Why people don’t choose philosophy:

Philosophy as a term has a dread attached to it. A very nerdy person who talks in a far-fetched jargon is usually called a Philosopher here. People think that this course should be avoided at all costs because it will be highly obscure. Even I used to believe in such MYTHS. However, when I studied Philosophy, it proved to be easier than Psychology.


Why Choose Philosophy?

Philosophy is seldom chosen but it is a highly scoring subject. First two position holders of 2012 had Philosophy as their electives. It will also help in other subjects. Just look at the essay paper and you will find topics related to philosophy. The first paper Logic helps in sharpening argumentation skills which can be used to attempt all other papers.


Books for Paper 1 Logic:

Either Patrick Hurley’s or Copi’s Introduction to Logic is sufficient for paper 1. I personally prefer Hurley’s book. Its PDF version looks very good, much better than the Copi’s scanned available version. The rest of the topics: Aristotle’s concept of meaning and definition and Ibn-e-Taimiyah’s criticism could be easily found on the internet.

Paper 1 consists of basics about Formal and Informal Logic. Fallacies. Meaning and Definition. Categorical Syllogism which can get you 10/10. Symbolic Logic which can also get you 100 percent marks. Deductive and Inductive Logic. Scientific Method. Pretty much everything about logic is common sense.

Books for Paper 2 Western and Islamic Philosophy:

Western Philosophy:

Many people would recommend Bertrand Russel’s A history of western philosophy but I will advise that you stay away from that book. It is highly amusing but it is not written as a text book. Other texts are quite obscure. However, Popkin’s Philosophy Made Simple is very simple and highly readable. All western philosophy topics can be prepared from it. A PDF is available.

Islamic Philosophy –Arab/Persian/Turk:

Islamic Philosophy by M. Saeed Sheikh can be used to cover all the Muslim philosophers and theologians. PDF is available. Just search over the internet.

Islamic Philosophy- Subcontinent (Shah wali Ullah, Sir Syed, Iqbal):

Use MM Sharif’s book chapters on these philosophers. PDF is available and separate chapters can be downloaded. There is no need to download the enormous full book.