russell’s method of logical analysis? How does it ultimately end in establishing atomic theory of meaning? Discuss
  10. 📅 2021 · 20 MWhat are the main arguments put forward by Moore in his paper “A Defence of Common Sense” to prove that there are possible propositions about the world that are known to be true with certainty? Do you think Moore’s arguments provide a sufficient response to objections presented by the sceptic against the possibility of knowledge? Give reasons in support of your answer
  11. 📅 2021 · 15 MWhat does Wittgenstein mean by the statement – “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent?” Critically discuss
  12. 📅 2020 · 15 MCritically discuss the following statement by Moore: “If anyone tells us that to say ‘Blue exists’ is the same thing as to say that ‘Both blue and consciousness exist’, he makes mistake and self-contradictory mistake.
  13. 📅 2020 · 15 MThe reason that call my doctrine logical atomism is because the atoms that wish to arrive as the sort of last residue in analysis arc logical atoms and not physical atoms.” Write note on the nature of atomic facts according to Russell in the light of the above statement,
  14. 📅 2019 · 15 MWhy Moore’s philosophy is called common sense realism?
  15. 📅 2018 · 15 MHow Russell’s theory of definite description related to his Logical Atomism? Discuss and give reason for your answer
  16. 📅 2018 · 20 MHow does Berkeley establish that Mind and its ideas alone are real? How do Moore and Russell react to Berkeley’s view in this regard? Do you find any difference between Moore’s reaction and Russell’s one? Discuss
  17. 📅 2018 · 15 MHow does Wittgenstein apply the distinction between ‘saying’ and ‘showing to point to a single way of apprehending the most decisive problems of philosophy? Is he justified? Give reasons for your answer
  18. 📅 2017 · 10 MHow is the statement ‘I met a man’, semantically problematic for Russell? How does he account for the meaningfulness of this statement?
  19. 📅 2017 · 15 MWhat is Wittgenstein’s theory of picture theory of meaning? What are his reasons for giving up his theory and suggesting the use theory of meaning?
  20. 📅 2016 · 15 MExplain Russell’s view that “the physical object is a logical construction from sense-data”. Why does he call his metaphysical view ‘neutral monism’?
  21. 📅 2015 · 10 MG.E. Moore’s refutation of idealism
  22. 📅 2015 · 15 MWhat do you understand by incomplete symbols? What role do they play in Russell’s theory of meaning?
  23. 📅 2014 · 15 MAre G. E. Moore’s arguments in defence of common sense satisfactory. Give reasons
  24. 📅 2014 · 15 MWhy does Wittgenstein disagree Bertrand Russell’s interpretation of atomism in the philosophy of Tractatus ? Discuss
  25. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MDistinguish between atomic and general proposition. Show how they are justified true
  26. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MComment: Moore’s defence of common sense essentially is defence of common language’
  27. 📅 2012 · 15 MExplain the theory of definite descriptions according to Russell
  28. 📅 2011 · 30 MAre the arguments given by G.E. Moore against Idealism adequate? Give reasons for your answer
  29. 📅 2011 · 15 MWhat is Russell’s idea of ‘Incomplete symbols’ in his theory of description? Discuss
  30. 📅 2010 · 20 MWhat does Moore want to establish when he asserts that propositions like “Earth exists or we have consciousness” are truism? Discuss
  31. 📅 2008 · 60 MExplain the theory of logical construction. Does it provide a satisfactory account of knowledge?
  32. 📅 2007 · 60 MState and discuss Russell’s analysis of Definite Descriptions
  33. 📅 2004 · 60 MCritically discuss Moore’s Refutation of Idealism
  34. 📅 2004 · 20 MDistinction between ‘saying’ and ‘showing’
  35. 📅 2003 · 60 MWhat is Russel’s Logical atomism? Bring out in this connection the conception or metaphysics involved in it. 8 — Philosophy
  36. 📅 2002 · 20 MMoore’s Defense of Common-Sense. Short Notes
  37. 📅 2000 · 20 MGive a critical account of Moore’s refutation of idealism.
  38. 📅 1999 · 60 MClarify Moore’s conception of common sense and examine his arguments in its defense
  39. 📅 1999 · 60 MRussell’s concept of negative facts
  40. 📅 1998 · 60 MHow does Moore refute idealism? Critically evaluate
  41. 📅 1998 · 20M (Short Notes)Critical Notes on Logical atomism
  42. 📅 1997 · 60 MElucidate Bertrand Russell’s theory of descriptions, and examine it with special reference to its criticism by P.F. Strawson
  43. 📅 1994 · 20M (Short Notes)Critical Notes on Philosophy of Common-Sense
  44. 📅 1993 · 20M (Short Notes)Critical Notes on G.E. Moore’s way of analysis

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Verification Theory of Meaning; Rejection of Metaphysics; Linguistic Theory of Necessary Propositions.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 20 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1998–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MHow did the logical positivists try to make philosophy a handmaid to science and establish a unified language of science? Why did their project fail? Discuss.
  2. 📅 2025 · 15 MPresent an exposition of the verification theory of meaning as propounded by the logical positivists. In this context also differentiate between the “strong” and the “weak” sense of the word “verifiable
  3. 📅 2024 · 15 MIs the sentence “All objects are either red or not red” meaningful in the same way as “This page is white” is, according to the logical positivists? Discuss with arguments
  4. 📅 2023 · 20 MDoes the rejection of metaphysics as proposed by Logical Positivists relate to problem of meaning or problem of knowledge or nature of things or all of them together? Discuss with suitable examples
  5. 📅 2021 · 15 MWhat according to Logical Positivists are ” pseudo-statements “? How does one identify ” pseudo-statements “? Critically discuss with examples
  6. 📅 2020 · 10 MThe Soul of Superman is Good.” Critically examine the above statement in the light of logical positivism
  7. 📅 2019 · 20 MHow do the logical positivists account for the meaning of general statements? Can the same account be applied to metaphysical statements? Discuss
  8. 📅 2018 · 15 MHow do the logical positivists show that metaphysical sentences are meaningless? Can their verification theory of meaning account for the meaningfulness of all scientific sentences? Discuss
  9. 📅 2017 · 15 MDoes the sentence ‘whatever is coloured is extended’, satisfy the criterion of meaningfulness proposed by the logical positivists? Explain
  10. 📅 2016 · 10 MExplain verification theory. Does it lead to elimination of metaphysics?
  11. 📅 2014 · 20 MAre empirical statements verifiable? Discuss the limitations of verification theory of meaning’
  12. 📅 2013 · 10 MDistinguish necessary from empirical proposition. How is necessary proposition is justified? Explain
  13. 📅 2012 · 12 MLogical Positivism broadly claims that metaphysics and theology are meaningless because they are neither matters of logic nor verifiable empirically! Critically examine
  14. 📅 2011 · 20 MDiscuss the limitations of verification theory
  15. 📅 2010 · 20 MAre necessary propositions linguistic by nature? Discuss in the light of logical positivism
  16. 📅 2009 · 30 MExamine how Ayer eliminates metaphysics
  17. 📅 2007 · 20 MElimination of metaphysics at the hands Logical Positivists. Short Notes
  18. 📅 2005 · 60 MState and discuss the logical positivist’s attempts to eliminate metaphysics
  19. 📅 2000 · 20 MExamine the Logical Positivist rejection of metaphysics.
  20. 📅 1998 · 60 MCritically discuss Ayer’s view on metaphysics

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Meaning and Use; Language-games; Critique of Private Language.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 17 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MCan words be viewed as the ideas in the mind of the person who uses them? Answer with reference to the philosophy of later Wittgenstein.
  2. 📅 2025 · 20 MWe should look not to an ideal language which derives its meaning from facts and has a precise logical structure but empirically, to the ways in which languages are actually used.” Explain the transition from early views of Wittgenstein to his later views on language and meaning with reference to this statement
  3. 📅 2024 · 10 MWhy does later Wittgenstein think that there cannot be a language that only one person can speak – a language that is essentially private? Discuss
  4. 📅 2023 · 15 MWhat were the main reasons that led Wittgenstein to shift from picture-theory of meaning to use-theory of meaning? Critically discuss
  5. 📅 2022 · 10 MEstablish the tenability of later Wittgenstein’s motion of language as form of life
  6. 📅 2020 · 15 MBut could we also imagine a language in which a person could write down or give vocal expression to his inner experiences-his feelings, moods and the rest-for his private use?” Critically discuss the answer offered by Wittgenstein to this question
  7. 📅 2019 · 15 MShow how Wittgenstein’s critique of solipsism culminates language. the critique of private language
  8. 📅 2018 · 10 MHow does the notion of family resemblance help Wittgenstein to uphold that ‘Language is a game’? Discuss
  9. 📅 2016 · 10 MWhy does Wittgenstein reject the possibility of private language?
  10. 📅 2015 · 20 MBring out the relationship between language games and forms of life
  11. 📅 2014 · 10 MBring out the significance of ‘Language Games’ in Wittgenstein’s Use theory of meaning
  12. 📅 2013 · 10 MExplain Wittgenstein’s arguments against the possibility of private language
  13. 📅 2012 · 12.5 MAccording to Wittgenstein ‘Philosophy is a battle against bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language’. Explain the function of philosophy in the above context
  14. 📅 2011 · 30 MMeaning of the word lies in its use”. Explain in detail
  15. 📅 2010 · 15 MAre tautologies meaning according to Wittgenstein?
  16. 📅 2008 · 20 MWittgenstein’s notion of language-game
  17. 📅 2000 · 20 MWittgenstein on ‘Meaning is use’. (Short Notes)

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Method; Theory of Essences; Avoidance of Psychologism.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 16 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MDescribe Sartre’s notion of consciousness as ‘nothing’. How is it different from Husserl’s notion of consciousness? Discuss.
  2. 📅 2025 · 20 MHow is Husserl’s account of “I think” different from that of Descartes? Critically discuss
  3. 📅 2024 · 15 MWhy does Husserl think that essences exhibit a kind of continuity between consciousness and being? Discuss
  4. 📅 2023 · 15 MElucidate the significance of bracketing and reduction in Husserl’s phenomenological method. 9 — Philosophy
  5. 📅 2022 · 10 MWhat is psychologism? Critically discuss the way Edmund Husserl avoids the problem of psychologism in the discourse of transcendental phenomenology
  6. 📅 2021 · 20 MPresent a critical exposition of Husserl’s criticism of ‘natural attitude’. How does Husserl propose to address the problems involved in natural attitude through his phenomenological method?
  7. 📅 2020 · 10 MWhat, according to Husserl, is wrong with psychologism? How does Husserl address the problems with psychologism in his phenomenological method?
  8. 📅 2019 · 10 MCan hallucination be regarded as an intentional act by Husserl? Explain
  9. 📅 2017 · 10 MExplain Husserl’s reasons for advocating phenomenological reductionism
  10. 📅 2015 · 10 MWrite short note on Husserl’s notion of ‘bracketing’
  11. 📅 2014 · 10 MExplain the significance of ‘bracketing’ in Husserl Phenomenology
  12. 📅 2011 · 30 MWhat, according to Husserl is Intentionality? Discuss its role in arriving at the meaning of object
  13. 📅 2008 · 60 MWhat is the notion of transcendental ego according to Husserl? How is it different from Sartre’s notion of the ego?
  14. 📅 2005 · 60 MWhat is ‘epoche’ ? Bring out its significance for Husserl’s conception of rigorous science
  15. 📅 2003 · 60 MDiscuss Husserl’s conception of philosophy as rigorous science
  16. 📅 2000 · 20 MHusserl’s phenomenological reduction (Epoche). (Short Notes)

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Existence and Essence; Choice, Responsibility and Authentic Existence; Being-in-the-world and Temporality.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 34 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MDescribe Sartre’s notion of consciousness as ‘nothing’. How is it different from Husserl’s notion of consciousness? Discuss.
  2. 📅 2026 · 15 MExplain Heidegger’s conception of authenticity and inauthenticity as modes of Dasein’s being.
  3. 📅 2025 · 10 MExplain the difference between being-for-itself and being-in-itself as presented by Sartre
  4. 📅 2024 · 20 MWhat do the existentialist thinkers mean by the slogan “existence precedes essence”? How is human existence related to human freedom according to them? Discuss
  5. 📅 2024 · 10 MHow does Kierkegaard define truth in terms of subjectivity? Critically discuss
  6. 📅 2023 · 15 MConsciousness is what it is not and is not what it is.” In the light of this statement bring out the chief features of Sartre’s conception of consciousness
  7. 📅 2023 · 10 MHow does Kierkegaard argue against Hegel’s idea of universal spirit in favour of the individual as the essence of spirit? Critically discuss
  8. 📅 2022 · 20 MHow does Soren Kierkegaard define the notion of ‘subjectivity’? Explain it with reference to three stages of existence as propounded by him
  9. 📅 2022 · 20 MProvide a critical account of Heidegger’s Being-in-the-world and discuss the problem of ‘authenticity’ in the context of Dasein
  10. 📅 2021 · 15 MI can always choose, but I ought to know that if I do not choose, I am still choosing”. Critically discuss Sartre’s conception of choice and responsibility in the light of above statement
  11. 📅 2020 · 20 MWhat does Kierkegaard mean by saying “Subjectivity is the truth” in the context of the problem of the single individual’?
  12. 📅 2020 · 20 MYou can always make something out of what you have been made into,” Critically discuss this statement by Sartre with reference to his views on existentialism
  13. 📅 2019 · 20 MIs Dasein authentic existence for Heidegger? How does he relate temporality with Dasein? Discuss
  14. 📅 2019 · 15 MHow does Sartre look at the problem of freedom of choice and determinism? Explain
  15. 📅 2018 · 10 MHow does Sartre connect inauthenticity with bad faith? Why does Sartre show that inauthenticity and bad faith lead to alienation? Discuss
  16. 📅 2018 · 20 MHow does Heidegger reject this method of phenomenological reduction Explain Heidegger’s concept of being in the world’ as opposed to the concept of a transcendental ego
  17. 📅 2017 · 15 MDiscuss Heidegger’s concept of authenticity and explain how and inauthentic Dasein regains the lost self?
  18. 📅 2016 · 15 MDiscuss Sartre’ s notion of ‘Nothingness’
  19. 📅 2015 · 15 MDiscuss why Heidegger introduces the concept of Dasein in his metaphysics
  20. 📅 2015 · 15 MBring out the relationship between existence and essence in case of human being. Explain the issues it gives rise to for human beings according to Sartre
  21. 📅 2014 · 20 MExplain Kierkegaard’s concept of choice. How does the concept of choice in meta-ethics differ from normative ethics? Explain
  22. 📅 2014 · 15 MState and evaluate Heidegger’s claim that temporality is the horizon against which the being of any entity is understood
  23. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MExamine Sartre’s distinction between Being-for-itself and Being-in-itself
  24. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MAnalyse Kierkegaard’s concept of choice. Can there be, in his view, correct or incorrect choice? Discuss
  25. 📅 2012 · 15 MElucidate Existentialism and indicate its strong and weak points in your own words
  26. 📅 2012 · 12 MSoren Kierkegaard clarified that “The function of prayers is not to influence God but rather to change the nature of one who prays.” Comment on this statement
  27. 📅 2011 · 15 MI am responsible for myself and for everyone else.” Discuss this statement in the light of Sartre’s existentialism
  28. 📅 2010 · 30 MHow is the empirical ego and Heidegger different from the transcendent ego in Husserl?
  29. 📅 2009 · 30 MCompare the views of Spinoza and Sartre on Freedom. 10 — Philosophy
  30. 📅 2009 · 20 MExistence precedes essence”. Comment
  31. 📅 2008 · 20 MHeidegger’s contention that essence of “Dasein is its existence”. Short notes
  32. 📅 2004 · 60 MDiscuss Sartre’s conception of freedom
  33. 📅 2003 · 20 MExistence precedes essence. Short Notes
  34. 📅 2000 · 20 MSartre’s phenomenological ontology.

