GATE 2025 Question Paper Humanities & Social Sciences - Philosophy (XH-C4)

GATE
2025
Question Paper | Answer Key
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
(GATE) is a prestigious national-level exam
that assesses candidates for
comprehensive understanding in various
undergraduate-level subjects in
Engineering, Technology, Science,
Architecture, and Humanities.

General Aptitude
Q.1 – Q.5 Carry ONE mark Each

Q.1 Here are two analogous groups, Group-I and Group-II, that list words in their
decreasing order of intensity. Identify the missing word in Group-II.

Group-I: Abuse → Insult → Ridicule

Group-II: ________ → Praise → Appreciate

(A) Extol

(B) Prize

(C) Appropriate

(D) Espouse

Q.2 Had I learnt acting as a child, I ________ a famous film star.

Select the most appropriate option to complete the above sentence.

(A) will be

(B) can be

(C) am going to be

(D) could have been

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Q.3 The 12 musical notes are given as 𝐶, 𝐶 # , 𝐷, 𝐷# , 𝐸, 𝐹, 𝐹 # , 𝐺, 𝐺 # , 𝐴, 𝐴# , and 𝐵.
12
Frequency of each note is √2 times the frequency of the previous note. If the
frequency of the note C is 130.8 Hz, then the ratio of frequencies of notes 𝐹 # and 𝐶
is:

(A) 6
√2

(B)
√2

(C) 4
√2

(D) 2

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Q.4 The following figures show three curves generated using an iterative algorithm. The
total length of the curve generated after ‘Iteration 𝑛’ is:

Note: The figures shown are representative.

1
Iteration 0:

1 1
Iteration 1: Length of each segment:
3 3

1
1
Iteration 2: 9 Length of each segment:
9

𝑛
(A) 5 2
( )
3

(B) 5 𝑛
( )
3

(C) 5 2𝑛
( )
3

(D) 5 𝑛(2𝑛−1)
( )
3

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Q.5 |𝑥|
Which one of the following plots represents 𝑓 (𝑥 ) = − , where 𝑥 is a non-
𝑥
zero real number?

Note: The figures shown are representative.

f(x)
(A)
(0,1)

x
(0, −1)

f(x)
(B)
(0,1)

x
(0, −1)

f(x)
(C)

(1,0)
x
(−1,0)

f(x)
(D)
(0,1)

x
(0, −1)

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Q.6 – Q.10 Carry TWO marks Each

Q. 6 Identify the option that has the most appropriate sequence such that a coherent
paragraph is formed:

P. Over time, such adaptations lead to significant evolutionary changes with the
potential to shape the development of new species.

Q. In natural world, organisms constantly adapt to their environments in response to
challenges and opportunities.

R. This process of adaptation is driven by the principle of natural selection, where
favorable traits increase an organism’s chances of survival and reproduction.

S. As environments change, organisms that can adapt their behavior, structure and
physiology to such changes are more likely to survive.

(A) P→Q→R→S

(B) Q→S→R→P

(C) R→S→Q→P

(D) S→P→R→Q

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Q.7 A stick of length one meter is broken at two locations at distances of 𝑏1 and 𝑏2 from
the origin (0), as shown in the figure. Note that 0 < 𝑏1 < 𝑏2 < 1. Which one of the
following is NOT a necessary condition for forming a triangle using the three
pieces?

Note: All lengths are in meter. The figure shown is representative.

(A) 𝑏1 < 0.5

(B) 𝑏2 > 0.5

(C) 𝑏2 < 𝑏1 + 0.5

(D) 𝑏1 + 𝑏2 < 1

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Q.8 Eight students (P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, and W) are playing musical chairs. The figure
indicates their order of position at the start of the game. They play the game by
moving forward in a circle in the clockwise direction.

After the 1st round, 4th student behind P leaves the game. After 2nd round, 5th student
behind Q leaves the game. After 3rd round, 3rd student behind V leaves the game.
After 4th round, 4th student behind U leaves the game. Who all are left in the game
after the 4th round?

