Philosophy Optional Strategy - By Dharmendra Sir Director Patanjali IAS

Q. Who should choose Philosophy as an optional? How to assess oneself before choosing it? What are the criteria for choosing it as an optional?

Ans. The decision of selecting the best optional subject is very crucial since it plays a significant role in your final selection and good position in Civil Services Examination. As IAS Exam is the most prestigious examination of India, consequently competition is very tough.

Hence, before selecting optional papers following points must be taken in to consideration:

• Whether the syllabus is concise in nature or not?
• Whether the optional is marks-fetching or not?
• Whether the chance of being selected with that paper is high or not?
• Whether adequate study material and proper guidance is available in that subject or not?
• Whether the optional is helpful in General Studies and Essay or not?

On the above criteria, Philosophy is a suitable subject since it fulfils all important requirements. The syllabus of Philosophy is clearer and it is also brief in comparison with the syllabus of other subjects. 90 days are enough for completing the whole syllabus. Here, it is notable that, there are 26 optional subjects available in the Civil Services, out of which the candidate can choose any one subject of his own choice.

Q. How to do 'Self-Assessment' before choosing Philosophy as an optional subject?

Ans. In Philosophy, you do not have to mug up lacs of facts. Philosophy is a conceptual subject. Here ideas are interlinked with each other. Continuity of ideas lies in this subject where forthcoming idea is dependent on the prior one and is also refined and developed out of the previous ideas. One can tackle any type of question of particular topic if one has only comprehensive knowledge of that topic. Comparative study in Philosophy makes it easy to understand and writing extempore answers.

Q. What is the success ratio of this optional in the Civil Services Examination? Is this a safe optional subject?

Ans. The success ratio of various optional subjects in Civil Services Examination is not fixed, it keeps on changing. The success rate with Philosophy over the past decade has been somewhere between 5-10 per cent.

Q. What are the things to be kept in mind while preparing for this optional? What kind of strategy should be followed in preparing this optional?

Ans. Both comprehensive and selective strategy should be adopted for the preparation of Philosophy. Give special emphasis on some important philosophers and topics as questions are being asked from there almost every year; for example, Shankar and Kant, etc. Since most of the questions are to be answered in 150-200 words, so if you have overall knowledge of any topic, then the answer of the questions can be written easily.

Q. Is there enough study material available for this optional subject?

Ans. There are plenty of philosophical books available in the market in English medium. The notes provided by our institute are very rich, best in quality, and provide complete coverage of the syllabus. Patanjali Ias Class and printed notes, previous year question bank and model answers - are sufficient for the preparation of Philosophy.

Q. Are there teachers available for this subject?

Ans. Dharmendra Sir (Patanjali IAS) has 22 years teaching experience in Philosophy. Not only a large number of candidates under the guidance of Dharmendra Sir have been successful, but many students like Athar Amir (2nd rank), Kiran Kaushal (3rd rank), Jai Prakash Maurya (9th rank), Jitendra Kumar Soni, Govind Jaiswal, Bhanuchandra Goswami, etc. have achieved high rank.

Q. Which standard books should be studied to prepare this subject?

Ans. Standard books are available for different sections of Philosophy subject such as:

• Indian Philosophy - Datta and Chatterjee, C.D. Sharma
• Western Philosophy- Frank Thilly & Y Mashih
• Social & Political Philosophy - O. P. Gauba
• Philosophy of Religion- John Hick & Y. Mashih
• Printed & Class Notes of Patanjali IAS is sufficient to cater the demand of present question paper of Philosophy.

Q. How to start preparation for this optional?

Ans. To prepare Philosophy, read the class notes and study any one authentic book together. After completing the topic, try to see previous years’ question papers with related topics. Try to prepare a mental map of them. This will build confidence in the subject from the very beginning.

Q. How should the answer-writing exercise for this topic be done?

Ans. For success in Civil Services Examination, not only in-depth knowledge of the subject is required, but it is also important that how effectively and logically you are presenting your information in the answer-sheet.

• Avoid writing lengthy introduction at the beginning of the answer. Be sure to write a balanced critical assessment at the end of the answer. Avoid unnecessary repetition and one-sided writing. Also, make fair and constructive presentation of ideas and strictly follow the prescribed word limit. Before writing the answer, read the question carefully and give direction to the answer keeping in mind the words used in the question like criticism, evaluation, examine, discuss, describe, explanation, etc.

Q. Will this optional be helpful in General Studies/Essay/Interview also?

Ans. Philosophy as an optional subject, being short and high scoring, proves to be very helpful in General Studies, Essay and Interview as well.

• According to current question pattern in Civil Services (Main) examination Paper IV (Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude) of 250 Marks plays a considerable role. Ethics is one of the principal branches of Philosophy, and therefore after studying Philosophy, a student will be better endowed to deal with the challenges of ethics paper.
• Philosophy can inculcate critical outlook towards life and can enable one to become more insightful, self-reliant and original. Consequently, Philosophy can bring about a remarkable improvement in the thinking and writing of the students, and thereby can extend substantial help to the essay paper as well as interview.
• According to recent trend, roughly four to five topics are coming from Philosophy for essay paper of 250 marks.
• Philosophy Optional Paper II (Section 'A’) covers both Social and Political Philosophy. In this section, we have to study the topics such as- Justice, Rights, Duties and Accountability, Democracy, Socialism, Secularism, Multiculturalism, Corruption, Capital Punishment, Mass Violence, Development and Social Progress, Gender Discrimination, Female Foeticide, Women Empowerment, Land and Property Rights, Caste Discrimination, etc. These topics are very helpful in Indian Polity and Social Issues.
• In recent years, most of the questions of the essay were of moral and philosophical nature and students from philosophy background can be benefitted from it.