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Critique of Empiricism; Theory of Basic Particulars and Persons.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 24 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 20 MWhy are states of consciousness ascribed to anything at all and why are they ascribed to the same things to which we also ascribe physical properties? How does Strawson answer these questions in his work Individuals?
  2. 📅 2025 · 15 MWe can affirm the truth of any sentence in our total system, in the face of whatever experience, just so long as we are prepared to make adjustments elsewhere.” Discuss this statement in the light of Quine’s Two Dogmas of Empiricism’
  3. 📅 2024 · 15 MExplain the nature of the two dogmas that Quine refers to in his paper Two Dogmas of Empiricism’
  4. 📅 2023 · 20 MWhy does Strawson consider person to be a primitive concept? What implication does it have for the mind-body dualism? Discuss
  5. 📅 2021 · 15 MWhat according to Strawson are basic particulars? What reasons does Strawson offer to believe that ‘material bodies’ and ‘persons’ are basic particulars? Critically discuss
  6. 📅 2021 · 15 MCritically examine Quine’s postulate of empiricism without the dogmas with reference to his ‘Two Dogmas of Empiricism’
  7. 📅 2020 · 15 MEvaluate the role spatio-temporal thinking in objective thinking with reference to Strawson’s theory of basic particulars
  8. 📅 2019 · 10 MExplain Quine’s arguments against synthetic analytic distinction
  9. 📅 2018 · 10 MHow does Strawson explain the concept of person in his philosophy? Discuss
  10. 📅 2018 · 15 MHow does Quine show that the notion of synthetic a-priori judgement as discussed by Kant is a metaphysical article faith? Give reasons your answer
  11. 📅 2017 · 15 MWhat are the two dogmas of empiricism that Quine attacks? What are his arguments against what he calls the second dogma?
  12. 📅 2016 · 10 MDiscuss Quine’s attack on the analytic-synthetic distinction
  13. 📅 2015 · 10 MStrawson’s distinction between ‘M’ and ‘P’ predicates
  14. 📅 2015 · 15 MElucidate Quine’s arguments to show that analyticity is not synonymity
  15. 📅 2014 · 10 MHow far are Quine’s arguments in ‘two dogmas of empiricism justified? Discuss
  16. 📅 2013 · 10 MExplain and evaluate Strawson’s arguments for his conception of the nature of Person
  17. 📅 2012 · 15 MExplain critically Quine’s rejection of the analytic synthetic distinction and his subsequent philosophical arguments
  18. 📅 2010 · 30 MIs Strawson’s concept of person a refutation of Hume’s concept of self? Discuss
  19. 📅 2009 · 30 MWhat are Quine’s objections with regards to the verification theory of meaning?
  20. 📅 2007 · 60 MState and discuss Strawson’s theory of Person
  21. 📅 2005 · 20 MQuine’s criticism of analytic-synthetic distinction. Short Notes
  22. 📅 2003 · 20 MStrawson’s notion of person as primitive. Notes
  23. 📅 2002 · 20 MQuine’s attack on Analytic-Synthetic Distinction. Short Notes. 11 — Philosophy
  24. 📅 2000 · 20 MStrawson’s concept of basic particulars.

Paper 1 — Section B: Indian Philosophy (Units 12 to 20)

Indian Philosophy explores the classical orthodox (Astika) and heterodox (Nastika) darshanas, culminating in integral Vedantic thought. Click each school below to explore all previous year questions from 2026 back to 1990:

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Theory of Knowledge; Rejection of Transcendent Entities.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 28 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1990–2025
  1. 📅 2025 · 10 MExplain the ground on which Carvaka rejects inference (anumāna) as a valid source of knowledge
  2. 📅 2024 · 20 MDifferentiate between the Carvaka’s refutation of self as a transcendental category and the Buddhist rejection of atma
  3. 📅 2024 · 10 MDo you think Carvaka’s philosophy is positivistic in nature? Give reasons and justifications for your answer
  4. 📅 2021 · 10 MComment on the bearing of Carvaka epistemology on the rejection of transcendental entities by them
  5. 📅 2020 · 15 MExplain the differences of conception of Reality between Carvaka and Jainism
  6. 📅 2020 · 15 MCritically evaluate Carvaka’s rejection of Akasa as one of the elements of reality and examine their criticism of transmigration of Soul
  7. 📅 2019 · 15 MWhat is wrong according to the Carvakas with the following argument? a. All men are mortal. b. Socrates is a man c. Therefore, Socrates is mortal. d. Justify your answer with arguments
  8. 📅 2019 · 10 MAre the Carvakas consistent when they hold that inference is not a source of knowledge? Discuss
  9. 📅 2018 · 15 MIs Carvakas rejection of inference acceptable to the other systems of Indian philosophy? If not, why? Do you think the views of other systems to be justified? Give reasons for your answer
  10. 📅 2017 · 10 MThe soul is nothing but conscious body.” What are the reasons for Carvaka in holding this view?
  11. 📅 2016 · 15 MWhat would be Carvaka’s view on Vyapti? Can this view be acceptable to the Naiyayikas? Give reasons for your answer
  12. 📅 2015 · 15 MExplain the arguments of Carvaka to reject transcendental entities
  13. 📅 2014 · 10 MLimits of knowledge and world are determined by my sense perception”. Discuss this claim of Carvaka
  14. 📅 2012 · 15 MWhy do Carvaka do not believe in the validity of inference? What logic do they give for their belief?
  15. 📅 2012 · 15 MOn what basis does Carvaka reject the cause-effect relationship?
  16. 📅 2011 · 30 MWhy do Carvakas reject the concept of Akasa. Discuss
  17. 📅 2010 · 20 MJust as the skepticism of Hume helped Kant to come out of his dogmatic slumber, so also the Carvaka philosophy saved Indian philosophy from dogmatism. Discuss
  18. 📅 2007 · 20 MCarvaka’s views on the nature of soul. Short Notes
  19. 📅 2006 · 60 MDiscuss the theory of knowledge, according to Charvaka Philosophy. Notes
  20. 📅 2004 · 20 MDehatmavada of Carvakas. Short Notes
  21. 📅 2003 · 60 MCharvak’s refutation of anumana is itself a process of anumana. Discuss
  22. 📅 2002 · 20 MState and evaluate critically Carvaka’s view that perception is the only valid source of knowledge
  23. 📅 2001 · 20M (Short Notes)Write short notes on Charvaka theory of consciousness
  24. 📅 2000 · 20 MEthics of Carvaka School. (Short Notes)
  25. 📅 1998 · 20M (Short Notes)The soul is nothing but the conscious body.’
  26. 📅 1992 · 20M (Short Notes)The Carvaka system is not a consistent metaphysic; it is only a crude form of hendonism
  27. 📅 1991 · 60 MWhy does Carvaka accept perception alone as the pramana? How have Jain and Buddhist logicians refuted his view? Evaluate both the perspectives critically
  28. 📅 1990 · 20M (Short Notes)‘Inference is not possible, as it involves the fallacy of petitio-principii.’

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Theory of Reality; Saptabhanginaya; Bondage and Liberation.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 38 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1992–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MExplain the meaning of seven steps of judgement (Saptabhanginaya) and its application in Jaina’s Syadvada for advocating a philosophy of non-absolutism (Anekantavada).
  2. 📅 2025 · 15 MIs Jaina philosophy pluralistic and realistic? Critically discuss
  3. 📅 2024 · 15 MWhat is the distinction between Bhavabandha and Dravyabandha , according to the Jainas? Discuss
  4. 📅 2023 · 10 MAll human knowledge is empirical and therefore relative.” Critically examine Jaina theory of sevenfold judgement (S apta-bhangi-naya ) in the light of above statement
  5. 📅 2022 · 15 M‘The doctrine of ‘Relativism’ of Jain Philosophy cannot be logically sustained without postulating ‘Absolutism’.’ Critically examine this view and give reasons in the favour of your answer
  6. 📅 2022 · 10 MHow does Jaina view of Karma bear upon their soteriology? Critically discuss
  7. 📅 2021 · 15 MExplain the Jain view of seven-fold ( sapta bhangi ) ‘Naya’
  8. 📅 2020 · 10 MExamine the concept of Karma according to Jainism. How does it bear upon their conception of Liberation?
  9. 📅 2020 · 15 MExplain the differences of conception of Reality between Cärväka and Jainism
  10. 📅 2019 · 20 MHow is reality defined by the Jainas? How is this theory of reality reflected in their view on judgements? Discuss. 12 — Philosophy
  11. 📅 2018 · 15 MHow do the Jaina philosophers explain ‘bondage’? What, according to them, is the distinction between ‘liberated soul’ and ‘bound soul’? What do the Jainas think about the condition of the ‘liberated soul’? Discuss
  12. 📅 2017 · 15 MThe Jaina metaphysics is relativistic and realistic pluralism”. Discuss
  13. 📅 2016 · 15 MCan the ‘Tattvartha’ theory of Jainism be acceptable for scientific explanations?
  14. 📅 2016 · 10 MExamine Jaina stance of ‘Naya’. How does it differ from ‘Syadvada’?
  15. 📅 2016 · 10 MDifferentiate the concept of ‘Kaivalya’ as discussed in Jaina and Yoga philosophies
  16. 📅 2015 · 10 MJain concept of Dravya
  17. 📅 2015 · 15 MWhat do samvara and nirjara mean? Explain their significance in Jaina theory of liberation
  18. 📅 2014 · 15 MExplain the concept of Karma and discuss various types of Karma according to Jaina philosophy
  19. 📅 2013 · 10 MAnalyse the relation between the theory of Saptabhanginaya and Anekantvada
  20. 📅 2012 · 15 MCritically evaluate Jaina doctrine of relative pluralism or Anekantvada?
  21. 📅 2011 · 20 MWhy is Saptabhangi Naya not treated as a doctrine of Scepticism? Discuss
  22. 📅 2011 · 15 MWhat according to Jainism is Path to Liberation? Discuss
  23. 📅 2010 · 30 MIs syadvada a self-contradictory doctrine? Discuss
  24. 📅 2009 · 20 MWrite short notes on Anekantavada
  25. 📅 2007 · 20 MWrite short notes on Nature of Pudgala in Jaina philosophy
  26. 📅 2006 · 20 MWrite short notes on theory of Substance according to Jainism
  27. 📅 2005 · 20 MWrite short notes on Jaina Definition of Dravya
  28. 📅 2004 · 60 MState and discuss the Jaina Doctrine of jiva
  29. 📅 2003 · 60 MExpound anekantvada of Jainism. It is a consistent theory of reality? Give reasons
  30. 📅 2001 · 20M (Short Notes)Write short notes on relation between anekantvada and saptabhanginaya
  31. 📅 2000 · 20 MSapta-bhangi Naya. (Short Notes)
  32. 📅 2000 · 60 MEvaluate the Jain arguments for the view that reality is multi-dimensional.
  33. 📅 1999 · 20M (Short Notes)The Jaina arguments for anekantavada.)
  34. 📅 1998 · 20M (Short Notes)Ekantavada and Anekantavada
  35. 📅 1995 · 60 MWhat is understood by ‘Syadvada’? To what extent it helps in understanding reality?
  36. 📅 1994 · 20M (Short Notes)Analysis of perception in the Jaina Philosophy
  37. 📅 1993 · 20M (Short Notes)Syadvads and its justifcation
  38. 📅 1992 · 60 MGive a critical estimate to the Jain theory of Syadvad

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Pratityasamutpada; Ksanikavada; Nairatmyavada.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 59 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1990–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MHow does the Buddhist theory of momentariness (Ksanabhangavada) problematize the issue of human action and responsibility? Critically discuss.
  2. 📅 2025 · 15 MIs Buddhist notion of Nirvana in consonance with their conception of Kṣanikavāda (momentariness) and Nairatmyavada (no-soul theory)? Critically discuss
  3. 📅 2025 · 15 MPresent an exposition of the debate between Naiyāyikas and Buddhists with reference to the notion of Pramana and Pramanaphala
  4. 📅 2024 · 15 MHow do the two schools of Buddhism arrive at two opposed conclusions, namely “everything is void” and “everything is real” from the same doctrine of Pratityasamutpāda? Answer with arguments
  5. 📅 2024 · 20 MDifferentiate between the Carvākas refutation of self as a transcendental category and the Buddhist rejection of atma
  6. 📅 2023 · 20 MIgnorance of dependent origination is suffering, while its knowledge is cessation of suffering.” Present an account of Buddhist soteriology in the light of above statement
  7. 📅 2022 · 15 MExplain Buddhist concept of Trratna and their internal relation. Critically examine the consistency of Trratnas with the Buddhist concept of No-soul (Nairätmyaväda)
  8. 📅 2022 · 20 MHow compatible is Buddhist theory of momentariness with their theory of Karma? In this regard how do Buddhists respond to objections raised by their opponents? Critically discuss
  9. 📅 2021 · 10 MDistinguish between pudgala-nairätmyavada and dharma-nairätmyavada with reference to Buddhist Philosophy
  10. 📅 2021 · 15 MIf everything is momentary then how do the Buddhists explain the problem of memory and personal identity? Critically discuss
  11. 📅 2020 · 20 MHow is Kshanikavada a logical derivative of Pratityasamutpada in Buddhism? Explain
  12. 📅 2020 · 15 MHow does Buddhism explain Self in terms of Pancaskandhas? What is Liberation for Buddhism if there is no Soul?
  13. 📅 2019 · 10 MHow do the Yogacăra Buddhists deny the existence of the external world? Discuss
  14. 📅 2019 · 15 MWhat is Pratityasamutpäda? How do the Buddhists apply this concept to prove that everything is momentary?
  15. 📅 2018 · 10 MHow do the Buddhists and the Nyaya philosophers explain our knowledge of “the absence of the jar on the table’? Answer in detail
  16. 📅 2018 · 15 MIs it consistent for the Buddhists to admit the theory of Nairátmyavāda and the doctrine of Nirvana simultaneously? Give reasons in favour of your answer
  17. 📅 2017 · 10 MElucidate the role of catuskoti in explaining the nature of reality according to Madhyamika school of thought
  18. 📅 2017 · 15 MWhat are the arguments of the Buddhists to establish Kshanikvada? Do they necessarily lead to krtanasa and akrtabhyupagam?
  19. 📅 2017 · 20 MHow do Madhyamika, yogacaravadins and sarvastivadins differ among themselves in concerning the nature of reality? How do Sarvastivadins differ among themselves with regard to knowledge of reality?
  20. 📅 2016 · 10 MHow does Ksanikavada strengthen the arguments for ‘Nairatmyavada’? Explain
  21. 📅 2016 · 20 MDoes the ‘Doctrine of Dependent Origination’ reconcile the two extreme views on the law of causation, namely Satkaryavada and Asatkaryavada? Give reasons for your answer
  22. 📅 2015 · 10 MWrite short note on Alayavijnana
  23. 📅 2015 · 15 MWhat is the role of Pratityasamutpada in explaining dukkha? Elucidate means to overcome it. 13 — Philosophy
  24. 📅 2014 · 15 MHow does Nagarjuna explain the concept of sunyata?
  25. 📅 2014 · 10 MBring out the epistemological difference between Sautrantika and Vaibhasika school of Buddhism
  26. 📅 2013 · 10 MExplain the Buddhist notion of ‘Impermanence’ and show how the idea of Impermanence leads to theory of momentariness of reality
  27. 📅 2013 · 15 MComment Accepting Shunyavada makes one indifferent to the pursuit of dharma’. Examine in this context, Nagarjuna’s arguments for Shunyavada
  28. 📅 2012 · 15 MDo you agree with the view that in early Buddhism more importance was given to Four Noble Truths than to systematic metaphysics? Give reasons for your agreement or disagreement?
  29. 📅 2012 · 15 MExamine critically the statement that the doctrine of ‘ paticcasamuppada ’ was given only to explain the problem of sorrow and not to solve the problems of metaphysics.
  30. 📅 2012 · 15 MExplain the theory of illusion accepted by Buddhist. Is it consistent with their philosophy? Give reasons for your answer
  31. 📅 2012 · 15 MWrite a note on Nagarjuna’s contribution Madhyamica School of Buddhism
  32. 📅 2011 · 30 MIs the concept of Nirvana a logical necessity for the Buddhists? Give reasons for your answer
  33. 📅 2011 · 20 MWhat is the importance of the Buddhist concept of ‘Nama-Rupa in the exposition of the Doctrine of Dependent Origination?
  34. 📅 2011 · 15 MIs Sunyavada a philosophical doctrine? Evaluate
  35. 📅 2010 · 20 MHow does the Buddhist accept the possibility of rebirth in the absence of an eternal soul? Discuss
  36. 📅 2010 · 30 MBring out the metaphysical implication of the second noble truth of the Buddhism
  37. 📅 2008 · 20 MAn examination of Buddhist Nairatmyavada
  38. 📅 2008 · 60 MThe Madhyamika philosophy tries to adopt the mean between extreme affirmation and extreme negation.” Comment
  39. 📅 2007 · 20 MFour Arya Satya (Noble Truths) according to Buddhism. Short Notes
  40. 📅 2006 · 20 MDiscuss Pratityasamutpada in Buddhism. Short Notes
  41. 📅 2005 · 60 MState and discuss the Buddhist notion of Sunyata
  42. 📅 2004 · 20 MNature and kinds of Nirvana. Short Notes
  43. 📅 2004 · 60 MState and discuss the Buddhist notion of momentariness
  44. 📅 2003 · 20 MKsanikavada of Buddhism. Short Notes
  45. 📅 2002 · 20 MBuddhistic doctrine of Pratitya-samutpada. Short Notes
  46. 📅 2001 · 20M (Short Notes)Nagarjuna’s defense of Sunya-vada. Notes
  47. 📅 2000 · 20 MKsanikavada. (Short Notes)
  48. 📅 2000 · 20 MThe Buddhist arguments for the doctrine of dependent origination. (Short Notes)
  49. 📅 1999 · 60 MEvaluate Nagarjuna’s arguments for Sunyavada
  50. 📅 1999 · 60 MExamine arguments for the no-soul theory of the Buddhists
  51. 📅 1997 · 20M (Short Notes)Bodhisattva
  52. 📅 1997 · 60 MExamine the Buddhist arguments for the doctrine of momentariness
  53. 📅 1996 · 20M (Short Notes)Madhyamika notions of ParamarthaSatya and Samvrti Satya
  54. 📅 1995 · 20M (Short Notes)Pratitya Samutapada
  55. 📅 1994 · 60 MDiscuss the nature of Pratitya Samutpada and throw light on its importance in Buddhism
  56. 📅 1993 · 20M (Short Notes)The Mahayana Conception of Nirvana
  57. 📅 1993 · 60 MExplain the central philosophy of Madhyemika and discuss their logic of chatushkoti
  58. 📅 1991 · 60 MDiscuss critically the “Anatmavada of Buddhist Philosophy.”)
  59. 📅 1990 · 60 MDiscuss the Buddhist theory of Pratityasamutpada