Note: The figure shown is representative.

(A) P; T; Q; S

(B) V; P; T; Q

(C) W; R; Q; V

(D) Q; T; V; W

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Q.9 The table lists the top 5 nations according to the number of gold medals won in a
tournament; also included are the number of silver and the bronze medals won by
them. Based only on the data provided in the table, which one of the following
statements is INCORRECT?

Nation Gold Silver Bronze

USA 40 44 41

Canada 39 27 24

Japan 20 12 13

Australia 17 19 16

France 16 26 22

(A) France will occupy the third place if the list were made on the basis of the total
number of medals won.

(B) The order of the top two nations will not change even if the list is made on the basis
of the total number of medals won.

(C) USA and Canada together have less than 50% of the medals awarded to the nations
in the above table.

(D) Canada has won twice as many total medals as Japan.

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Q.10 An organization allows its employees to work independently on consultancy
projects but charges an overhead on the consulting fee. The overhead is 20% of the
consulting fee, if the fee is up to ₹ 5,00,000. For higher fees, the overhead is
₹ 1,00,000 plus 10% of the amount by which the fee exceeds ₹ 5,00,000. The
government charges a Goods and Services Tax of 18% on the total amount (the
consulting fee plus the overhead). An employee of the organization charges this
entire amount, i.e., the consulting fee, overhead, and tax, to the client. If the client
cannot pay more than ₹ 10,00,000, what is the maximum consulting fee that the
employee can charge?

(A) ₹ 7,01,438

(B) ₹ 7,24,961

(C) ₹ 7,51,232

(D) ₹ 7,75,784

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Q.11– Q.17 Carry ONE mark Each

Q.11 Which one of the following numbers is odd one out?

31541 42651 53791 64871 75981

(A) 31541

(B) 42651

(C) 53791

(D) 75981

Q.12 Ankit, Arun, and Ankur have one apple each. Ankur also has one banana. Alam has
one mango and one kiwi. Ankit has just bought one pineapple.

Who has the least number of fruit(s)?

(A) Ankit

(B) Arun

(C) Ankur

(D) Alam

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Q.13 If each vowel in the word RESIDE is changed to its previous letter in the English
alphabet and each consonant is changed to the next letter in the English alphabet,
which one of the following options will be the third from the right?

(A) T

(B) D

(C) S

(D) H

Q.14 Vipul, Ahmad, Santosh, and David are playing Carrom. Vipul and Ahmad are
partners sitting opposite to each other. David faces towards South. If Vipul faces
towards West, then who faces towards the North?

(A) Alam

(B) Santosh

(C) David

(D) Vipul

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Q.15 Consider the following sentence.

What the country needs ____ ____ ____ ____ accordingly.

First and last parts of the sentence are given. P, Q, R, and S are the remaining parts
of the sentence, not necessarily in that order.

P: and change tactics
Q: who would encourage players
R: are coaches and officials
S: to read the game as it progresses

Which one of the following options is correct that gives the most appropriate order
and meaning to the sentence?

(A) QSPR

(B) RQSP

(C) RQPS

(D) SPRQ

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Q.16 A car started from city P at 9.40am. The time taken for the car to reach the city Q
is 4 hours and 50 minutes.

The time of arrival of the car at city Q is

(A) 15:10 Hours

(B) 14:20 Hours

(C) 14:30 Hours

(D) 14:10 Hours

Q.17 P is three years younger than R but one year older than S.

S is one year older than Q but 4 years younger than R.

R is 15 years old.

The age of Q is ____ years (answer in integer).

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Q.18 – Q26 Carry TWO marks Each

Q.18 In a certain code language, ATTITUDE is written as TAUJUEDU and CHILDREN
is written as HCJMENER.

How LANGUAGE is written in that code language?

