List of top Questions asked in GATE Humanities and Social Sciences- Philosophy

A building has several rooms and doors as shown in the top view of the building given below. The doors are closed initially.
What is the minimum number of doors that need to be opened in order to go from the point P to the point Q?

Rice, a versatile and inexpensive source of carbohydrate, is a critical component of diet worldwide. Climate change, causing extreme weather, poses a threat to sustained availability of rice. Scientists are working on developing Green Super Rice (GSR), which is resilient under extreme weather conditions yet gives higher yields sustainably. Which one of the following is the CORRECT logical inference based on the information given in the above passage?

Consider the following inequalities.
(i) \( 3p - q<4 \)
(ii) \( 3q - p<12 \)
Which one of the following expressions below satisfies the above two inequalities?

Given below are three statements and four conclusions drawn based on the statements.

Statement 1: Some engineers are writers.
Statement 2: No writer is an actor.
Statement 3: All actors are engineers. Conclusion I: Some writers are engineers.
Conclusion II: All engineers are actors.
Conclusion III: No actor is a writer.
Conclusion IV: Some actors are writers.
Which one of the following options can be logically inferred?

Which one of the following sets of pieces can be assembled to form a square with a single round hole near the center? Pieces cannot overlap.

Inhaling the smoke from a burning __________ could __________ you quickly.

A sentence has been given below.
The train will leave at 8:30 PM, we \(\underline{have\ been}\) ready by 7:30 PM, so that we can reach the station on time.
To make the above sentence grammatically correct, the phrase marked in bold is to be replaced by

Complete the sentence correctly using the options given below.
Hastings \(\underline{(p)} \)\(\underline{(q)}\) developed as a holiday resort after \(\underline{(q)}.\)

Ludwig Wittgenstein, in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, writes, “A picture can depict any reality whose form it has.” Which of the following proposition(s) will be in line with this?

Select the CORRECT combinations of the Vedanta schools (Group-I) and their proponents (Group-II) from the table.

Which of the following is/are part of the six pāramitās (ṣaṭpāramitā) in Buddhism?

Read the passage carefully and answer the question:
“Habits of the constitutional morality may be essential for the maintenance of a constitutional form of government. But the maintenance of a constitutional form of Government is not the same thing as a self-government by the people. Similarly, it may be granted that adult suffrage can produce government of the people in the logical sense of the phrase, i.e., in contrast to the government of a king. But it cannot by itself be said to bring about a democratic government, in the sense of the government by the people and for the people.”
- B. R. Ambedkar, \(\textit{“Democracy”, The Essential Writings of B. R. Ambedkar} \)
Which of the following statements is/are NOT in conformity with the above passage?

Read the passage carefully and answer the question:
"What do I mean by the ideal of universal religion? I do not mean any one universal philosophy, or any one universal mythology, or any one universal ritual held by all; for I know that this world must go on working, wheel within wheel, this intricate mass of machinery, most complex, most wonderful. What can we do then? We can make it run smoothly, we can lessen the friction; we can grease the wheels, as it were. How? By recognizing natural necessity of variation. Just as we have recognized unity by our very nature, so we must also recognize variation. We must learn that truth may be expressed in a hundred thousand ways, and that each of these ways is true as far as it goes. We must learn that same thing can be viewed from a hundred different standpoints, and yet be the same thing."
– Swami Vivekananda, "The Ideal of a Universal Religion"", The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. II
Which of the following is/are characteristics of Vivekananda’s ideal of universal religion?

Read the song carefully and answer the question:
\(\textit{Deliverance is not for me in renunciation. I feel the embrace of freedom in a thousand bonds of delight.} \)
\(\textit{Thou ever pourest for me the fresh draught of thy wine of various colours and fragrance, filling this earthen vessel to the brim.} \)
\(\textit{My world will light its hundred different lamps with thy flame and place them before the altar of thy temple.} \)
\(\textit{No, I will never shut the doors of my senses. The delights of sight and hearing and touch will bear thy delight.} \)
\(\textit{Yes, all my illusions will burn into illumination of joy, and all my desires ripen into fruits of love.} \)
\(\textit{- Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali, Song 73} \)
The above song voices Tagore’s philosophy of life. Which among the following is/are in conformity with the message of the song?

Which among the following fundamental rationalist beliefs concerning the cause and effect relation does David Hume reject?

If Immanuel Kant is said to have brought about a Copernican revolution in philosophy, it is because of the following reasons:

What differentiates Logical Positivism of the Vienna Circle from the earlier forms of Empiricism and Positivism of Hume, Mach, Comte and Mill?

Bertrand Russell’s philosophy of Logical Atomism intends to establish his methodological and metaphysical standpoints. Which among the following is/are in accordance with his doctrine?

Using the theories of punishment to argue for or against capital punishment, which among the following is/are true?

Gilbert Ryle believed that Descartes’ mind-body dualism commits a category mistake. Which of the following motive(s) of Descartes lead(s) to this category mistake?

All Covid-19 patients are fighters No Covid-19 patients are children Therefore, no children are fighters Which one among the following options determines the mood, figure, and fallacy of the above argument?

In the theory of causation, the effect (kārya) is non-existent (asat) before its creation; it is a new beginning (ārambha). Which one of the following schools of thought in Indian philosophy upholds this theory?

Read the passage carefully and answer the question:
“Passive resistance is a method of securing rights by personal suffering; it is the reverse of resistance by arms. When I refuse to do a thing that is repugnant to my conscience, I use soul-force. For instance, the Government of the day has passed a law which is applicable to me. I do not like it. If by using violence I force the Government to repeal the law, I am employing what may be termed body-force. If I do not obey the law and accept the penalty for its breach, I use soul-force. It involves sacrifice of self.”
– M. K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule
Which one among the following is NOT in conformity with the above passage?

In light of Merleau-Ponty’s concepts of the body and perception in his Phenomenology of Perception, which of the following claim(s) is/are true about my body?

Plato's theory of recollection sheds light on the origins of knowledge. Which among the following option(s) does it intend to explain?