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Theory of Categories; Theory of Appearance; Theory of Pramana; Self, Liberation; God; Proofs for the Existence of God; Theory of Causation; Atomistic Theory of Creation.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 78 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1990–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MAccording to Nyaya view of inference (Anumana), what are the characteristics that ascertain the validity of inferential sign (Hetu)? Discuss.
  2. 📅 2026 · 10 MCritically explain the nature of Samavaya (inherence) as propounded in Vaisesika philosophy.
  3. 📅 2026 · 15 MBring out the main points of contestation between Naiyayikas and Prabhakara Mimamsakas with reference to knowledge through words (Shabdabodha).
  4. 📅 2026 · 20 MPresent an account of Upamana as an instrument of knowledge (Pramana). How is Nyaya view of Upamana different from Mimamsa view? Discuss.
  5. 📅 2025 · 20 MPresent a detailed account of Gautama’s definition of Perception
  6. 📅 2025 · 10 MPresent an exposition of Nyaya- Vaisheshika’s theory of causation
  7. 📅 2025 · 10 MPresent an exposition of the debate between Naiyāyikas and Buddhists with reference to the notion of Pramana and Pramanaphala
  8. 📅 2025 · 10 MDelineate the main points of difference between the theory of intrinsic validation (svataḥ prāmāṇyavāda) and theory of extrinsic validation (parataḥ prāmāṇyavāda) in classical Indian philosophy
  9. 📅 2024 · 15 MOn what grounds do the Prabhakaras and the Naiyayikas reject memory as a source of knowledge? Discuss
  10. 📅 2024 · 20 MHow do I know that I know? Answer this question with reference to the Naiyayikas, the Bhatta Mīmāṃsakas and the Prābhākaras
  11. 📅 2024 · 10 MExplain the six reasons offered by the Naiyayikas to prove the existence of the self
  12. 📅 2024 · 10 MDo these two sentences “Air does not have heat” and “Air is not fire” refer to the same type of absence or abhāva, according to the Vaiśeşikas? Discuss
  13. 📅 2023 · 15 MWrite a note on Nyäya notion of Prägabhäva (prior non-existence). How does this notion help Naiyäyikas in defending their position on causation against the Samkhya view of causation? Critically discuss
  14. 📅 2023 · 20 MElucidate Naiyäyikas account of fallacies of the middle term in relation to five characteristics of valid middle term
  15. 📅 2023 · 15 MElucidate Naiyäyikas view of ordinary and extraordinary perception. Are they justified in accepting that universals are perceived? Discuss. 15 — Philosophy
  16. 📅 2023 · 10 MPresent an account of Vaisésika’s view of negation in the light of their statement “Negation always has a counter-positive and absolute negation is an impossibility.
  17. 📅 2022 · 15 MHow do Naiyayikas respond to Carvaka’s objections against inference (anumana) and establish inference as an independent means of knowledge? Critically discuss
  18. 📅 2022 · 10 MWhat is the ontological status of Samanya, according to Vaiesika Philosophy? Critically examine
  19. 📅 2021 · 10 MDoes the seed contain the tree? Discuss with reference to Nyaya-Vaisesika Philosophy
  20. 📅 2021 · 10 MExplain with reference to Nyaya Philosophy, the nature of sabda as the advice of apta (reliable person)
  21. 📅 2020 · 15 MExplain the concepts of ‘ Anyathāsiddha’ and ‘Ananyathāsiddha’ in the context of Asatkaryavada
  22. 📅 2020 · 15 MCritically evaluate the logical and metaphysical status of Visesa in the context of Vaisesika Philosophy
  23. 📅 2019 · 10 MJustify the status of Abhava as a category in Vaisesika philosophy
  24. 📅 2019 · 15 MWhat is the role of Jánalaksana pratyaksa in explaining Anyathakhyati?
  25. 📅 2019 · 20 MHow does Udayana prove the existence of God through Karyat, Ayojanat, Dhrutyadeh and Sruteh ? Discuss
  26. 📅 2018 · 10 MHow do the Vaisesika philosophers explain the difference of the relationships in the two cases- i. the brown color of the table and ii. the book on the table? Discuss
  27. 📅 2018 · 10 MHow do the Buddhists and the Nyaya philosophers explain our knowledge of ‘the absence of the jar on the table’? Answer in detail
  28. 📅 2018 · 20 MHow do the Naiyayikas prove the existence of God? Do the Yoga philosophers prove God in the same way? If yes, how? And if no, why? Give reasons for your answer
  29. 📅 2017 · 10 MWhat are the necessary characteristics of padartha according to vaisesika philosophy?
  30. 📅 2017 · 10 MExplain the conditions of valid hetu as propounded in Nyaya philosophy
  31. 📅 2017 · 20 MExplain the early Nyaya definition of perception. Why this definition is considered inadequate by the later Naiyayikas?
  32. 📅 2016 · 20 MHow do the Nyayayikas justify the introduction of ‘Abhava’ as an independent category? Explain
  33. 📅 2015 · 15 M‘Our knowledge is confined to gunas only. Examine this statement in the light of Vaisesika and Buddhist controversy
  34. 📅 2015 · 15 MIs anyathakhyativada an adequate explanation of error?
  35. 📅 2014 · 20 MBring out the philosophical implications of introducing extraordinary (aluakik) perception in Nyaya philosophy
  36. 📅 2013 · 10 MWhat is Samavaya? What are the grounds for accepting samavaya as distinct padartha?
  37. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MAnalyse the Nyaya concept of vyapti and examine its relation with tark
  38. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MExamine Nyaya-Vaisesika’s arguments for the existence of jivatma (soul)
  39. 📅 2011 · 15 MDo you find any inadequacy in the proofs for the existence of God as given by Naiyayikas? Give reasons in support of your answer
  40. 📅 2011 · 15 MWhy do the Vaisesikas treat Abhava as an independent category? Explain
  41. 📅 2010 · 30 MExplain the reason for introducing the notion of extraordinary perception in nyaya-epistemology
  42. 📅 2010 · 20 MCan qualities exist without substance? Substantiate your views.in the light of Nyaya-Buddhism controversy?
  43. 📅 2009 · 20 MHetvabhasa according to Nyaya
  44. 📅 2009 · 60 MCompare the viewpoints of Nyaya, Vaisesika, Mimansa and Buddhism on the issue of knowledge of abhava
  45. 📅 2008 · 20 MSamanya in Vaisesika. Short notes
  46. 📅 2008 · 60 MDiscuss critically Nyaya notion of Vyapti
  47. 📅 2007 · 60 MExplain fully Nyaya’s Asatkaryavada
  48. 📅 2006 · 60 MExplain Nyaya theory of Pramanas
  49. 📅 2005 · 20 MNatures and kinds of Pratyaksha according to Nyaya. Short Notes
  50. 📅 2005 · 60 MState and discuss the nature and kinds of Dravyas according to Vaisesikas
  51. 📅 2004 · 20 MNature and kind of anumanas according to Nyaya. Short Notes
  52. 📅 2003 · 20 MThe Nyaya-vaisesika view of Samanya. Short Notes
  53. 📅 2002 · 20 MNyaya view of Self. Short Notes
  54. 📅 2001 · 20M (Short Notes)Evaluate the Nyaya-Vaisesika theory of the nature of Vyapti
  55. 📅 2000 · 20 MThe Nyaya view of our knowledge of generalizations (Vyapti). (Short Notes)
  56. 📅 2000 · 60 MExamine the Vaisesika theory of causality (Asatkaryavada).
  57. 📅 1999 · 60 MExplain the Nyaya-Vaisesika theory of vyapti and vyapti-jnana
  58. 📅 1999 · 20M (Short Notes)The Nyaya theory of causality
  59. 📅 1999 · 60 MWhat is self-validity of knowledge? Examine the Purva-Mimamsaka arguments against the theory of extrinsic validity of Knowledge
  60. 📅 1998 · 60 MDiscuss the nature and structure of interference according to the Nyaya philosophy and explain the importance of the various steps of pararthanumana
  61. 📅 1998 · 60 MDefine perception according to Nyaya and explain clearly various types of perception
  62. 📅 1997 · 20M (Short Notes)(Padartha)
  63. 📅 1997 · 20M (Short Notes)Svatah-pramanya and paratah-pramanya
  64. 📅 1997 · 60 MEvaluate the Buddhist critique of the Nyaya theory of causation.)
  65. 📅 1996 · 20M (Short Notes)(Alaukika-Pratyaksa.)
  66. 📅 1996 · 60 MExamine the Nyaya arguments against the Advaitic view of the nature of Atman
  67. 📅 1996 · 60 MExamine the Nyaya theory of Pramana in the light of the Buddhist-criticism of it
  68. 📅 1995 · 60 MGive an account of the chief tenets of Vaisesika metaphysics
  69. 📅 1995 · 60 MWhat is meant by hetvabhasa in Indian logic? Is it formal or material? What according to Nyaya are its kinds? Explain.)
  70. 📅 1995 · 20M (Short Notes)Modes of perception according to Nyaya
  71. 📅 1995 · 60 MHow do we get valid knowledge according to Nyaya Philosophy. Explain the concept of ‘Anumana’ in this context.)
  72. 📅 1995 · 60 MWhat is the nature of ultimate substance according to vaisesika philosophy? Would it be right to say that the idea of the ultimate substance as given by the vaisesika thinkers is an — anticipation of modern scientific in this context? Discuss
  73. 📅 1994 · 60 MWhat is ‘Vyapti’? How is it known? Discuss with special reference of the Nyaya System.)
  74. 📅 1993 · 60 MHow is error explained in Nyaya and Advaita Philosophy? Which explanation is more reasonable and why?)
  75. 📅 1992 · 60 MExplain and critically examine the nature, conditions and validity of pratyaksa pramana according to the Nyaya and Vijnanavada schools.)
  76. 📅 1991 · 60 MExplain the conditions that are to be fulfilled for construing the meaning and describe different types of secondary meaning.)
  77. 📅 1991 · 60 MAnalyze the definition of Perception and explain with examples the classification of Perception according to Nyaya
  78. 📅 1990 · 60 MWhat is Universal relation (Vyapti) according to the Nyaya? How is it ascertained?

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Prakrti; Purusa; Causation; Liberation.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 42 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1992–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MIs Purusa one or many? Explain and examine the Samkhya position in this context.
  2. 📅 2026 · 20 MA mango tree is grown out of a mango seed.” How do the Samkhya philosophers explain this process through their theory of causation by rejecting their rival perspectives?
  3. 📅 2025 · 20 MWhy does Shankara consider Sāṁkhya Philosophy as his chief opponent (Pradhāna malla)? Examine his arguments against Sāṁkhya Philosophy
  4. 📅 2023 · 10 MIf Purusha and Prakrti are two completely independent realities, then no relation between the two is possible.” In the light of this statement make a brief presentation of Sankara’s criticism of Samkhya dualism
  5. 📅 2022 · 10 MExamine and evaluate the proofs given by Samkhya philosophy to prove the existence of Purusa
  6. 📅 2021 · 15 MExplain the Samkhya’s view on three gunas ( guna-trayas ) and their modifications
  7. 📅 2020 · 20 MA mango tree is grown out of a mango seed.” How will Samkhya system explain this process through their theory of causation by rejecting their rival perspectives?
  8. 📅 2019 · 15 MWhich Sankhya proof for the existence of Prakrti actually shows that there can be only one Prakrti? Justify your answer
  9. 📅 2019 · 10 MCritically discuss the metaphysical status of a Jiva and a Purusa according to Sankhya philosophy
  10. 📅 2018 · 10 MIs Purusa one or many? Explain the Samkhya position in this regard and give arguments in support of your answer
  11. 📅 2018 · 15 MHow do the Advaita Vedantins react to the Prakrti-parinamavada of the Samkhya philosophy? How do the Samkhyas defend their own position in this regard Discuss
  12. 📅 2017 · 15 MGiven the theory of causation, is it possible for Samkhya to explain the presence of consciousness in the world? Discuss
  13. 📅 2016 · 10 MCritically examine the role of ‘Prakriti’ in the process of evolution
  14. 📅 2015 · 10 MWrite Short note on Satkaryavada
  15. 📅 2015 · 15 MState and examine Samkhya proofs for the existence of Purusa
  16. 📅 2014 · 15 MExamine the Samkhya view about liberation that “self is neither bound nor liberates, nor transmigrate.
  17. 📅 2014 · 20 MHow is theory of causation central to the theory of reality in classical Indian tradition.? Discuss
  18. 📅 2014 · 10 MAre the arguments given in favour of existence of Prakriti adequate in Samkhya’s philosophy? Discuss
  19. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MEvaluate relation ‘if any’ between prakriti and purusha
  20. 📅 2012 · 15 MHow Samkhya theory of causation is different from that of Nyaya theory of causation? Explain
  21. 📅 2011 · 30 MExamine Sankhya’s arguments for Bahupurusavada (Plurality of Purusa)
  22. 📅 2010 · 15 MDoes the effect pre-exist in the cause? Discuss
  23. 📅 2009 · 60 MCompare Aristotle’s view regarding causation with that of the Samkhya School’s view of Causation. 14 — Philosophy
  24. 📅 2007 · 60 MExplain the Samkhya doctrine of three gunas
  25. 📅 2006 · 60 MCritically discuss the Samkhya theory of Causation
  26. 📅 2005 · 20 MSamkhya conception of Purusha. Short notes
  27. 📅 2003 · 20 MThe Samkhya doctrine of liberation. Short Notes
  28. 📅 2002 · 20 MSamkhya theory of Evolution of Prakriti. Short Notes,
  29. 📅 2001 · 20M (Short Notes)Evaluate the Samkhya justification for their theory of Purusa
  30. 📅 2000 · 10 MPresent an account of evolution of Prakriti as propounded in Sāṁkhya karika. In this context, also explain the difference between buddhi, mahat and ahamkara. (2024/10+10)
  31. 📅 2000 · 20 MThe Samkhya arguments for the existence of Purusa. (Short Notes)
  32. 📅 1999 · 20M (Short Notes)The Samkhya arguments for the existence of prakrti
  33. 📅 1999 · 60 MExplain the Satkarya theory of the Samkhya philosophy and evaluate it in the light of the Nyaya theory of causation
  34. 📅 1998 · 20M (Short Notes)(Doctrine of plurality of purusas.)
  35. 📅 1998 · 60 MExplain Samkhya view of Prakriti and trace the evolution of world from it
  36. 📅 1997 · 60 M(Explain the nature of prakrti and its evolution according to the Samkya system
  37. 📅 1996 · 60 MExplain the Samkhya conception of Prakrti. Discuss the role it plays in the Samkhya metaphysics.)
  38. 📅 1994 · 20M (Short Notes)The idea of Liberation (Moksha) in the Samkhya Philosophy
  39. 📅 1994 · 60 MDiscuss the nature of Purusa according to Samkhya and Explain and examine the arguments given to prove the existence of purusa and its plurality.)
  40. 📅 1993 · 60 M(Explain and examine the Samkhya arguments for the existence of Prakriti and Purusha.)
  41. 📅 1992 · 20M (Short Notes)(There is no need for God in Samkhya and Yoga systems, as these are fully-consistent even without the idea of God.)
  42. 📅 1992 · 60 MCritically examine the nature and the relation between Purush and Prakriti in the Samkhya Philosophy

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Citta; Cittavrtti; Klesas; Samadhi; Kaivalya.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 20 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MExplain, as per Yoga philosophy, the nature of Samadhi with special reference to the difference between Samprajnata Samadhi and Asamprajnata Samadhi.
  2. 📅 2025 · 15 MExplain the nature of God and its role in Kaivalya in yoga philosophy
  3. 📅 2024 · 15 MSo long as there are changes and modifications in citta, the self is reflected therein, and, in the absence of discriminative knowledge, identifies itself with them.” Present an appraisal of Yoga Soteriology in the light of the above statement
  4. 📅 2023 · 15 MExplain Chitta and its modifications in the philosophy of Yoga. Why does Yoga philosophy prescribe cessation of modifications of Chitta? Give reasons in support of your answer
  5. 📅 2022 · 10 MDiscuss the nature and different stages of Samadhi as per Patanjali yoga and examine the role of Isvara in it
  6. 📅 2021 · 20 MExplain, with reference to Yoga Philosophy, the nature of klesas . How does the removal of these lead to kaivalya ?
  7. 📅 2020 · 10 MExplain the difference between Samprajñāta Samadhi and Asamprajñāta Samadhi
  8. 📅 2019 · 15 MHow would Yoga philosophy comprehend the Citta-levels of a Scientist, a God realized Devotee and a Self-realized Yogi? Justify your answer
  9. 📅 2018 · 20 MHow do the Naiyayikas prove the existence of God? Do the Yoga philosophers prove God in the same way? If yes, how? And if no, why? Give reasons for your answer
  10. 📅 2017 · 10 MWhat is meant by ‘yogascittavrittinirodha’? Explain Cittavritti and its effects according to yoga philosophy
  11. 📅 2016 · 15 MWhat are Klesha’s? How can these be eliminated? Explain
  12. 📅 2015 · 20 MWhat is bondage according to Yoga philosophy? Explain the method of attaining Kaivelya in Patanjali’s Yogasutra
  13. 📅 2014 · 15 MExplain the nature and levels of samprajnata Samadhi. How does each level lead more towards to asamprajnata Samadhi?
  14. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MGive a critical account of the accept of cittavritti in Yoga philosophy
  15. 📅 2013 · 10 MExplain the possibility of Jivanmukti. Critically compare the Yoga account of kaivelya
  16. 📅 2012 · 15 MCritically evaluate the statement that Yoga sutra emphasis more on praxis(action) than on theory (reflection)
  17. 📅 2012 · 15 MGive your critical comments on the assertion that Yoga school broadly accepts Samkhya ontology
  18. 📅 2011 · 30 MYoga is more than a psycho-physical exercise”. Analyse this statement and support your conclusion with arguments
  19. 📅 2009 · 60 MCompare Patanjali’s Yoga with integral Yoga expounded by Aurobindo, bringing out clearly points of similarity and dissimilarity
  20. 📅 2000 · 20 MPatanjali’s definition of Yoga as Cittavrttinirodha. (Short Notes)