(A) ALOHVEGA

(B) ALHOVAGA

(C) LAVOHEGA

(D) ALHOVGEA

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Q.19 The table shows the data of 450 candidates who appeared in the examination of
three subjects – Social Science, Mathematics, and Science.

Particulars Number of candidates
Passed in all the three subjects 167
Failed in all the three subjects 60
Failed in Social Science subject 175
Failed in Mathematics subject 199
Failed in Science subject 191
Passed in only Social Science subject 62
Passed in only Mathematics subject 48
Passed in only Science subject 52

How many candidates have passed in at least one subject?

(A) 48

(B) 162

(C) 390

(D) 425

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Q.20 If × means +, + means ÷, − means ×, and ÷ means −,

then 8 × 7 − 8 + 40 ÷ 2 =

(A) 8
3
5

(B) 2
7
5

(C) 7
2
5

(D) 3
8
5

Q.21 Given a series 5, 8, 11, 14, …

If the nth term of the given series is 320, then n (where, n ≥ 1) is

(A) 104

(B) 105

(C) 106

(D) 107

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Q.22 Suppose, your last year taxable income was Rs. 22000. Due to hike in salary, your
taxable income this year is Rs. 34200. The details for tax calculation are given in
the table below.

Income range (Rs.) Tax slab (Rs.)
0 to 5000 2 % of income
Greater than 5000 to 10000 100 + 3 % of income over 5000
Greater than 10000 to 20000 250 + 5 % of income over 10000
Greater than 20000 to 30000 750 + 8 % of income over 20000
Greater than 30000 to 50000 1550 + 10 % of income over 30000
Greater than 50000 to 100000 3550 + 20 % of income over 50000

Consider the appropriate tax slab corresponding to your income. What is the
additional amount of tax you need to pay this year compared to last year?

(A) 1970

(B) 1060

(C) 910

(D) 420

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Q.23 Anand, Hari, and Chris are engaged in one of the three type of occupations – clerk,
teacher, and plumber, not necessarily in that order. Each person is assigned only
one type of occupation. No two or more persons can be assigned same type of
occupation. Clerk is Chris’s cousin. Hari lives next door to the plumber.
Anand, who knows more facts than the teacher, has to drive more than 1 hour to
reach Hari’s home. Identify each of the person’s correct type of occupation, and
accordingly, which one of the following options is correct?

(A) Anand is teacher and Chris is clerk.

(B) Hari is clerk and Anand is plumber.

(C) Chris is teacher and Hari is clerk.

(D) Anand is clerk and Chris is plumber.

Q.24 Many countries are facing water shortage crises in the past few years. A report of
the United Nation has named India among the worst countries for poor quality of
water. The report ranks 122 countries according to the quality of their water as well
as their commitment to improve the situation. Some countries in Europe are
considered the worst because of the quality of its ground water. Rain failed in some
parts of India in the past. The vast areas of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra
Pradesh were affected by severe drought. People without water turn desperate and
violent. Consequently, the food godowns were attacked in some of the states.

Based on the details given in the passage, which of the following option(s) is/ are
correct statement(s)?

(A) There is no proof that India is affected by poor quality of water.

(B) A few European countries are suffering due to occurrence of drought.

(C) Lack of access to water can lead to social unrest.

(D) Intense shortage of water is visible in some states of India.

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Q.25 In the following figure, four overlapping shapes (rectangle, triangle, circle, and
hexagon) are given.

The sum of the numbers which belong to only two overlapping shapes is_______.

Q.26 Consider a square field ABCD. The diagonal AC is 50 meter. The cost of laying
grass in the field is Rs. 5 per square-meter. The total cost for laying grass in the field
ABCD is Rs. ________ (rounded off to two decimal places).

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Q.27– Q.44 Carry ONE mark Each

Q.27 Which one of the following options is challenged by G. E. Moore’s ‘Open Question
Argument’ concerning meta-ethical positions?