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Theory of Knowledge.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 33 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1996–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MBring out the main points of contestation between Naiyayikas and Prabhakara Mimamsakas with reference to knowledge through words (Shabdabodha).
  2. 📅 2026 · 20 MCritically explain the arguments presented by the Akhyativadins for explaining erroneous cognition. Evaluate the arguments against Akhyativadins by the Anyathakhyativadins.
  3. 📅 2026 · 20 MPresent an account of Upamana as an instrument of knowledge (Pramana). How is Nyaya view of Upamana different from Mimamsa view? Discuss.
  4. 📅 2025 · 15 MDiscuss the debate between the Bhatta and the Prabhakara mīmāṃsakas with reference to the nature of Non-existence (Abhava) and its knowledge
  5. 📅 2025 · 10 MDelineate the main points of difference between the theory of intrinsic validation (svataḥ prāmāṇyavāda) and theory of extrinsic validation (parataḥ prāmāṇyavāda) in classical Indian philosophy
  6. 📅 2024 · 15 MOn what grounds do the Prabhakaras and the Naiyayikas reject memory as a source of knowledge? Discuss. 16 — Philosophy
  7. 📅 2024 · 15 MA candidate who is never seen to be studying during the day-time secures a high position in a competitive exam.” How would the Bhatta Mimämsäkas and the Naiyayikas explain the success of this candidate? Discuss
  8. 📅 2024 · 20 MHow do I know that I know? Answer this question with reference to the Naiyayikas, the Bhatta Mimämsäkas and the Prābhākaras
  9. 📅 2024 · 10 MHow does Bhatta’s view of nature of word-meaning and sentential-meaning differ from Prābhākara’s view? Critically discuss
  10. 📅 2023 · 15 MDo words refer to universals or particulars or both? Present an exposition of Nyäya and Mimamsa position with regard to above question along with suitable examples
  11. 📅 2023 · 15 MPresent Bhatta’s view of anupalabdhi (non-cognition) as a valid means of knowledge
  12. 📅 2022 · 20 MIn-spite of accepting the intrinsic validity of knowledge, why and how Prabhakar and Kumarila differ in their interpretation of erroneous cognition? Discuss
  13. 📅 2022 · 15 MHow do Mimansakas refute the Nyaya view that Implication (arthapatti) is reducible to Inference (anumana) and establish Implication as an independent means of valid knowledge (pramana)? Critically discuss
  14. 📅 2021 · 15 MWhat, according to Mimisakas, is the ontological status of abhava (absence) and how does one know it? Explain and examine
  15. 📅 2020 · 10 MWhy is memory not a valid knowledge according to Mimansa?
  16. 📅 2019 · 10 MHow does Mimamsa establish the authority of Vedic knowledge?
  17. 📅 2018 · 20 MDoes the admission of Svayamprakashvada necessarily lead to the admission of Svatahpramanyavada? Discuss after the Naiyayikas, the Mimamsakas and the Advaita Vedantins
  18. 📅 2017 · 15 MExplain the theory of validity of knowledge (pramanyavada) according to mimamsa. How do they criticize the Nyaya theory of validity?
  19. 📅 2016 · 15 MWhat is the logical necessity for the Mimamsas to treat ‘a rthapatti ” as an independent Pramana? Discuss
  20. 📅 2015 · 20 MElaborate Nyaya-Mimamsa debate on Pramanyavada
  21. 📅 2014 · 15 MHow is an absence of an object known according to Naiyayikas and Mimamsakas? Discuss
  22. 📅 2014 · 10 MCan arthapatti (postulation) be reduced to Anumana (inference)? Discuss it from Mimamsa point of view
  23. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MEvaluate Prabhakar Mimamsaka’s arguments for accepting sruti as pramana
  24. 📅 2013 · 10 MHow is the pramanya (validity/truth) of a statement determined? Examine in this context the theory paratah pramanyavada
  25. 📅 2012 · 15 MWhy does Mimamsa give utmost importance to SHABDA PRAMANA the verbal testimony? Is it anything to do with Vedas 7 Give your comments
  26. 📅 2012 · 15 MDiscuss the views of Mimamsa and Nyaya on the theory of Pramanyavada . Which of them do find adequate? Give reasons for your answer
  27. 📅 2011 · 20 MHow do Mimamsakas defend Svatah Pramanyavada against the Nalyayika criticism? Discuss
  28. 📅 2008 · 20 MWrite Short note on Anupalabdhi as a pramana
  29. 📅 2002 · 60 MWhat is Svatahprmanyavada according in Mimansakas? Is their explanation of error consistent with it? Discuss fully
  30. 📅 2001 · 20M (Short Notes)Kumarila Bhatta’s explanation of perceptual error. Notes
  31. 📅 2000 · 20 MKumarila’s concept of Arthapatti as an independent pramana.
  32. 📅 1999 · 60 MWhat is self-validity of knowledge? Examine the Purva-Mimamsaka arguments against the theory of extrinsic validity of knowledge.)
  33. 📅 1996 · 60 MWhile describing the chief tenets of the Mimamsa metaphysics, critically consider its view in respect of the reality of the phenomenal world

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Brahman; Isvara; Atman; Jiva; Jagat; Maya; Avidya; Adhyasa; Moksa; Aprthaksiddhi; Pancavidhabheda.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 72 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1990–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MDo you agree with Nimbarka’s explanation of the nature of God, Souls and Matter? Justify your answer.
  2. 📅 2026 · 15 MCritically explain Ramanuja’s conception of Brahman with special reference to the difficulties in explaining the relation of Brahman to Spirit (Cit) and Matter (Acit).
  3. 📅 2026 · 15 MWhy does the Dualistic School of Vedanta consider that differences (Bhedas) have separate existence and constitute the unique nature of things? Answer with reference to the theory of fivefold differences (Panca-bheda).
  4. 📅 2025 · 20 MDiscuss the idea of Bimba-pratibimbavāda as presented in Vedanta philosophy along with its soteriological significance
  5. 📅 2025 · 20 MWhy does Shankara consider Sāṁkhya Philosophy as his chief opponent (Pradhāna malla)? Examine his arguments against Sāṁkhya Philosophy
  6. 📅 2025 · 20 MHow is Brahman conceptualised in Advaita philosophy as both Nimitta and Upādāna Karana of the World? Discuss with suitable examples
  7. 📅 2025 · 10 MExamine Ramanuja’s seven objections against Mayavāda of Advaita
  8. 📅 2024 · 10 MIn Viśiştadvaita philosophy, the relationship between God and the world is parallel to that between an individual self and its body.” Critically discuss
  9. 📅 2023 · 10 MIf Purusha and Prakrti are two completely independent realities, then no relation between the two is possible.” In the light of this statement make a brief presentation of Sankara’s criticism of Samkhya dualism
  10. 📅 2023 · 15 MLiberation is defined by Advaita Vedäntins as ‘attainment of that which is already attained’. How does Sankara illustrate this statement? Discuss with your own comments
  11. 📅 2023 · 20 MDiscuss Rämänuja’s criticism of Sankara’s conception of Brahman and lsvara (God)
  12. 📅 2023 · 10 MWhat is Advaitin interpretation of the great sentence (mahäväkya) ‘Thou art that’ ( tat tvam asi )? Briefly discuss
  13. 📅 2022 · 15 MHow does the concept of Liberation (Moksa) of Madhväcärya differ from that of Rämänujäcärya ? Explain. 17 — Philosophy
  14. 📅 2022 · 20 M‘Brahma satyam jaganmithyä, jivo Brahmaiva näparah’ . In the light of this statement explain’ the ontological status of Isvara , Jiva and Saksi as elucidated in Advaita Vedänta
  15. 📅 2022 · 10 MDo you agree with the view that ‘Vivartavada is the logical development of Parinamavada ‘ ? Give reasons in support of your answer
  16. 📅 2021 · 20 MHow do the advocates of anirvacaniya-khyati refute the position of the Naiyayikan and establish the position of Advaitins regarding the problem of error? Critically discuss
  17. 📅 2021 · 15 MCompare and contrast the views of Sankara and Ramanuja regarding the status of the world
  18. 📅 2021 · 15 MExplain the status of jiva and jagat in the philosophy of Madhvacārya
  19. 📅 2020 · 10 MPoint out the significance of the five-fold differences in the Dualistic School of Vedanta
  20. 📅 2020 · 10 MDiscuss the nature and types of matter according to Nimbarka
  21. 📅 2020 · 15 MDiscuss the nature and relationship of Jiva and Jiva-Saksi according to non-dualism
  22. 📅 2019 · 20 MExplain the logical consequences of the metaphysical absolutism of Advaitism
  23. 📅 2018 · 10 MWhat is the difference between the indescribability ( Anirvacantyata) of Brahman and the indescribability ( Anirvacantyata ) of Maya in the Advaita Vedanta system? Discuss
  24. 📅 2018 · 20 MGive a comparative exposition of the concept of Moksa as found in the systems of Visistadvaita , Dvaita , Suddhadvaita and Acintyabhedabheda
  25. 📅 2018 · 15 MHow do the Advaita Vedantins react to the Prakrti-parinamavada of the Samkhya philosophy? How do the Samkhyas defend their own position in this regard Discuss
  26. 📅 2018 · 15 MHow does Ramanuja refute the doctrine of Maya as propounded by Sankara? Why is Maya needed by both Ramânuja and Sankara to establish their doctrines? Discuss
  27. 📅 2018 · 20 MDoes the admission of Svayamprakaiavada necessarily lead to the admission of Svatahpramanyavada ? Discuss after the Naiyayikas, the Mimamsakas and the Advaita Vedantins
  28. 📅 2017 · 15 MDistinguish between vivartavada and parinamvada with reference to causation and explain how in the light of these theories Sankara and Ramanuja differ on the status of the world
  29. 📅 2017 · 15 MExplain Ramanuja’s conception of God and examine the difficulties he faced in explaining the relation of God to matter and spirits
  30. 📅 2016 · 10 MEvaluate Sankara’s position on Isvara
  31. 📅 2015 · 10 MWrite short note on Pancavidhbheda
  32. 📅 2015 · 20 MCompare and contrast the notion of Brahman in Sankar and Ramanuja
  33. 📅 2014 · 20 MHow does nature of Brahman differ in the philosophy of Shankar, Ramanuja and (Madhva)? Discuss critically
  34. 📅 2014 · 10 MBring out the significance of the concept of adhyasa in Sankara’s philosophy to develop his metaphysics
  35. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MDescribe the five types of differences (Panchvidbheda). Bring out their philosophical significance for Madhva’s theory
  36. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MHow can Isvara (God) be distinguished from Brahman (Absolute)? Which of the two concepts are philosophically better?
  37. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MDistinguish between svarup lakshan and tatastha lakshan of Brahman after Sankara
  38. 📅 2013 · 12.5 MEvaluate Ramanuja’s critique of Sankara’s theory of maya
  39. 📅 2012 · 15 MDo you agree with Ramanuja’s view that the nature of Brahman is qualified? Give reasons
  40. 📅 2012 · 15 MWrite a note on Shankara’s Vivartavada and discuss its implications
  41. 📅 2012 · 15 MExplain why avidya and maya are considered anirvachniya (indescribable) in advaita vada?
  42. 📅 2012 · 15 MExplain the notion of ego or ahankara and its role in the doctrine of Vedanta
  43. 📅 2010 · 30 MBoth Shankara and Ramanuja are right in their affirmation, but wrong in their denial.” Critically evaluate
  44. 📅 2010 · 15 MIs Shankara’s concept of adhyasa logical or psychological? Discuss
  45. 📅 2010 · 15 MHow is Ramanuja’s concept of dharmabhutajnana different from Shankar’s concept of swarupajnana? Explain
  46. 📅 2008 · 60 MExplain Sankara’s view on the status of Jagat and Ramanuja’s response to it
  47. 📅 2007 · 60 MState and explain the difference between Saguna and Nirguna Brahman
  48. 📅 2006 · 20 MExamine Shankara’s Mayavada. Short Notes
  49. 📅 2006 · 60 MDiscuss the Metaphysics of Acharya Ramanuja
  50. 📅 2005 · 20 MThe nature of Brahman, Jiva and Jagat according Madhava. Short Notes
  51. 📅 2005 · 60 MElucidate Shankara’s conception of Adhyasa
  52. 📅 2004 · 60 MWhy is Ramanuja’s philosophy called Visistadvaita? Discuss fully
  53. 📅 2004 · 20 MMadhava’s conception of moksha. Notes
  54. 📅 2003 · 20 MRamanuja criticism of Advaita concept of maya. Short Notes
  55. 📅 2003 · 60 MDescribe Sankara’s explanation of jiva. Is the justification offered rational? Explain
  56. 📅 2002 · 20 MRamanuja’s refutation of Mayavada. Short Notes
  57. 📅 2001 · 20M (Short Notes)Evaluate Sankara’s analysis of moksha in the light of Ramanuja’s arguments. 18 — Philosophy
  58. 📅 2000 · 60 MSankara’s view on the nature and reality of individual souls (Jivas).
  59. 📅 2000 · 60 MExplain critically the objections raised by Ramanuja against Sankara’s concept of Maya.
  60. 📅 2000 · 60 MState and examine the doctrine of Pancabheda in the Dvaita system of Vedanta.
  61. 📅 1999 · 60 M(Explain Samkara’s Conception of Moksha. What, in his view, is the relation of karma and Jnana to Moksha? Justify your answer
  62. 📅 1998 · 60 MGive a critical account of Madhva Vedanta
  63. 📅 1998 · 60 MExplain the nature of Brahman according to Ramanuja and discuss the relationship of Brahman with Jiva
  64. 📅 1996 · 60 MGive an account of the nature of Brahman according to Ramanuja. How does he differ from Samkara?
  65. 📅 1996 · 20M (Short Notes)Samkara’s doctrine of Maya.)
  66. 📅 1995 · 60 MIt is sometimes said that the difference between Madhyamika School of Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta is only superficial and verbal. Do you agree with this view? Compare in this context the chief episte-mological and metaphysical tenets of the madhyamika school and of Advaita Vedanta
  67. 📅 1994 · 60 MWhat according to Ramanuja is the cause of the material world? Consider in this connection his critique of the Advaita theory of Maya
  68. 📅 1993 · 60 MHow is error explained in Nyaya and Advaita Philosophy? Which explanation is more reasonable and why?
  69. 📅 1992 · 60 MBring out the main points of difference between the philosophies of Samkara and Ramanuja
  70. 📅 1992 · 20M (Short Notes)Mayavada of Advaita is only a re-statement of Sunyavada of the Madhyamika System with minor modifications
  71. 📅 1991 · 60 MHow do Advaita Vedanta and Visistadvaita Vedanta explain the relation between Brahman and Jiva? Analyze the ontological implications of their theories of this relationship.)
  72. 📅 1990 · 60 MExplain and evaluate the view of Samkara that the Brahman must be free from all the differences (bheda)

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Evolution, Involution; Integral Yoga.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 18 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MExplain the basic characteristics of Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga for the realization of supramental consciousness through triple transformation.
  2. 📅 2025 · 15 MBoth Ascetic and materialist are partial in their negation of each other. Explain Sri Aurobindo’s integral philosophy in the light of the above statement
  3. 📅 2024 · 15 M’’Our Yoga is a double movement of ascent and descent.” Discuss the above statement in the context of Sri Aurobindo’s conception of Integral Yoga
  4. 📅 2023 · 10 MExplain the nature and role of Supermind in evolution as per Aurobindo’s philosophy
  5. 📅 2021 · 15 MExplain and evaluate the role of integral yoga in the process of triple transformation for individual evolution as expounded by Sri Aurobindo
  6. 📅 2021 · 20 MAccording to Sri Aurobindo, ‘the awakening of the psychic being and its gradual prominence over all other parts of the being in the first step in the conscious evolution of man’. Explain and examine
  7. 📅 2020 · 20 MWhat does Aurobindo mean by “life divine as a possibility and inevitability?
  8. 📅 2019 · 15 MExplain the unique position of the Supermind in the metaphysical scheme of Aurobindo’s philosophy
  9. 📅 2018 · 15 MWhat is Evolution according to Sri Aurobindo? Describe the process of triple transformation and the nature of gnostic being in his philosophy
  10. 📅 2017 · 15 MHow does Sri Aurobindo’s integral yoga help in the realization of supramental consciousness? Discuss
  11. 📅 2016 · 20 MDiscuss Aurobindo’s views on ‘Evolution’ and ‘Involution’. How do they differ from traditional Yoga philosophy?
  12. 📅 2015 · 10 MSri Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga
  13. 📅 2014 · 15 MHow is Sri Aurobindo’s integral yoga is an advancement over Patanjali’s yoga? Discuss
  14. 📅 2013 · 10 MExplain Sri Aurobindo’s conception of cosmic salvation through spiritual salvation of individual
  15. 📅 2012 · 15 M‘Involution is the precondition of Evolution’. Explain the role of involution in the world process
  16. 📅 2010 · 15 MHow are evolution and involution related in Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy?
  17. 📅 2008 · 20 MSri Aurobindo’s conception of evolution and involution. 19 — Philosophy
  18. 📅 2000 · 20 MSri Aurobindo on the Supermind. (Short Notes)

Paper 2 — Section A: Socio-Political Philosophy (Units 01 to 10)

Paper 2 Section A evaluates fundamental political concepts, state authority, justice theories, forms of government, social progress, and structural injustices (gender and caste discrimination). Click each unit below to review the topic-wise PYQs:

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Social and Political Ideals: Equality, Justice, Liberty.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 44 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1997–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MWhy does Rawls consider it necessary that the two principles of justice be applied in lexical order? Explain.
  2. 📅 2026 · 15 MNegative liberty seems to embody the idea of ultimate personal freedom, whereas positive liberty enables individuals to achieve their full potential. Discuss.
  3. 📅 2025 · 20 MHow are both equality and liberty inadequate as social and political ideals without justice? Discuss
  4. 📅 2025 · 10 MDiscuss the salient features of equality according to J.S. Mill
  5. 📅 2024 · 15 MCritically evaluate the concepts of liberty and equality as political ideals
  6. 📅 2024 · 10 MBriefly discuss Plato’s concept of justice
  7. 📅 2024 · 10 MPresent a brief account of origin and development of Social Contract Theory
  8. 📅 2023 · 10 MWhat is meant by justice as fairness? Explain Rawls’ theory of justice
  9. 📅 2022 · 15 MExplain the difference between the notion of equity and equality with reference to Marxian philosophy
  10. 📅 2022 · 10 MComplete liberty may lead to inequality while order and restrictions imply a necessary loss of freedom.” Critically discuss
  11. 📅 2021 · 10 MDiscuss critically the distributive theory of justice as propounded by R. Nozick
  12. 📅 2021 · 10 MHow does Rousseau distinguish between natural and artificial inequality? Explain
  13. 📅 2021 · 20 MDiscuss whether Amartya Sen’s idea of justice is an improvement upon Rawl’s theory of justice
  14. 📅 2020 · 10 MIs the concept of liberty realizable in the modern technological society? Explain
  15. 📅 2019 · 10 MHow far do you think John Rawls is continuing with Plato’s concept of justice?
  16. 📅 2019 · 15 MDoes liberty put limitations to equality? Discuss
  17. 📅 2018 · 20 MHow far can liberty and equality be considered as distinctive features of democracy? Discuss
  18. 📅 2017 · 10 MDiscuss the different aspects of the fundamental distinction between democratic equality and the Marxian notion of equality
  19. 📅 2017 · 15 MHow far do Marx, Gandhi and Amartya Sen agree and disagree on the concept of justice in the Indian democracy? Discuss
  20. 📅 2016 · 10 MA well-ordered society, according to Rawls, is effectively regulated by a public conception of justice. Do you agree? Give reasons
  21. 📅 2016 · 15 MIs liberty a positive and equal opportunity of self-realization? Discuss
  22. 📅 2015 · 10 MEquality does not mean treating everyone equal”. Discuss
  23. 📅 2015 · 15 MEquality will be of no value without fraternity and liberty Discuss
  24. 📅 2014 · 15 MDiscuss Amartya Sen’s principle of Niti as critique of Nyaya
  25. 📅 2013 · 15 MExplain evaluate Aristotle’s concept of justice
  26. 📅 2013 · 15 MWhat is meant by ‘justice’ as fairness? Explain the basic tenets of Rawls’ theory of justice
  27. 📅 2013 · 20 MHow Amartya Sen’s approach to justice is different from that of Rawls?
  28. 📅 2011 · 10 MThe Fundamental idea of the conception of justice is fairness. Discuss
  29. 📅 2011 · 20 MCan issue relating to gender discrimination be me by the conception of justice as fairness? Discuss
  30. 📅 2011 · 20 MWhich principle of justice can, in your view, be most helpful in addressing the issues related to caste discrimination and why?
  31. 📅 2010 · 15 MDiscuss the nature of relationship between liberty and equality
  32. 📅 2010 · 20 MWhich type of individual according to you can contribute more to strengthen the state – a liberalist or a socialist?
  33. 📅 2009 · 30 MComment on the relationship between equality and freedom
  34. 📅 2008 · 20 MJustice is treating equals as equals and unequals as unequals.” Discuss
  35. 📅 2007 · 20 MFree market economy is the only way to attain social justice
  36. 📅 2007 · 20 MNegative freedom can perhaps ensure freedom to choose, but without any credible assurance for its actual fulfillment
  37. 📅 2007 · 60 MAccording to some liberal political thinkers, social and economic inequalities can be justified only if they work to the advantage of the least advantaged members of the society. Is this view consistent with the liberalism’s cardinal advocacy of individual freedom? Discuss
  38. 📅 2004 · 20 MCritically examine – “Unless the ideal of equality is embedded within a broader theory of politics and society, it can be given no specific content.
  39. 📅 2004 · 60 MDespite their self-proclaimed commitment to the ideal of individual of freedom, this ideal is one of the most contentious issues between socialism and liberalism. Why? Discuss
  40. 📅 2003 · 20 MCritically examine – “Freedom as liberation from samsara.
  41. 📅 2002 · 20 MCritically examine – “The concept of equality as a political ideal.” 20 — Philosophy
  42. 📅 2000 · 20 MJ.S. Mill on Liberty. (Short Notes)
  43. 📅 1998 · 60 MThe notion of justice is usually divided into distributive and retributive justice. Explain the distinction and critically discuss the grounds on which the distinction is made
  44. 📅 1997 · 20M (Short Notes)Write Critical notes on Liberty

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Sovereignty: Austin, Bodin, Laski, Kautilya.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 25 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 20 MEvaluate the importance of Kautilya’s theory of Rajamandala in the context of sovereignty.
  2. 📅 2026 · 15 MExplain the contrast between the monistic and pluralistic approaches to sovereignty.
  3. 📅 2025 · 15 MThere is no permanent friend or permanent enemy.” Discuss this statement in the light of Kautilya’s view on Sovereignty
  4. 📅 2024 · 15 MWhat insights does the Arthaśāstra offer with regard to the concept of sovereignty? Does it have any relevance in the modern times? Critically discuss
  5. 📅 2023 · 20 MElucidate why the absolute nature of sovereignty was rejected by Laski
  6. 📅 2022 · 20 MWhat arguments does Bodin present to contend that sovereignty must be absolute, perpetual and undivided? Is Bodin’s conception of sovereignty compatible with the social and political ideals of equality, justice and liberty? Critically discuss
  7. 📅 2021 · 10 MHow is Austin’s theory of sovereignty compatible with democracy? Discuss
  8. 📅 2021 · 15 MDiscuss Kautilya’s contribution regarding the concept of sovereignty. Is it applicable in a democratic form of government? Explain
  9. 📅 2020 · 10 MExplain the importance of Bodin’s theory of sovereignty
  10. 📅 2020 · 15 MState and explain the relevance of the doctrine of sovereignty in times of globalization
  11. 📅 2019 · 20 MDiscuss how far Austin’s concept of sovereignty goes along with Kautilya’s concept of sovereignty
  12. 📅 2018 · 15 MCritically evaluate Laski’s view on sovereignty as a satisfactory position in political theory
  13. 📅 2018 · 10 MDiscuss Kautilya’s concept of sovereignty in the light of Dandaniti’
  14. 📅 2017 · 15 MDiscuss whether Kautilya’s concept of sovereignty turns into a despotic rule. How far is it comparable to Bodin’s concept? Discuss
  15. 📅 2016 · 10 MSovereignty is the supreme power over citizens and subjects, unrestrained by law.” Discuss
  16. 📅 2016 · 15 MOn what grounds does Laski criticize Austin’s concept of sovereignty?
  17. 📅 2015 · 10 MExplain Harold Laski’s critique of sovereignty
  18. 📅 2014 · 10 MExplain the significance of John Austin’s theory of sovereignty. How does it differ from that of Hobbes?
  19. 📅 2012 · 12 MWho amongst Austin, Bodin and Laski is the most consistent in his analysis of the concept of sovereignty?
  20. 📅 2011 · 15 MCompare and contrast Kautilya’s ‘ Saptanga’ Theory of the Sovereign State with Bodin’s theory of Sovereignty
  21. 📅 2010 · 20 MDoes Bodin’s theory of sovereignty float in the air? Critically examine
  22. 📅 2009 · 20 MCompare Bodin’s and Austin’s views on sovereignty
  23. 📅 2008 · 20 MCritically examine Kautilya’s saptang theory of sovereign state
  24. 📅 2006 · 60 MExplain the notion of sovereignty. Critically consider in this context the claim that sovereignty is illimitable and logically indivisible
  25. 📅 2000 · 60 MCritically examine John Austin’s monistic theory of sovereignty.

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Individual and State: Rights; Duties and Accountability.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 26 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1997–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MIs Plato’s vision of an ideal state compatible with the rights and liberties of individual citizens? Discuss.
  2. 📅 2025 · 15 MDuties are of the nature of obligation while Rights are of the nature of entitlement. Therefore there is no necessary connection between the two” Do you agree with this statement? Give reasons and justification for your answer
  3. 📅 2024 · 20 MDo you agree with the view that Aristotle was more successful than Plato in steering a middle course between ‘Statism’ and ‘individualism’? Discuss with arguments
  4. 📅 2023 · 15 MDo you agree that duty and accountability must be given priority over rights for the better functioning of a State? Justify your answer
  5. 📅 2022 · 15 MDoes idea of unconditional rights necessarily lead to anarchy? Critically examine
  6. 📅 2021 · 15 MEvaluate whether the social contract theory adequately addresses the different issues of human rights
  7. 📅 2020 · 15 MIs Indian tradition antagonistic to Individual Rights? Consider it by taking recourse to the doctrine of Human Rights
  8. 📅 2019 · 20 MDo rights make citizens accountable to the state? Argue in the context of the present Indian scenario
  9. 📅 2018 · 20 MHuman rights and human dignity would no longer be the product of a particular culture, rather a common human aspiration for an ideal world.” Discuss
  10. 📅 2017 · 10 MOut of rights and duties which one is prior to the other? Discuss in the context of accountability
  11. 📅 2016 · 10 MEvaluate the statement that all human beings have certain unalienable rights
  12. 📅 2016 · 20 MThe right of free speech implies the genuine-independence judiciary and its complete separation from the executive.” Evaluate
  13. 📅 2015 · 10 MHow are individual and group rights reconciled in democracy? Explain
  14. 📅 2014 · 20 M“All human rights are centered on individual rights.” Discuss
  15. 📅 2013 · 10 MWhat is the significance of including duties of citizens in the Indian constitution?
  16. 📅 2012 · 12 MCan we dissociate rights of citizens from their duties
  17. 📅 2011 · 20 MCan citizens have rights without duties? Discuss with examples
  18. 📅 2011 · 20 MCan the conception of ‘rights’ of citizens be sustained in a society characterized by caste discrimination? Discuss
  19. 📅 2010 · 15 MDoes accountability necessarily contribute to moral perfection? Offer your views
  20. 📅 2009 · 20 MRights and duties are complementary.” Explain
  21. 📅 2008 · 60 MDo rights necessarily imply corresponding obligations? To whom does one primarily own obligations – individuals or state? Discuss
  22. 📅 2005 · 20 MCritically examine – “State is the actuality of concrete freedom”
  23. 📅 2000 · 10 MDiscuss Kant’s distinction between duties of perfect and imperfect obligation. (2011/20 21 — Philosophy
  24. 📅 2000 · 60 MAre the claims of the State and the Individual really mutually conflicting? Discuss.
  25. 📅 1999 · 60 MWe obey the state because in the end it most truly represents ourselves.” Discuss the relation of the individual and the state in the light of the above concept of the state
  26. 📅 1997 · 60 MThe individual is not merely a constituent, but a significant constituent contributing to the development of the State.’ Explain and examine

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Forms of Government: Monarchy; Theocracy and Democracy.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 37 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1997–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MOn what grounds does Marxism criticize pure democracy?
  2. 📅 2026 · 15 MThe two antagonistic state structures – monarchy and democracy, both share some common features with dictatorship.” Do you agree with this view? Give reasons and justifications for your answer.
  3. 📅 2026 · 15 MExamine the relationship between democracy and development. Does democracy promote or hinder development?
  4. 📅 2025 · 15 MCan Theocracy be accepted as a valid form of Government? Give reasons and justification in support of your answer
  5. 📅 2025 · 10 MComment on Plato’s critique of Democracy
  6. 📅 2023 · 15 MExplain the challenges faced by a democratic state and the ways to overcome them
  7. 📅 2023 · 10 MIf monarchs are above politics, can monarchy be a systematic form of government? Discuss
  8. 📅 2022 · 15 MAre monarchy and theocracy necessarily related? Discuss with reference to the theory of ‘Divine Right’
  9. 📅 2022 · 20 MDiscuss propaganda as a challenge to democratic form of government
  10. 📅 2021 · 10 MDoes monarchy as a form of government leave room for individual freedom? Explain
  11. 📅 2020 · 10 MHow far do the liberal democracies safeguard the interests of minorities? Evaluate critically
  12. 📅 2019 · 10 MDiscuss the status of theocracy in the modern secular state
  13. 📅 2018 · 10 MHow far can liberty and equality be considered as distinctive features of democracy? Discuss
  14. 📅 2017 · 10 MDiscuss whether a blending of monarchy with democracy is conceivable to avoid their undesirable defects for making the governance better for citizens and state
  15. 📅 2016 · 20 MIs the State an agency for expressing the will of the ruling classes? Examine
  16. 📅 2015 · 10 MIs civil disobedience in a democratic state justifiable? Discuss
  17. 📅 2015 · 20 MEvaluate the nature and functions of parliamentary democracy
  18. 📅 2014 · 15 MIn what sense is democracy better form of government than the theocracy?
  19. 📅 2013 · 15 MWhat is meant by democracy? What are various forms of democratic governments?
  20. 📅 2013 · 15 MIs a democratic government able to represent the interest of minority groups?
  21. 📅 2013 · 20 MIs a democratic government better than a benevolent dictatorship? Give reasons for your answer
  22. 📅 2013 · 10 MDoes the combination of democracy and socialism lead to a more equitable society?
  23. 📅 2012 · 12 MDemocracy, committed to treating everybody equally, is ineffective as a system of government
  24. 📅 2011 · 15 MIn a Democracy does a citizen ever have the moral right to break a law? Discuss citizens right to civil disobedience
  25. 📅 2010 · 20 MIs majority rule meaningfully reflected in present-day democratic governments? Substantiate your answer with suitable example
  26. 📅 2009 · 20 MDefine monarchy. Is it ethically justified?
  27. 📅 2009 · 30 MIs theocracy an outdated ideology? Discuss
  28. 📅 2008 · 20 MDemocratic government claims to be promoting the principles of political philosophy of democracy
  29. 📅 2007 · 20 MCritically examine – democracy that gives equal weight to everyone’s opinion is inefficient in determining the right or wrong thing to do
  30. 📅 2006 · 20 MCritically examine – democracy which treats everybody’s opinion equally is inefficient in determining the right thing to do
  31. 📅 2005 · 20 MPolitical democracy is hollow unless accompanied with power in the area of economics
  32. 📅 2004 · 20 MCritically examine – The concept of democracy an essentially contested concept
  33. 📅 2002 · 60 MDo you think that democracy is the best form of government? Is there any scope of “beyond democracy”? In this context, analyze the notion of meritocracy
  34. 📅 2001 · 20 MCritically examine – “The idea of democracy is paradoxical.
  35. 📅 2000 · 20 MRepresentative democracy vs Direct democracy.
  36. 📅 1999 · 20M (Short Notes)Write critical notes on Liberal Democracy
  37. 📅 1997 · 60 M“Democracy is not merely a form of Government, but a way of life as well.” Discuss