(A) Naturalism but not Supernaturalism

(B) Supernaturalism but not Naturalism

(C) Both Naturalism and Supernaturalism

(D) Neither Naturalism nor Supernaturalism

Q.28 The Chāndogya Upaniṣad gives the mahāvākya – Tat tvam asi (Ch. Upa. 6:8:7),
‘That you are.’ In this ‘great statement’ what does “tat” (“that”) stand for?

(A) Ᾱtman (The Absolute Self)

(B) Īśvara (God)

(C) Jīva (Individual self)

(D) Īśvara (God) and Jīva (Individual self)

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Q.29 In Kāṣmīra Śaivism, Śiva is the only reality which assumes forms in cosmic
manifestations. How many principles (tattvas) of cosmic manifestations does
Kāṣmīra Śaivism admit?

(A) 36

(B) 25

(C) 11

(D) 5

Q.30 How many Pramāṇas are accepted in the Advaita theory of knowledge?

(A) Six

(B) Five

(C) Four

(D) Three

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Q.31 Cārvāka school of thought admits the existence of four elements: earth, water, fire
and air. Why is the fifth element, ether (ākāśa), rejected?

(A) It is not perceived, but inferred

(B) It is not mentioned in the Scriptures

(C) It is nothing but air itself

(D) It is not made up of atoms

Q.32 In Jain ethical discipline, Mahāvratas (great vows) are given prominence. Which
one of the following options contains the Mahāvratas of Jainism?

(A) Ahimsā (non-injury), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacarya
(abstinence), and Aparigraha (detachment from possessions)

(B) Ahimsā (non-injury), Satya (truthfulness), Brahmacarya (abstinence), Karuṇā
(compassion), and Maitrī (friendliness)

(C) Ahimsā (non-injury), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacarya
(abstinence), and Maitrī (friendliness)

(D) Ahimsā (non-injury), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Aparigraha
(detachment from possessions), and Maitrī (friendliness)

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Q.33 Which one among the following is the theory of error advocated by Nyāya school
of Indian philosophy?

(A) Anyathākhyāti

(B) Asatkhyāti

(C) Ātmakhyāti

(D) Vivekakhyāti

Q.34 In Sānkhya system of Indian thought, _____________ is constituted by (or a unity
of) three guṇas - sattva, rajas and tamas.

(A) Prakṛti

(B) Puruṣa

(C) Individual puruṣa

(D) Both Puruṣa and Prakṛti

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Q.35 What does the is signify in Parmenides’ response to the ontological question, ‘What
is?’

(A) The unique whole – perfect and unchanging

(B) Infinite and ever changing

(C) What it is not

(D) Transformative and dynamic

Q.36 Consider the statement: “This is a dragon”. How could this, mentioned in the
statement, be instantiated as a description of Aristotle’s notion of substance?

(A) A particular

(B) A universal that helps in identifying the particular

(C) The particular which defies the presence of itself

(D) A universal that represents the Whole

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Q.37 Which one of the following statements is advocated by Jean-Paul Sartre?

(A) Freedom is not absolute, but is a matter of degree

(B) Freedom is not a stance of consciousness

(C) Freedom arises only in human action

(D) Freedom resides in a decision of the intellect, in autonomous thinking

Q.38 Whenever, our pet Johny falls sick, he just sniffs the food but does not eat. If forced,
he pisses on the side of the food-plate. Later, I came across a study conducted by
SAN’s School of Vets that such behaviour of pets is an indication of diabetes among
dogs. This made me to conclude that Johny is suffering from diabetes.

Which one of the Mill’s methods is used here for arriving at the conclusion?

(A) Method of Agreement

(B) Method of Difference

(C) Method of Concomitant Variation

(D) Method of Residues

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Q.39 Which one of the following is the contrary of (x)Px?

(A) (x) ⁓ Px

(B) ⁓ (x) ⁓ Px

(C) (϶x) ⁓ Px

(D) ⁓ (϶x) Px

Q.40 Rabindranath Tagore, in his The Religion of Man, claims that the aim of religion is
the realization of oneness of the individual soul with the supreme soul. Such a
realization is possible in _______________________ .