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Political Ideologies: Anarchism; Marxism and Socialism.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 25 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1997–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MAnarchism is not an independent political ideology in itself, rather it is inspired by liberalism on the one hand and socialism on the other. Analyze.
  2. 📅 2026 · 10 MOn what grounds does Marxism criticize pure democracy?
  3. 📅 2025 · 15 MEvaluate Marxism as a Political Ideology
  4. 📅 2024 · 10 MCompare socialism and communism as two distinct political ideologies
  5. 📅 2024 · 10 MPresent an exposition of the concept of alienation as propounded by Marx
  6. 📅 2023 · 20 MExplain Historical Materialism and discuss its relevance in the context of social development and change
  7. 📅 2023 · 10 MCritically examine the anarchist’s view that “all States always and everywhere are illegitimate and unjust.
  8. 📅 2021 · 20 MDiscuss anarchism as a political ideology. Is it possible to dispense with political authority completely? Give reasons for your answer
  9. 📅 2021 · 15 MDiscuss the distinctive features of Gandhian Socialism and its contemporary relevance. 22 — Philosophy
  10. 📅 2020 · 15 MHow far Marxism as philosophical doctrine relevant in the present context? Justify your answer
  11. 📅 2019 · 10 MEvaluate Mahatma Gandhi as a political anarchist
  12. 📅 2018 · 10 MDo you subscribe to the political ideology of Anarchism? Justify your answer
  13. 📅 2017 · 10 MDiscuss in the context of Anarchy whether the freedom of an individual is consistent with the sovereignty of the state?
  14. 📅 2017 · 20 MDoes Marxism curb individual freedom in the name of protecting social justice? Discuss
  15. 📅 2016 · 10 MSocialism itself is the fulfilment of democracy.” Analyse
  16. 📅 2012 · 12 MCritical notes: Political ideology of Anarchism
  17. 📅 2011 · 20 MWhat are the basic differences between Marxism and Socialism?
  18. 📅 2011 · 20 MCan it be said that Socialism is a weaker version of Marxism?
  19. 📅 2011 · 20 MIs Democratic Socialism a contradiction in terms? Discuss
  20. 📅 2010 · 20 MWhich type of socialism, according to you, is superior – utopian or democratic? Why?
  21. 📅 2007 · 20 MCritically examine – ‘Acceptance of the authority of the state is inconsistent with the highest duty of mankind, “the duty to act autonomously” (Robert Paul Wolff)
  22. 📅 2007 · 60 MDescribe your understanding of socialism. Must it be defined in normative terms of a set of values and ideals which socialists seek to realize, or in descriptive terms of the specific economic and political institutions of socialist society? Can the tension between the two be adequately resolved? Discuss
  23. 📅 2006 · 20 MCritically ‘Acceptance of the authority of the state is inconsistent with the highest duty of mankind, “the duty to act autonomously” (Robert Paul Wolff)
  24. 📅 2000 · 20 MPoint out the doctrinal differences between Socialism and Marxism.
  25. 📅 1997 · 60 MCompare and contrast Marxism with the ideal of ‘Sarvodaya’

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Humanism; Secularism; Multiculturalism.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 35 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 1988–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MExamine the challenges faced by a multicultural society in creating a harmonious balance between group rights and individual rights.
  2. 📅 2025 · 15 MHow does the reconciliation of opposites take place in the Humanism of Tagore? Evaluate
  3. 📅 2025 · 10 MIs the idea of secularism necessarily related to the idea of religious pluralism? Discuss
  4. 📅 2024 · 15 MDiscuss the role of ethical principles of tolerance and coexistence for the rise of multicultural societies
  5. 📅 2024 · 15 MPresent an exposition of Gandhi’s views on secularism as one of the foundational Principles of democracy
  6. 📅 2024 · 20 MDelineate the central tenets of Humanism. How does advent of enlightenment in Europe pave the way for Humanism? Discuss
  7. 📅 2023 · 15 MSecularism is not a rejection of religion but acceptance of all religions. Discuss
  8. 📅 2023 · 10 MCritically examine the challenges faced by a multicultural society with reference to India
  9. 📅 2022 · 15 MCritically analyze the descriptive and normative aspects of multiculturalism
  10. 📅 2022 · 10 MDiscuss the role of enlightenment movement in the rise of humanism
  11. 📅 2021 · 15 MCan humanism be a substitute for religion? Explain and evaluate in the context of the present Indian society
  12. 📅 2020 · 10 MDo you think that secularism requires complete separation of religion and ‘state’? Discuss
  13. 📅 2020 · 15 MWhat do you understand by multiculturalism? Explain the structural Characteristics that make a nation multicultural
  14. 📅 2019 · 15 MWhat are the descriptive and normative perspectives on ideas of multiculturalism?
  15. 📅 2018 · 15 MWhat form of humanism do you approve as relevant, in the present-day context? Discuss in detail
  16. 📅 2018 · 20 MWhat do you understand by multi-culturalism? How are globalization and multi-culturalism related? How does their relationship affect cultural changes?
  17. 📅 2018 · 10 MDo you subscribe to the view that Indian cultural identity needs to integrate the principles of multiculturalism and respect for the dignity of each person? Justify your answer
  18. 📅 2017 · 20 MDo you agree with the view that secularism as a western ideal is redundant in the Indian context? Discuss in the context of the multicultural Indian society
  19. 📅 2016 · 15 MCan we consider “freedom from domination” as one of the justifications for multiculturalism? Give reasons for your answer
  20. 📅 2015 · 15 MIs multiculturalism a need of global society? Discuss
  21. 📅 2015 · 20 MHow is religious nationalism a threat to secular society? Explain
  22. 📅 2014 · 10 MHow does multiculturalism redefine liberal notions like identity, on freedom and equality and reformulate its assumptions?
  23. 📅 2014 · 10 MHow do we distinguish liberal humanism and Marxist humanism?
  24. 📅 2013 · 10 MDoes the idea of equal respect to all religion provide a viable and consistent state policy?
  25. 📅 2012 · 20 MSecularism in Indian context is not a rejection of religion but fellowship of religions.” Discuss
  26. 📅 2012 · 20 MIn what ways is humanism different Marxism? Discuss
  27. 📅 2012 · 20 MWhat is multiculturalism? Can it be impediment for development and progress? Discuss
  28. 📅 2009 · 30 MIs secularism analogous to atheism? Examine in Indian context. 23 — Philosophy
  29. 📅 2008 · 60 MIs multiculturalism a boon or a bane? Discuss
  30. 📅 2006 · 20 MCritically examine “Christian humanism is a contradiction in terms.
  31. 📅 2005 · 60 MWhat is humanism? What are its different kinds? In what way if any is M. N. Roy’s radical humanism different from Marxism? Discuss
  32. 📅 2000 · 20 MSecularism in the Indian context. (Short Notes)
  33. 📅 1999 · 60 MExplain humanism and discuss the essential features of radical humanism
  34. 📅 1998 · 20M (Short Notes)Write critical notes on Socialistic Humanism
  35. 📅 1988 · 60 MSecularism in India stands not for irreligion but for deep religious understanding”. Discuss this statement

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Crime and Punishment: Corruption, Mass Violence, Genocide, Capital Punishment.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 33 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MHow does value-based education address the problem of corruption?
  2. 📅 2026 · 20 MRetributivism presents a deontological justification for capital punishment, whereas deterrence presents a consequential justification for it. Explain.
  3. 📅 2025 · 20 MCan one’s right to life be absolute? Answer with reference to the idea of Capital Punishment
  4. 📅 2025 · 10 MCorrupt practices reveal an inherent tension between particularistic and universalistic normative standards. Do you agree with this statement? Give reasons and justification for your answer
  5. 📅 2024 · 15 MOn what grounds would you accept or reject the idea of capital punishment as an effective deterrent? Discuss
  6. 📅 2023 · 20 MSeverity of punishment should be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime.” — Do you agree that while punishing a juvenile, the nature of the crime should be considered? Justify your answer
  7. 📅 2022 · 10 MWhat are the moral justifications of capital punishment? Discuss
  8. 📅 2022 · 10 MIs corruption a systemic issue or an ethical issue? Give your critical comments
  9. 📅 2021 · 15 MExplain the reformative theory of punishment and discuss whether this is in tune with human dignity
  10. 📅 2020 · 15 MDo you think that retributive theory of punishment is against human rights? Discuss
  11. 📅 2020 · 15 MHow far do the social and political regimes condition corrupt practices in a nation-state? Discuss
  12. 📅 2019 · 10 MIs corruption not a form of mass violence? Discuss
  13. 📅 2019 · 15 MDoes capital punishment weaken the doctrine of social justice? Discuss
  14. 📅 2018 · 10 MWhat measures do you suggest to eradicate corruption in Indian democracy?
  15. 📅 2017 · 15 MCan you justify capital punishment for crimes like rape, murder and corruption? Discuss
  16. 📅 2016 · 10 M”The goal in punishing should be to reform the individual.” Comment
  17. 📅 2015 · 15 MThe aim of punishment is to defend the moral law and to do justice to criminal.” Discuss
  18. 📅 2014 · 20 MAnalyse the statement with reasons that “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely
  19. 📅 2014 · 20 MWhich theory of punishment retributive or restorative, do you recommend and why?
  20. 📅 2014 · 10 MCan we say that racial supremacy is the main reason for genocide? Give reasons for your answer
  21. 📅 2013 · 10 MDoes corruption have not only a moral dimension but also an economic dimension?
  22. 📅 2012 · 30 MWhat can be the causes of mass violence? Can mass violence be justified on moral ground? Discuss
  23. 📅 2011 · 15 MCan capital punishment be justified? Answer with reference to the theories of punishment
  24. 📅 2010 · 20 MIf capital punishment is legally awarded, then no ethico-politico consideration should subvert it. Express your opinion for or against
  25. 📅 2010 · 20 MList the various sanctions permitting genocide and clearly bring out the ethical counter-arguments against it
  26. 📅 2009 · 20 M“You are not punished for stealing the sheep, but you are punished so that no sheep is stolen.” Discuss as to which theory of punishment this statement belongs
  27. 📅 2009 · 30 MIs capital punishment in your view ethically justified?
  28. 📅 2008 · 20 MPunishment rules all creatures, punishment preserves them all.
  29. 📅 2007 · 60 MConsider why punishment is generally thought to require justification. In this context, give your critical and comparative account of the main theories of punishment
  30. 📅 2006 · 60 MDescribe the tension between consequentialist and retributivist theory of punishments. Discuss critically in this context the view that argues that since no existing penal system for crime prevention has adequate justification, state punishment cannot be justified; and therefore, it should be completely abolished
  31. 📅 2004 · 60 MDiscuss the notion of punishment. Consider in this context the importance and implications of the principle of proportionality of punishment which requires that severity of punishment be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime
  32. 📅 2003 · 20 MCritically examine – “Retributive and deterrent theories of punishment are mutually complementary
  33. 📅 2000 · 20 MRetributive Theory of Punishment. (Short Notes)

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Development and Social Progress.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 15 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MExamine the relationship between democracy and development. Does democracy promote or hinder development?
  2. 📅 2025 · 15 Mls it possible to reconcile the concept of development with tribal values to bring social and economic progress? Discuss
  3. 📅 2023 · 10 MIn the present scenario, will the emphasis on skill education enhance development? Evaluate
  4. 📅 2022 · 20 MDo you agree that economic development does not on its own lead to human development and social progress? Give reasons and justifications for your answer
  5. 📅 2020 · 20 MState and examine the Gandhian concept of social development
  6. 📅 2019 · 15 MDoes technological development lead to progress in the ethical standards of the society? Explain
  7. 📅 2017 · 15 MCritically evaluate whether the ideal of social progress gives a secondary significance to an individual’s freedom over his duties
  8. 📅 2017 · 20 MEvaluate the concept of social development as rooted in ethical principles against the concept of social progress being based on economic and political ideals. 24 — Philosophy
  9. 📅 2016 · 15 MIs it possible to measure social progress independent of economic development? Discuss
  10. 📅 2015 · 10 M“Inequitable development leads to social conflicts rather than social progress.” Explain
  11. 📅 2014 · 15 MBy eliminating alienation can we bring social progress?
  12. 📅 2010 · 15 MIs social progress possible without humanism? Examine
  13. 📅 2005 · 60 MWhat do you understand by progress? Have human beings made progress in all fields of their activity? Discuss
  14. 📅 2000 · 10 MIs economic development a necessary condition, sufficient condition, both or neither, in order to achieve social progress? Give reasons and justifications for your answer. (2024/10+5)
  15. 📅 2000 · 20 MConcept of social progress and human development.

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Gender Discrimination: Female Foeticide, Land and Property Rights; Empowerment.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 25 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MDoes providing land and property rights to women constitute a necessary condition or a sufficient condition or both for ensuring social equality among the genders? Discuss.
  2. 📅 2025 · 10 MHow does gender as a social construct affect individuals’ opportunities, rights, and access to resources? Critically discuss
  3. 📅 2023 · 15 MHow does gender discrimination lead to female feticide and social imbalance? Discuss
  4. 📅 2023 · 10 MDo you agree that the rights concerning land and property have empowered women? Discuss
  5. 📅 2022 · 15 MDiscuss gender as a cultural category as opposed to sex as a biological category
  6. 📅 2021 · 10 MHow far can land and property rights be effective in empowerment of women? Explain
  7. 📅 2021 · 15 MWhat are the main causes of female foeticide in India? Is it the result of demonic application of technology only? Discuss
  8. 📅 2017 · 15 MIs empowerment of women a sufficient means to their equal rights to land, property and divorce? Discuss in the context of religious sanction
  9. 📅 2017 · 15 MWill a severe punishment for crimes against women change the mindset of society? Justify your position
  10. 📅 2016 · 15 MTo me the female sex is not the weaker sex. It is the nobler of the two.” Evaluate this statement of Gandhi
  11. 📅 2016 · 15 MDo you agree that women become empowered through collective; reflection and decision-making-? Discuss
  12. 📅 2015 · 15 MWhat does gender discrimination mean? Is it not a violation of equality and social justice? Discuss
  13. 📅 2015 · 15 MDoes economic empowerment of women eliminate gender discrimination? Discuss
  14. 📅 2014 · 15 MOne is not born woman, but she becomes a woman. Critically comment on it
  15. 📅 2013 · 15 MWhat do you understand by ‘gender equality and why is it important?
  16. 📅 2013 · 15 MIs economic independence essential for equality between men and women?
  17. 📅 2013 · 20 MWhy is adequate representation of women in political institution important in this context?
  18. 📅 2012 · 12 MWoman empowerment and social justice
  19. 📅 2012 · 20 MIs there any necessary connection between social progress and protection against female foeticide? Discuss
  20. 📅 2012 · 20 MDenial of access and inheritance of land and property to women is denial of their fundamental as human.” Discuss
  21. 📅 2010 · 20 MDoes the right to property bring economic disparity and threat human fraternity? Discuss
  22. 📅 2010 · 20 MCan only the political empowerment of women wipe out gender discrimination in a male-dominated Indian society?
  23. 📅 2005 · 20 MCritically examine – “sex is the biological category whereas gender is a culturally shaped expression of sexual difference.
  24. 📅 2000 · 10 MDiscuss gender equality as a necessary condition to achieve empowerment of women. Also examine the role of women empowerment in curbing the menace of female foeticide. (2024/10+10)
  25. 📅 2000 · 20 MGender empowerment and property rights of women in India.

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Caste Discrimination: Gandhi and Ambedkar.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 18 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 20 MHow has Ambedkar applied the concept of ‘Social Endosmosis’ for the annihilation of castes? Evaluate its relevance for contemporary debates on identity and the politics of difference.
  2. 📅 2025 · 20 MPresent a detailed account of the debate between Gandhi and Ambedkar on the issue of caste discrimination
  3. 📅 2024 · 10 MDiscuss the main factors responsible for caste discrimination
  4. 📅 2023 · 15 MCritically analyse the social and political significance of Ambedkar’s notion of annihilation of caste
  5. 📅 2022 · 15 MCritically evaluate Gandhi’s views on eradication of caste discrimination
  6. 📅 2022 · 10 MIn the age of individualism and universal franchise, what role does caste play in body-politic? Discuss
  7. 📅 2021 · 20 MDiscuss the views of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar regarding caste-discrimination in Indian society. What are the measures suggested by him for its elimination? Explain
  8. 📅 2020 · 20 MState and examine B.R. Ambedkar’s contribution towards social changes in Independent India
  9. 📅 2018 · 10 MIt is said that the traditional hold of caste-based groups on Indian social behaviour has survived all attempts to build alternate identities. Discuss in the light of M.K. Gandhi. 25 — Philosophy
  10. 📅 2017 · 10 MIs caste discrimination a result of the superiority complex of a privileged class of the society or of religious rituals? Discuss with reference to the views of propounded by Dr B. R. Ambedkar
  11. 📅 2016 · 20 MHow did Ambedkar analyse the caste system from the historical and social perspectives? Explain
  12. 📅 2015 · 20 MEvaluate Ambedkar’s critique of caste system
  13. 📅 2015 · 15 MMan must grow materially as well as spiritually.” Evaluate this statement of Ambedkar
  14. 📅 2014 · 15 MWhat are the basic differences between Gandhi and Ambedkar regarding caste discrimination?
  15. 📅 2014 · 10 MIf caste discrimination has any continuity and hierarchy which principle of justice can dissolve this problem?
  16. 📅 2013 · 10 MIs there any impact of caste discrimination on democracy in Indian context?
  17. 📅 2012 · 30 MWhat were Gandhi’s views on varna and jati ? Critically discuss Ambedkar’s disagreement with Gandhi’s treatment of varna
  18. 📅 2000 · 20 MGandhi and Ambedkar on the removal of untouchability.

Paper 2 — Section B: Philosophy of Religion (Units 11 to 20)

Paper 2 Section B deals with philosophical reflections on religious experience, proofs for God, the problem of evil, immortality, faith and reason, religious pluralism, and religious language. Click each unit below to view all past exam questions:

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Notions of God: Attributes; Relation to Man and the World (Indian and Western).

📊 Questions Cataloged: 38 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MDiscuss the difference between personalistic and impersonalistic notions of God in the context of devotion.
  2. 📅 2026 · 15 MPresent an account of criticisms against omniscience and omnipotence as attributes of God.
  3. 📅 2024 · 15 MIn order to be conceived as the ultimate cause of the world, God must necessarily have some form of physical manifestation.” Do you agree with this view? Give reasons and justifications for your answer
  4. 📅 2024 · 15 MHow does the notion of God in Spinoza’s philosophy embedded in his metaphysics of substance and attributes? Critically discuss
  5. 📅 2023 · 15 MIn what sense is God both immanent and transcendent in theism? Discuss
  6. 📅 2023 · 10 MElucidate the personalistic and impersonalistic aspects of God
  7. 📅 2022 · 15 MCritically examine the idea of Brahman in Advaita philosophy of Samkara. Does Samkara’s conception of Brahman leave room for theism? Discuss
  8. 📅 2022 · 15 MExplain the relation between the God and the Self according to Rämänujäcärya
  9. 📅 2022 · 10 MWrite an essay on Spinoza’s notion of God and His attributes
  10. 📅 2021 · 10 MDiscuss the nature of God as propounded in Nyaya philosophy
  11. 📅 2020 · 10 MDiscuss the significance of ‘Religion’ vis-à-vis the present scientific and technological development
  12. 📅 2020 · 10 MIs there any compatibility between ‘Freedom of Will’ and ‘Omnipotent God’? Discuss
  13. 📅 2020 · 20 MDiscuss the nature of God in Hinduism with special reference to Vishishtadvaita (Qualified non-dualism)
  14. 📅 2020 · 15 MDistinguish between prayer and worship and determine their place in religion
  15. 📅 2019 · 10 MIs religion a uniting force for humanity in the globalizing world as of today? Discuss
  16. 📅 2019 · 10 MCan there be a philosophical argument to support violence in the name of religion? Discuss
  17. 📅 2019 · 15 MState and evaluate the personalistic and impersonalistic aspects of God
  18. 📅 2019 · 15 MDiscuss the relationship between man and God according to any one of the religions in India
  19. 📅 2018 · 10 MIs Hinduism polytheistic? Give reasons for your answer
  20. 📅 2018 · 20 MThe terms “Sacred’ and ‘Holy’ have come to serve as generic names for the object of religion. Do you agree that one can have God as the object of religion? Discuss
  21. 📅 2017 · 10 MCritically discuss the relationship of man with God in the Yoga system of philosophy
  22. 📅 2017 · 15 MWhat is a non-theological concept of God? How is it different from theological concept of God? Discuss with arguments
  23. 📅 2016 · 20 MCompare and contrast the relation of man to the world in the oriental religions
  24. 📅 2016 · 15 MShow how the attributes of immanence and transcendence of God go with omnipresence and infinitude
  25. 📅 2016 · 15 MIt would be self-contradictory to say that the most perfect conceivable being lacks the attribute of existence.” Analyse
  26. 📅 2016 · 15 M”The natural world is as complexly and manifestly designed as a watch.” Evaluate
  27. 📅 2015 · 10 MWrite a critical note on the attributes of God
  28. 📅 2014 · 20 MElucidate the status of man in the realm of between immanence and transcendence
  29. 📅 2013 · 10 MIs god indispensable for religion?
  30. 📅 2012 · 20 MExplain the distinction between deism and theism
  31. 📅 2011 · 15 MDiscuss the salient features of traditional orthodox religion
  32. 📅 2009 · 30 MTo be man is to strive to be God.” Discuss
  33. 📅 2008 · 30 MComment on the statement – “Religion only promised, but never fulfilled the promise.
  34. 📅 2008 · 20 MCan deism be satisfactory theory in the context of God of grace and devotion? Discuss,
  35. 📅 2007 · 20 MGod is not the subject to the law of logic. Critical notes
  36. 📅 2007 · 60 MTraditionally omnipotence has been seen as one of the attributes of God. But, according to some critic, the notion of omnipotent being is paradoxical. In response some theist has tried to resolve the alleged paradox. Describe the paradox and explain the attempt to resolve it
  37. 📅 2000 · 10 MReligion is not just false, it is harmful.” Discuss. (2011/ 15)
  38. 📅 2000 · 20 MImpersonalistic Concept of God. (Short Notes)

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Proofs for the Existence of God and their Critique (Indian and Western).

📊 Questions Cataloged: 32 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MDiscuss Aquinas’ argument from the contingency of the world to prove the existence of God.
  2. 📅 2026 · 15 MExplain and examine Madhvacharya’s arguments for the existence of God.
  3. 📅 2025 · 15 MWhat proofs do Nyaya philosophers offer for the existence of God?
  4. 📅 2025 · 20 MPresent an account of Design argument to prove the existence of God along with its criticism by David Hume
  5. 📅 2023 · 20 MCritically examine the arguments of Nyaya for the existence of God
  6. 📅 2022 · 20 MDiscuss the main points of distinction between a-priori and a-posteriori arguments for the existence of God. Which one according to you should be preferred over the other? Give reasons and justifications for your answer
  7. 📅 2022 · 20 MPresent a critical exposition of different arguments offered by St. Thomas Aquinas to prove the existence of God also known as ‘Five Ways’. Which one of them do you find philosophically most interesting? Give reasons in support of your answer
  8. 📅 2021 · 15 MGive a critical account of moral argument to prove the existence of God
  9. 📅 2020 · 20 MIt is ontological proof for the existence of God by St. Anselm logical? Discuss
  10. 📅 2019 · 10 MState and evaluate the proofs for the existence of God as propounded in Jainism
  11. 📅 2018 · 15 MDoes the concept of God entail the existence of God? Examine from the perspective of ontological argument
  12. 📅 2018 · 20 MCompare St. Thomas Aquinas’ five ways of knowing God with the arguments of the Nyaya School of Indian Philosophy for the existence of God
  13. 📅 2017 · 15 MCompare and contrast the different forms of cosmological arguments for the existence of God
  14. 📅 2015 · 20 MExamine the Nyaya arguments in favour of the existence of God
  15. 📅 2015 · 15 MExamine the ontological and cosmological arguments in favour of existence of God
  16. 📅 2014 · 15 MDiscuss the ontological argument for the existence of God, and show its merits and demerits
  17. 📅 2014 · 15 MCan it self-contradictory to accept the idea of God but deny the existence of God?
  18. 📅 2013 · 15 MState and elucidate cosmological argument for the existence of and in Western and Indian Philosophy
  19. 📅 2013 · 15 MDiscuss two main objections against this (cosmological argument) argument. Are theist able to answer these satisfactorily
  20. 📅 2013 · 20 MCritically evaluate three main objections against the argument from design for the existence of God
  21. 📅 2012 · 12 MCan God’s existence be proved with cogent and convincing rational arguments?
  22. 📅 2011 · 15 MWhy is a proof for the existence of God necessary for the growth of a religion? Discuss
  23. 📅 2010 · 20 MIs contingent argument for the existence of God anything more than a logical exercise? Discuss
  24. 📅 2010 · 20 MIf each and every argument has to take that its premises are true, would the causal argument for the existence of God as the first cause be different from assuming that it is true? Argue in favour of your position
  25. 📅 2010 · 20 MHuman mind is such that it naturally observes order in nature. Given this can one use arguments from design for the existence of God? Discuss
  26. 📅 2009 · 20 MCritically examine the causal argument as a proof for the existence of God
  27. 📅 2009 · 30 MAnalyse the teleological argument as a proof for the existence of God
  28. 📅 2008 · 20 MDifferent versions of ontological arguments and Kant’s critique of these arguments. Critical note
  29. 📅 2007 · 60 MState and evaluate the cosmological argument for the existence of God. What are its two forms? What is the difference between a dependent being and self-existent being? Why is the self-existent being theo-centric? Can the nature itself be conceived as self. existent being? Discuss
  30. 📅 2005 · 20 MIf God exists only in someone’s mind, the greatest conceivable being is not after all the greatest conceivable being.” Critical notes
  31. 📅 2000 · 10 MPresent an exposition of ontological proof for the existence of God along with its criticism. (2024/10+5)
  32. 📅 2000 · 60 MCritically evaluate the Ontological Argument for the existence of God.

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Problem of Evil.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 21 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 20 MIn what sense does St. Augustine’s identification of all evil as either sin or as the punishment of sin succeed or fail in providing a coherent account of both moral and natural evil? Evaluate.
  2. 📅 2025 · 15 MExplain the main tenets of the Process Theodicy as an explanation of the problem of evil
  3. 📅 2024 · 15 M“The problem of evil is a direct offshoot of how God is conceptualised in a system.” Critically discuss
  4. 📅 2023 · 20 MAll evil is either sin or punishment for sin.” St. Augustine. Critically discuss. 28 — Philosophy
  5. 📅 2022 · 15 MIf God is the Absolute Creator, then the responsibility of the evil cannot belong to the human agent. Critically examine
  6. 📅 2021 · 10 MDiscuss the paradox of omnipotence of God in the context of the existence of evil
  7. 📅 2020 · 15 MWhat is the logical problem of evil? Discuss
  8. 📅 2019 · 15 MWhat role do the concepts of evil and profane play to provide a firm foundation to religion?
  9. 📅 2017 · 10 MHow do you define a non-theological concept of evil? Explain
  10. 📅 2016 · 20 MThe God is all-powerful, God must wish to abolish all evils; but moral and natural evils are rampant in the world.” How would a theist react to this?
  11. 📅 2015 · 10 MIs God the cause of natural evil? Explain
  12. 📅 2015 · 15 MDo you think that evil is a bitter pill which no theist can swallow? Discuss
  13. 📅 2014 · 20 MIs evil reconcilable with the benevolent God?
  14. 📅 2013 · 10 MDo theists succeed in explaining the natural evil in the world as a necessary counterpart to good?
  15. 📅 2012 · 12 MGod permitted suffering to discipline the human being
  16. 📅 2010 · 15 MThe problem of evil arises when we attribute infinite knowledge, power and goodness to God acknowledging the fact of innocent persons suffering. One cannot be mistaken about one’s own experience and suffering is an experience. Hence, God cannot have at least one of the three attributes; infinite knowledge. power and goodness.” Evaluate this argument
  17. 📅 2009 · 20 MIf evil and sufferings are the real experiences of individual self, what role do they play in realising self-transcendence?
  18. 📅 2008 · 60 MHow can a theist resolve the problem of evil? Does evil not tell upon omnipotence and omniscience of God? Can God be thought of as imperfect and powerless in this regard? Discuss critically for and against the two possible opposite views and justify your own position
  19. 📅 2007 · 20 MGod permitted evil to exist in order to bring about greater good, Adan’s fall was felix culpa (happy sin).”-Leibnitz, Critical notes
  20. 📅 2005 · 20 MThe problem of evil is the problem of reconciling the imperfect world with the goodness of God.” Critical notes
  21. 📅 2000 · 60 MDiscuss the problem of evil with special reference to Leibniz’s theodicy.

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Soul: Immortality; Rebirth and Liberation.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 44 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2025
  1. 📅 2025 · 15 MIs the concept of immortality of soul a necessary condition for Rebirth? Discuss with reference to the Bhagavad Gītā
  2. 📅 2025 · 10 MDiscuss the nature of embodied liberation (Jivanmukti) with reference to Advaita Vedanta
  3. 📅 2024 · 20 MIs it necessary to adhere to the notions of immortality of soul and rebirth in order to have a robust conception of liberation? Give reasons and justifications for your answer
  4. 📅 2024 · 10 MDiscuss the concept of liberation (Apavarga) according to Nyaya-Vaiśeşika
  5. 📅 2023 · 15 MExamine the significance of the concept of rebirth in the theory of Karma
  6. 📅 2023 · 20 MCritically examine Plato’s a-priori proofs for the immortality of the soul
  7. 📅 2022 · 15 MDiscuss the nature of Soul and Bondage according to Jainism
  8. 📅 2022 · 15 MIs it possible to have an idea of Liberation without the conception of a real agent? In this context, discuss the difference between Advaita and Visistadvaita systems of thought
  9. 📅 2022 · 10 MImmortality of Soul is a necessary postulate for rebirth.” Critically examine with reference to Buddhism
  10. 📅 2021 · 20 MDiscuss the concept of immortality of soul with special reference to Hindu tradition
  11. 📅 2021 · 15 MElucidate the concept of liberation according to Advaita Vedanta. Explain the role of knowledge in the attainment of liberation
  12. 📅 2021 · 15 MDiscuss and evaluate the doctrine of Karma as an essential postulate of Hinduism
  13. 📅 2020 · 10 MThe concept of ‘Immortality’ is a basic presupposition of religion. Elaborate your answer
  14. 📅 2020 · 15 MDo you accept that knowledge, Action and Devotion are the means to attain liberation in Indian tradition? Discuss
  15. 📅 2019 · 20 MState and explain the doctrines of Karma, Rebirth and Rebirth and Reincarnation in Hinduism
  16. 📅 2018 · 15 MEvaluate the concept of Bhakti (Devotion) as a pathway to attain liberation
  17. 📅 2018 · 10 MHow far is it plausible to argue that the anti-theistic religions’ stand on the concept of rebirth is philosophically significant?
  18. 📅 2018 · 10 MCan one claim that there is an inter-relatedness between ‘religiosity and ‘immorality’? Discuss
  19. 📅 2017 · 10 MDiscuss whether the doctrine of immortality of soul is indispensable for a religion
  20. 📅 2017 · 20 MIs there an essential difference between the concept of liberation in theological and non-theological approaches of life? Discuss
  21. 📅 2016 · 10 MBuddhism disbelieves in the immortality of soul, but accepts the phenomenon of rebirth. Examine
  22. 📅 2015 · 15 M“Immortality means absence of karma and rebirth.” Discuss
  23. 📅 2015 · 20 MWhat is liberation? Briefly discuss the ways to attain it as outlined in the system of Vedanta
  24. 📅 2014 · 10 MHow do you justify rebirth with or without the soul? 29 — Philosophy
  25. 📅 2014 · 10 MWhat are the arguments given in favour of immortality of soul?
  26. 📅 2014 · 15 MCompare and contrast the concept of liberation according to ‘Advaita’ and ‘Visishtadvaita’
  27. 📅 2013 · 10 MIs there anything else other than human efforts which may be conducive to attainment of liberation?
  28. 📅 2012 · 12.5 MAre rebirth and liberation analogous concepts? Explain
  29. 📅 2012 · 20 MIs the idea of immortality soul utopian or it is realizable? Discuss
  30. 📅 2011 · 20 MIs a belief in the immortality of the soul a necessary precondition for religion? Discuss
  31. 📅 2011 · 20 MIs a belief in rebirth and reincarnation possible without a belief in the immortality of the soul? Discuss
  32. 📅 2011 · 20 MCan Buddhism, because of its doctrine of ‘anatta’, be regarded as a religion or not? Discuss
  33. 📅 2010 · 15 MWhat sort of criteria can one provide for identifying rebirth as opposed to birth? Discuss
  34. 📅 2010 · 20 MWhy is grace of God needed for liberation? Discuss with an example
  35. 📅 2010 · 20 MDistinguish between Indian concept of jivatma and Plato’s concept of soul
  36. 📅 2010 · 20 MIf ignorance is the cause of suffering, knowledge should remove suffering. What is the notion of knowledge which a liberated person acquires? Discuss
  37. 📅 2009 · 30 MExplain why man has a desire for immortality
  38. 📅 2008 · 20 MPossibility of rational understanding of immortality and liberation. Critical notes
  39. 📅 2007 · 20 MWithout some conception of immortality, religion has no meaning. Critically examine
  40. 📅 2007 · 60 MExplain the doctrine of the law of karma. Is it compatible with the freedom of will? Discuss
  41. 📅 2005 · 60 MIs Christian doctrine of the immortality of soul compatible with the Gita’s doctrine of atman? Discuss
  42. 📅 2005 · 60 MWhat do you understand by liberation? Is it possible for one to be liberated in this very life? If it is, what are the characteristics of a liberated person? Discuss
  43. 📅 2000 · 20 MImmortality of Soul. (Short Notes)
  44. 📅 2000 · 60 MElaborate the nature of Liberation according to Advaita Vedanta.