(A) love and joy

(B) meditation

(C) critical and rational thinking

(D) living a strictly religious order of life

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Q.41 While practicing satyagraha, Mahatma Gandhi used non-cooperation as a
cleansing process. Who is directly transformed by this process?

(A) The satyagrahi

(B) A rebel with an evil motive

(C) The state

(D) The other

Q.42 Which of the following is/are part of the four theories of existence advocated by Sri
Aurobindo?

(A) The Super-cosmic

(B) The Cosmic or the Terrestrial

(C) The Integral or Synthetic

(D) The Virtual

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Q.43 According to St. Thomas Aquinas, God exists as a supremely perfect and necessary
being. Which among the following options is/are in accordance with his concept of
God?

(A) Knowledge of God is innate in human beings

(B) True happiness is found in God

(C) Human beings have a priori knowledge of God

(D) God is known only by reflection

Q.44 Which among the following is/are characteristics of G.W. Leibniz’s notion of
Monads or Entelechies?

(A) Force

(B) Causal power

(C) Self-sufficiency

(D) Extension

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Q.45– Q.65 Carry TWO marks Each

Q.45 The Vaiśeṣika, like the Nyāya, adopts the realistic test of correspondence and the
pragmatic test of practical workability. What is the Vaiśeṣika doctrine of validity of
knowledge called?

(A) Parataḥ-prāmāṇya (Extrinsic validity)

(B) Svataḥ-prāmāṇya (Intrinsic validity)

(C) Parataḥ-prāmāṇya (Extrinsic validity) and Svataḥ-prāmāṇya (Intrinsic validity)

(D) Śruti-prāmāṇya (Scriptural validity) and Svataḥ-prāmāṇya (Intrinsic validity)

Q.46 Which of the following is a correct combination of the metaphysical position of
Viśiṣṭādvaita of Rāmānuja?

(i) World is real
(ii) World is unreal
(iii) There is no Jīvanmukti
(iv) Brahman is saguṇa (qualified)

(A) (i), (iii) and (iv)

(B) (i), (ii) and (iv)

(C) (ii), (iii) and (iv)

(D) (ii) and (iv)

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Q.47 Choose the correct combination of the following Mīmāmsā schools in Column I
and their respective epistemic position in Column II.

Column I Column II

(P) Kumārila Bhaṭṭa (i) accepts three Pramāṇas

(Q) Prabhākara (ii) accepts four Pramāṇas

(iii) accepts five Pramāṇas

(iv) accepts six Pramāṇas

(A) (P) and (iv); (Q) and (iii)

(B) (P) and (i); (Q) and (iv)

(C) (P) and (iii); (Q) and (i)

(D) (P) and (i); (Q) and (ii)

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Q.48 The highest good of an individual is self-realization through selfless acts for the
good of the humanity (Bhagavadgītā 3: 20 and 25). What is that concept in the
Bhagavadgītā which conceives the action for the benefits of humanity called?

(A) Lokasamgraha

(B) Sthitaprajňa

(C) Niṣkāmakarma

(D) Brāhmī-sthitiḥ

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Q.49 Choose the most appropriate combination from the given options such that the
ethical terms mentioned in Column I match with appropriate instantiations
mentioned in Column II.

Column I Column II

(P) A statement expressing (i) It is morally wrong to promote the
a deontic quality well-being of others if it
diminishes one’s own well-being

(Q) A statement expressing (ii) It is good to donate money to
Psychological Egoism charities that help people

(R) A statement expressing (iii) One ought to keep one’s promises
Ethical Egoism

(S) A statement expressing (iv) The only non-instrumental
an evaluative quality motivation to act for humans is a
perceived increase in well-being

(A) (P)–iii; (Q)–iv; (R)–i; (S)–ii

(B) (P)–ii; (Q)–iii; (R)–iv; (S)–i

(C) (P)–i; (Q)–ii; (R)–iii; (S)-iv

(D) (P)–iv; (Q)–i; (R)–ii; (S)–iii

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Q.50 Consider the following argument:

My brother is a real pig. You should see him eat! If he is a pig, then he is not human.
So he is not human.

Which one of the following evaluations about the argument is true?

(A) The argument is an example of modus ponens and commits no informal fallacy

(B) The argument commits the informal fallacy of equivocation

(C) The argument commits the formal fallacy of affirming the consequent

(D) The argument is an example of modus tollens and commits no formal fallacies

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Q.51 Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows it:

Gandhism may be well suited to a society which does not accept democracy as its
ideal. A society which does not believe in democracy may be indifferent to
machinery and the civilization based upon it. But a democratic society cannot. The
former may well content itself with life of leisure and culture for the few and a life
of toil and drudgery for the many. But a democratic society must assure a life of
leisure and culture to each one of its citizens. If the above analysis is correct then
the slogan of a democratic society must be machinery, and more machinery,
civilization and more civilization.

–B.R. Ambedkar, “Gandhism”, in The Essential Writings of B.R. Ambedkar.

From the above passage, which one of the following statements accurately
represents Dr. Ambedkar’s critique of Gandhism?

(A) A democratic society need not ensure a contentful life of leisure and culture for all
its citizens

(B) Gandhism cannot help in freeing all the people from drudgery and exploitation

(C) Mechanization is not necessary for democratic civilization

(D) Democracy and Gandhism complement each other

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Q.52 In proposing the ‘state of nature’ and the ‘ground of legitimate government’,
Thomas Hobbes would agree on which of the following?

(A) In the state of nature, rights cannot be enforced

(B) The sovereign power creates the possibility of a just order

(C) The agreement among all cannot be rational to the extent that each person benefits
from it

(D) The sovereign lies within the contract which creates it, and therefore, is bound by
its terms

Q.53 Which among the following is/are advocated by Karl Marx in proposing the
Dialectical process?

(A) Accepting that the driving force of history is humans’ relation to matter

(B) Acknowledging that both the knower and the thing known are in continual process
of mutual adaptation

(C) Interpreting the world as moving in the direction of increasing abstraction

(D) Accepting the thesis that it is “Spirit” that causes history to develop

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Q.54 Read the following passage carefully and answer the question:

The purpose of all rational human endeavour, individual as well as collective, is
attainment of freedom, in ever increasing measure. Freedom is progressive
disappearance of all restrictions on the unfolding of the potentialities of individuals,
as human beings, and not as cogs in the wheels of a mechanized social organism.
The position of the individual, therefore is the measure of the progressive and
liberating significance of any collective effort or social organisation. The success
of any collective endeavour is to be measured by the actual benefit for its constituent
units.

– M.N. Roy, ‘Principles of Radical Democracy 22 Theses”, in New
Humanism: A Manifesto.

Which among the following is/are in conformity with the above passage?

(A) Freedom can be measured by the degree to which individuals are free from
constraints

(B) Individual liberty can be sacrificed for collective welfare

(C) The aims of a collective differ from that of individuals

(D) The success of a collective is to be measured by the advantages it confers on the
individuals

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Q.55 “Original position” and “Veil of ignorance” are part of the hypothetical conditions
that John Rawls asks us to apply before we can come up with principles of
distributive justice. Which among the following highlight(s) the significance of
these hypothetical conditions?

(A) They help maintain impartiality

(B) They prevent manipulation of rules to favour ourselves over others

(C) They eliminate societal differences of race, gender, and caste

(D) They instill values of empathy and kindness

Q.56 Which of the following statement(s) is/are true about the formulation of the “will to
power” as conceived by Friedrich Nietzsche?

(A) It will fetch us moral and spiritual enlightenment

(B) It will help us in self-preservation when there are difficult situations

(C) It offers a dynamic vision of life where every aspect of existence receives a new
interpretation

(D) It helps in appreciating the fact that the whole of life is a single field of forces

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Q.57 Which of the following school(s) belong(s) to Mahāyāna Buddhism?

(A) Mādhyamika

(B) Yogācāra-Vijňānavāda

(C) Sarvāstivāda

(D) Sautrāntika

Q.58 Which among the following statement(s) is/are compatible with Ludwig
Wittgenstein’s position on ‘private language’ in his Philosophical Investigations?

(A) It is in accordance with the theory that ‘meaning is a mental process’ and ‘naming
is a mental act’

(B) For each person, ‘pain’ acquires its meaning by being correlated with her/his own
private sensation

(C) The English word ‘pain’ is not a word in a private language of the individual speaker
of the language

(D) It is not by private ostensive definition that ‘pain’ becomes the name of a sensation

Organising Institute: IIT Roorkee Page 38 of 42

Q.59 Which among the following statement(s) is/are in accordance with Plato’s
conclusion in Theaetetus for the question, ‘what is knowledge?’

(A) Just a true opinion

(B) True opinion with understanding of difference

(C) True opinion with definition

(D) Neither sensation nor true opinion

Q.60 Which among the following statement(s) is/are true about Rene Descartes’ methods
and his assumption that epistemic advance (method of discovery) is the only
criterion of knowledge?

(A) Algebra is a method of discovery par excellence

(B) Deductive inference is epistemically informative

(C) Galileo's methodology is acceptable

(D) Connection between algebra and logic is rejected

Organising Institute: IIT Roorkee Page 39 of 42

Q.61 In the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, John Locke proposes an empiricist
conception of knowledge that would agree with which of the following
statement(s)?

(A) We do not know the real essences of things

(B) We cannot have true science about things in the natural world

(C) We can have true science about things in the natural world

(D) We can have genuine knowledge of the existence of God

Q.62 Which among the following is/are in accordance with the ‘problem of induction’
that David Hume raises in his An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding?

(A) The relationship between distinct objects and events is always contingent

(B) No finite amount of evidence can exhaust the content of scientific laws and
universal truths

(C) No evidence available to us can guarantee the truth

(D) Pure empiricism can be a sufficient basis for science

Organising Institute: IIT Roorkee Page 40 of 42

Q.63 Which among the following statement(s) is/are in conformity with Immanuel
Kant’s notion of ‘synthetic a priori knowledge’?

(A) Our knowledge of mathematical truths is a priori

(B) ‘A straight line between two points is the shortest one’ is a synthetic proposition

(C) ‘The law of conservation of matter’ in Physics is a synthetic a priori principle

(D) Any object of sense is available purely as sensory awareness in human experience

Q.64 Gottlob Frege, in his paper, “On Sense and Reference”, analyses the statements,
‘a = a’ and ‘a = b’, where the reference of ‘a’ is the same as that of ‘b’. Which
among the following statement(s) correctly explain(s) his conception of sense and
reference?

(A) Statements ‘a = a’ and ‘a = b’ have different cognitive values

(B) Statements ‘a = a’ and ‘a = b’ have the same truth value

(C) The sense of the statement ‘a = a’ is same as the sense of the statement ‘a = b’

(D) The judgments expressed by statements ‘a = a’ and ‘a = b’ are same

Organising Institute: IIT Roorkee Page 41 of 42

Q.65 W.V.O. Quine, in his paper, “Two Dogmas of Empiricism”, rejects the boundary
between synthetic and analytic statements. Which among the following correctly
depict(s) his proposal of ‘Empiricism without the Dogmas’?

(A) Science is like a field of force where experience constitutes the boundary conditions

(B) Re-evaluation of some statements entails re-evaluation of others, because of their
logical interconnections

(C) Any statement can be held true come what may, if we make drastic enough
adjustments elsewhere in the system

(D) No statement is immune to revision except the logical laws

Organising Institute: IIT Roorkee Page 42 of 42

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