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Reason, Revelation and Faith.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 26 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MHow does Paul Tillich’s idea of faith as ultimate concern address the relation between faith, doubt and reason? Evaluate.
  2. 📅 2026 · 10 MIf religion were a subject of reason alone, it would have lacked an experiential account.” Do you agree with this statement? Give reasons in support of your answer.
  3. 📅 2025 · 15 MDistinguish between Natural Theology and Revealed Theology in the context of the Propositional view of Revelation
  4. 📅 2025 · 10 MHow does Aquinas’ account of Faith as “an intellectual assent” reconcile the juxtaposition between Reason and Faith? Discuss
  5. 📅 2025 · 10 MDiscuss Carvaka’s critique of the belief in the existence of suprasensible entities
  6. 📅 2024 · 15 MWhat kind of epistemic justifications are possible with regard to claims to revelation? Discuss with your own comments
  7. 📅 2024 · 10 MDiscuss the role of reason in religion
  8. 📅 2023 · 15 MExplain the rational and irrational aspects of faith in the discourse of religion
  9. 📅 2023 · 10 MCan religious beliefs be justified? Discuss
  10. 📅 2022 · 10 MIs the notion of faith indispensable for the idea of revelation? Critically comment
  11. 📅 2021 · 20 MDiscuss the role of reason and faith in religion. Can reason be a regulative force in the formulation of religious beliefs? Explain
  12. 📅 2020 · 15 MWhat are the basic tenets of faith? Distinguish between faith and belief
  13. 📅 2019 · 10 MWhat is instrumental to self-revelation: Faith or Reason? Justify your position
  14. 📅 2017 · 15 MDiscuss whether the voluntarist’s theories of faith are adequate
  15. 📅 2016 · 10 MCritically discuss the view that ‘modern sensibility and total obedience to a despotic God’ do not go hand in hand
  16. 📅 2016 · 10 MFaith means human awareness of God; but it cannot be irrational. Analyse
  17. 📅 2016 · 10 MThe content of revelation is a body of truths expressed in statements or propositions. But it cannot be against reason. Discuss
  18. 📅 2015 · 10 MDo reason and faith go together? Discuss
  19. 📅 2015 · 15 MCan revelation be justified by reason? Discuss
  20. 📅 2014 · 15 MCan reason be used to justify faith?
  21. 📅 2013 · 10 MIs religious faith opposed to reason?
  22. 📅 2012 · 30 MThe concept of revelation is essentially opposed to religious pluralism. Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer
  23. 📅 2008 · 60 MDiscuss the role of reason, revelation and faith in the sphere of religion. Are they compatible? If not, how to resolve their apparent inconsistency?
  24. 📅 2006 · 20 MReligious faith consists of a set of profoundly unfalsifiable assumptions that govern all of a person’s other beliefs.” (R. M. Hare), Critical notes. 30 — Philosophy
  25. 📅 2006 · 60 MExplain the notion of revelation. Does revelation stand in need of confirmation? Discuss and also explain the difference or similarity between revelation and Sruti
  26. 📅 2000 · 20 MReason and Revelation. (Short Notes)

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Religious Experience: Nature and Object (Indian and Western).

📊 Questions Cataloged: 23 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MOn what grounds does William James characterize mystical states as a genuine expression of religious experience? Elaborate.
  2. 📅 2026 · 10 MIf religion were a subject of reason alone, it would have lacked an experiential account.” Do you agree with this statement? Give reasons in support of your answer.
  3. 📅 2025 · 20 MEvaluate the nature and object of Religious Experience as explained by Radhakrishnan in “The Hindu View of Life’
  4. 📅 2024 · 15 MDiscuss the main features of religious experience according to Advaita Vedanta
  5. 📅 2023 · 15 MExamine the relation between mystical experience and revelation and expound their significance in the religious life
  6. 📅 2022 · 15 MDiscuss the nature and variety of religious experiences as presented by William James
  7. 📅 2021 · 15 MExplain the concept of religious experience in the light of Vedantic tradition
  8. 📅 2019 · 20 MDiscuss whether and how does religious symbolism lead to mysticism
  9. 📅 2019 · 15 MHow far can religious experience be made a topic of public discourse. Analyse
  10. 📅 2017 · 15 MIn order to make expressions of religious experiences communicable, what kind of language needs to be considered and used? Explain
  11. 📅 2016 · 10 MWorld-religion is a spiritualistic and humanistic composite.” Evaluate
  12. 📅 2016 · 20 MState and evaluate the nature and validity of mystic experience
  13. 📅 2015 · 15 MExplain the nature of mysticism Hinduism and Islam
  14. 📅 2014 · 15 MDiscuss the conflicting nature of religious experience with special reference to Buddhism and Jainism
  15. 📅 2013 · 15 MWhat is the nature of mystical experience?
  16. 📅 2013 · 15 MIs mystical experience open to different interpretations?
  17. 📅 2013 · 20 MCan mystical experience be regarded as valid source of knowledge?
  18. 📅 2012 · 30 MWhat is the object of religious experience? Is it empirical or trans-empirical? Explain in detail
  19. 📅 2010 · 20 MIf religious experience is unique, what makes it an experience? How is this experience logically different from the experience of loneliness, happiness, etc.?
  20. 📅 2009 · 20 MExplain the nature of religious experience. Can this experience be validated?
  21. 📅 2007 · 20 MThe difference between numinous and mystical experience. Critical notes
  22. 📅 2005 · 20 MMysticism is the power of spiritual access to domains of knowledge closed off to ordinary thought.” Critical notes
  23. 📅 2000 · 60 MState and explain the chief doctrines of Mysticism.

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Religion without God.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 11 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2024
  1. 📅 2024 · 20 MState and evaluate Buddhism as a religion without God
  2. 📅 2023 · 10 MWhat is Agnosticism? How do agnostics conceptualize the relation between religion and God? Discuss
  3. 📅 2021 · 10 MIs religious life possible without the belief in God? Discuss
  4. 📅 2020 · 15 MCritically examine the concept of God as prerequisite for a religion
  5. 📅 2019 · 15 MHow would a religious person deny the possibility of a religion without God? Discuss
  6. 📅 2018 · 10 MCan you justify religion without God? Support your answer
  7. 📅 2017 · 10 MCritically evaluate the Buddhistic arguments against Is God necessary for religion? Justify your answer
  8. 📅 2015 · 10 MIs existence of God a necessary condition for the survival of religion? Explain
  9. 📅 2010 · 15 MWhat is the central concept in a religion without God? Discuss
  10. 📅 2005 · 60 MCan atheism be a religion? Discuss
  11. 📅 2000 · 20 MCan there be religion without God? Discuss with reference to Buddhism.

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Religion and Morality.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 27 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MHow does the issue of moral autonomy conflict with conception of religion as a source of morality? Critically discuss.
  2. 📅 2026 · 15 MCritically evaluate the shift in Gandhi’s view from ‘God is Truth’ to ‘Truth is God’, in the context of interrelation between religion and morality.
  3. 📅 2025 · 15 MIs it necessary for the normative principles to bear reference to God in order to produce a feeling of obligation in a moral agent? Critically discuss
  4. 📅 2025 · 10 MPresent an account Nietzsche’s criticism of religion and morality
  5. 📅 2024 · 10 MCan there be a religion without morality? Discuss
  6. 📅 2023 · 10 MDoes religion influence the moral behaviour? Explain the interactive relation between religion and morality
  7. 📅 2022 · 10 MOne can have morality without religion but not religion without morality.” Discuss
  8. 📅 2021 · 15 MDo you consider that religion and morality are inseparable? Give reasons for your answer
  9. 📅 2020 · 15 MAre religious beliefs and practices incompatible with moral behaviour? Discuss
  10. 📅 2019 · 10 MDoes a devoted commitment to a religious way of life make man go astray from social morality? Examine
  11. 📅 2019 · 15 MSecular ethics cannot fully resolve as to why one should be moral all the time. Examine
  12. 📅 2017 · 10 MDoes a committed religious person go against social morality? Discuss from moral perspective. 31 — Philosophy
  13. 📅 2017 · 15 MWhat will be the authority and acceptance of the absolute ethical values in the non-theological system of social practices? Discuss
  14. 📅 2017 · 15 MCan a religious person take an elastic view about religious ideals, principles and practices, etc. which are supposed to be eternal? Will it make religion progressive or will it demolish its authority? Discuss critically
  15. 📅 2016 · 15 MMoral principles function better when they remain independent and unconnected with religion.” Discuss
  16. 📅 2015 · 10 MIs morality necessarily based on religion? Discuss
  17. 📅 2015 · 15 MAn atheist may be a better man than a religious person bereft of moral values.” Discuss
  18. 📅 2014 · 20 MHow far can religious morality incorporate individual freedom?
  19. 📅 2014 · 10 MOn what grounds, dichotomy between ‘is’ and ‘ought’ can either be justified or rejected?
  20. 📅 2013 · 10 MIs religious consistent with individual freedom?
  21. 📅 2012 · 20 MIf God does not exist then why one should one be moral all the time?” Discuss
  22. 📅 2012 · 20 MI can be moral without being religious, but I cannot be religious without being moral.” Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer
  23. 📅 2011 · 15 MExamine the view that the foundation of morality is possible only in a religious framework
  24. 📅 2010 · 15 MIf morality has to follow from religion, can there a rational justification for moral actions? Discuss
  25. 📅 2008 · 20 MProprietary of religion without morality. Critical notes
  26. 📅 2006 · 60 MDistinguish between religious and secular ethics. Discuss in this context the view that holds that secular ethics are superior to religious ethics because religious ethics are essentially based on rules without decisive regard for consequences whereas secular ethics as their best aim at producing the best over-all consequences
  27. 📅 2000 · 20 MReligion and Morality. (Short Notes)

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Religious Pluralism and the Problem of Absolute Truth.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 28 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 15 MDoes the idea of Religious Pluralism necessarily entail moral relativism? Critically discuss.
  2. 📅 2026 · 15 MCan conflicting truth claims among religions be reconciled within the framework of religious pluralism? Critically discuss.
  3. 📅 2025 · 20 MHow does the Vedantic view of Religious Pluralism address the conflicting truth claims of different faiths? Answer with reference to Swami Vivekananda’s view of Universal Religion
  4. 📅 2024 · 10 MWrite a note on the notion of absolute truth in the context of religion
  5. 📅 2023 · 15 MDoes religious pluralism invite inter-religious conflicts and destroy the truth of religion? Discuss
  6. 📅 2022 · 20 MAn unquestionable acceptance of only one Absolute Truth will inevitably result in religious exclusivism.” Discuss
  7. 📅 2021 · 10 MIs religious freedom possible in a multi-religious society? Explain
  8. 📅 2021 · 10 MDiscuss the possibility of Absolute Truth in the context of religious pluralism
  9. 📅 2020 · 10 MIs it acceptable that the History of Religions is the History of Conflicts? Discuss
  10. 📅 2020 · 10 MWhat is the importance of religious tolerance in a multicultural pluralistic society? Justify your answer
  11. 📅 2019 · 20 MExpound and explain the central problem in the discussion between religious pluralists and religious exclusivists
  12. 📅 2018 · 15 M“Truth is one, yet people perceive differently.” Critically evaluate by considering the present Indian context
  13. 📅 2018 · 20 MDistinguish between Exclusivism, Inclusivism and Pluralism with regard to the conflicting truth-claims of different religions
  14. 📅 2017 · 15 MDoes religion guarantee the absolute truth? Discuss in the context of religious pluralism
  15. 📅 2016 · 10 MIs Religious absolutism a threat to Religious pluralism? Discuss
  16. 📅 2014 · 10 MCan pluralist perspective vindicate Absolute Truth?
  17. 📅 2014 · 10 MIf God is regarded as ‘one’, will it give rise to religious conflicts?
  18. 📅 2012 · 12 MCan the notion of absolute truth be justified on rational grounds?
  19. 📅 2012 · 12 MDo the concept of Ishvara and Brahman signify the same reality in Advaita Vedanta?
  20. 📅 2011 · 20 MExplain the notion of truth as “Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudha Vadanti ” (Truth is one, the learned interpret it differently.)
  21. 📅 2011 · 20 MDoes the notion of absolute truth give rise to intolerance and religious conflicts? Discuss
  22. 📅 2011 · 20 MHow can religious conflicts about truth be resolved? Discuss
  23. 📅 2011 · 20 MIs William James right in holding that religious disputes are like conflicts in aesthetic appreciation? Discuss
  24. 📅 2010 · 20 MThe fact that different religions originated at different places and in different centuries prove that plurality of religion is a fact. How correct would it be to say that all religions are essentially the same? Discuss
  25. 📅 2009 · 30 MThere are no whole truths, all truths are half-truths. It is trying to treat them as whole truth that plays the devil.” Discuss
  26. 📅 2009 · 30 MCan the God of religion be identified with the absolute of philosophy?
  27. 📅 2008 · 60 MIn a pluralistic society, how can religious pluralism be practiced? Point out distinction among – 32 — Philosophy a. sarvadharmasamanvaya b. sarvadharmasambhava c. sarvadharmasadbhava
  28. 📅 2000 · 20 MReligious pluralism and the claim of absolute truth.

📜 Official UPSC Syllabus: Nature of Religious Language: Analogical and Symbolic; Cognitivist and Non-cognitive.

📊 Questions Cataloged: 31 Questions 📅 Examination Span: 2000–2026
  1. 📅 2026 · 10 MCritically discuss the views of R. B. Braithwaite on the nature of religious language.
  2. 📅 2026 · 15 MAnalyse R. M. Hare’s concept of ‘blik’ and assess whether it successfully defends the meaningfulness of religious language.
  3. 📅 2025 · 15 MDiscuss the Advaitic notion of indescribability (anirvacanīyatā) in the context of nature of religious language
  4. 📅 2025 · 10 MIs religious language symbolic? Give reasons and justification in support of your answer
  5. 📅 2024 · 10 MExplain the analogical nature of religious language
  6. 📅 2023 · 15 MExplain the symbolic nature of religious language according to Tillich
  7. 📅 2023 · 10 MDiscuss Wittgenstein’s view about the non-cognitive nature of religious language
  8. 📅 2022 · 10 MExplain the difference between the cognitivist and non-cognitivist approaches to the religious language with reference to the statement—”God exists
  9. 📅 2021 · 20 MWhat is non-cognitive theory of religious language? Explain critically in the light of R. B. Braithwaite’s views
  10. 📅 2021 · 15 MExplain the symbolic nature of religious language with special reference to Paul Tillich
  11. 📅 2020 · 20 MDoes religious language carry cognitive content? Elucidate in detail
  12. 📅 2018 · 15 MCritically examine Braithwaite’s non-cognitive theory of religious language
  13. 📅 2018 · 10 MIn what sense is the secular use of language different from the religious use of language? Discuss
  14. 📅 2018 · 15 MExplain the significance of religious symbols as transcendent referent that mediates into the cultural, spatial and temporal world
  15. 📅 2017 · 20 MIs not the language of analogies more confusing and the language of symbols more unintelligible? Evaluate in the case of religious language
  16. 📅 2016 · 15 MAmong the different views of religious language, which one is more satisfactory and why ‘?
  17. 📅 2015 · 20 MHow can religious language be verified? Is it correct to say that religious language is verified because it cannot be falsified? Discuss
  18. 📅 2014 · 15 MHow do you formulate religious language as non-cognitive?
  19. 📅 2013 · 15 MWhat is meant by saying that religious language is non-cognitive?
  20. 📅 2013 · 15 MCan religious language be said to be verifiable?
  21. 📅 2013 · 20 MDo cognitivists provide cogent answer to the objection based on falsifiability?
  22. 📅 2012 · 20 MAnalyse Paul Tillich’s statement that “symbolic language alone is able to express the ultimate.
  23. 📅 2012 · 20 MDiscuss the cognitivist account of the nature of religious language
  24. 📅 2011 · 20 MAre religious doctrines and debates verifiable? Discuss
  25. 📅 2011 · 20 MExamine the view that, religious doctrines are not ‘quasi-scientific doctrines but represent a form of life
  26. 📅 2010 · 20 MReligious language is dependent on natural language for an analogy and a symbol of work. Why not treat religious language as a specialized language like telegraphic language? Discuss
  27. 📅 2009 · 20 MIs religious language symbolic? Discuss
  28. 📅 2004 · 20 MMan’s ultimate concern must be expressed symbolically because symbolic language alone is able to express the ultimate.” – Paul Tillich. Critical notes
  29. 📅 2001 · 20M (Short Notes)To be religious means to belong to some religious order. Short note. *** 33 — — ## Core Philosophical Analysis & Examination Relevance – **Core Philosophical Themes**: Key definitions, arguments, criticisms, and comparative distinctions extracted directly from `PYQs.pdf`. – **Application in UPSC Mains**: Useful for rapid conceptual revision, structuring 10-marker definitions, and developing 15/20-marker critical evaluations
  30. 📅 2000 · 10 MDistinguish between cognitivist and non-cognitivist account of religious language. Does the cognitivist account lead to any contradiction? Answer with reference to the philosophical views of R. B. Braithwaite. (2024/10+10)
  31. 📅 2000 · 20 MAnalogical theory of religious language.

How to Utilize Topic-Wise PYQs to Score 300+ in UPSC Philosophy

Top scorers in Philosophy Optional treat the previous year questions not as an evaluation checklist after studying, but as the primary guide before opening any standard textbook. Here is the proven 4-step framework:

  1. Thematic Micro-Grouping: In every topic, group past questions into 3 to 4 recurring core themes (e.g., in Plato: Theory of Ideas, Allegory of Cave, Knowledge vs Opinion, Aristotle’s Third Man Argument). UPSC repeatedly re-frames the same fundamental dialectic using different quotes.
  2. Distinguish Between Compulsory and Evaluative Demands:
    • 10-Mark Compulsory Questions (150 words): Require precise conceptual exposition, definition of key Sanskrit/philosophical terms, and direct addressing of the core prompt without lengthy introductions.
    • 15-Mark & 20-Mark Questions (250 words): Require dialectical depth, counter-arguments (Purvapaksha vs Uttarapaksha), inter-thinker comparisons (e.g., Plato vs Aristotle, Leibniz vs Shankara), and an objective critical evaluation.
  3. Pre-draft Standard Frameworks: Prepare 200-word structured templates for recurring high-yield questions (e.g., Spinoza’s Substance Monism, Kant’s Synthetic a priori, Buddhist Kshanikavada, Samkhya’s Parinamavada, Rawlsian Justice, Problem of Evil).
  4. Reverse Answer Writing: For every thinker or topic you complete, solve at least 3 historical UPSC questions under timed conditions before advancing to the next unit.

Explore Related UPSC Philosophy Optional Resources

To complement your topic-wise PYQ practice, access our dedicated guides, micro-syllabus breakdown, recommended booklist, and strategic preparation roadmap: