GATE 2026 Philosophy (XH-C4) Paper Analysis: Difficulty, Weightage & Cutoffs

Detailed Review of Feb 7 Philosophy Exam, Topic-wise Weightage, and Expected IIT Admission Scores.

Updated: 4 months ago

Categories: GATE 2026, Paper Analysis, Philosophy.

Tags: ATE 2026 Philosophy Analysis, XH-C4 Paper Review, Philosophy GATE Cutoff, Indian Philosophy Weightage

GATE 2026 Philosophy (XH-C4) Detailed Analysis

Exam Date: Feb 7, 2026 | Session: Afternoon | Conducting Body: IIT Guwahati

Overall Difficulty & Question Trend

The GATE 2026 Philosophy paper followed a Moderate difficulty trend. General Aptitude was easy, and the compulsory Reasoning & Comprehension (B1) was balanced. The Philosophy (C4) section was noted for its conceptual depth in Logic and Modern Western Philosophy, while Indian Philosophy questions were largely based on orthodox systems.

GA: 15 Marks (Easy)

B1 (Reasoning): 25 Marks (Moderate)

C4 (Philosophy): 60 Marks (Moderate)

Subject-Wise Marks Weightage

Domain	High-Weightage Topics (2026)	Weightage
Classical Indian Philosophy	Nyaya Pramanas, Vedanta (Advaita/Visistadvaita), Buddhism (Sunyavada).	High
Modern Western Philosophy	Descartes' Method, Kant’s Categories, Spinoza’s Substance.	High
Logic & Epistemology	Truth Tables, Validity, Theories of Truth, Plato’s Episteme.	Moderate
Contemporary Philosophy	Wittgenstein (Language Games), Sartre (Freedom), Gandhi/Ambedkar.	Moderate
Ethics	Utilitarianism, Kantian Deontology, Virtue Ethics.	Moderate

Expected Qualifying Cutoff 2026

The cutoff for Philosophy is typically stable. Based on the 2026 difficulty level, we expect the qualifying marks to be slightly higher than the 2024-25 cycle.

Category	2026 (Expected)	2025 (Actual)	2024 (Actual)
General (GEN)	40.5 - 43.5	38.0	39.3
OBC-NCL / EWS	36.5 - 39.0	34.2	35.3
SC / ST / PwD	27.0 - 29.0	25.3	26.1

IIT Admission Scores (Safe Targets)

IIT Bombay / Kanpur

Score: 780+ | Marks: 65+

IIT Madras / Delhi

Score: 700+ | Marks: 58+

Newer IITs

Score: 550+ | Marks: 45+

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Quizzes

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9 attempts on GATE Humanities and Social Sciences - Philosophy quizzes

Himanshi jeengar scored 8/10 on Ethics Mahima scored 3/10 on Ethics KUNAL MASSON scored 0/10 on Ethics Himanshi scored 5/10 on Logic Mahima scored 2/10 on Logic Himanshi scored 9/10 on Descartes and Rationalism Himanshi scored 10/10 on Classical Indian Schools: Samkhya and Vedanta Himanshi scored 4/10 on Social and Political Philosophy Himanshi scored 7/10 on Contemporary Western Philosophy Himanshi jeengar scored 8/10 on Ethics Mahima scored 3/10 on Ethics KUNAL MASSON scored 0/10 on Ethics Himanshi scored 5/10 on Logic Mahima scored 2/10 on Logic Himanshi scored 9/10 on Descartes and Rationalism Himanshi scored 10/10 on Classical Indian Schools: Samkhya and Vedanta Himanshi scored 4/10 on Social and Political Philosophy Himanshi scored 7/10 on Contemporary Western Philosophy

Ethics Practice Quiz | GATE Humanities and Social Sciences - Philosophy

10 Qs · ~10 min

Logic Practice Quiz | GATE Humanities and Social Sciences - Philosophy

10 Qs · ~10 min

GATE Philosophy — Descartes and Rationalism (Practice Quiz)

10 Qs · ~10 min

GATE Philosophy — Classical Indian Schools: Samkhya and Vedanta (Practice Quiz)

10 Qs · ~10 min

Social and Political Philosophy Practice Quiz | GATE Humanities and Social Sciences - Philosophy

10 Qs · ~10 min

Contemporary Western Philosophy Practice Quiz | GATE Humanities and Social Sciences - Philosophy

10 Qs · ~10 min

Kant's Categorical Imperative Practice Quiz | GATE Humanities and Social Sciences - Philosophy

10 Qs · ~10 min

Rawls' Original Position Advanced Challenge | GATE Humanities and Social Sciences - Philosophy

10 Qs · ~10 min

Nyaya Means of Knowledge Fundamentals | GATE Humanities and Social Sciences - Philosophy

10 Qs · ~10 min

#10

Aristotle's Four Causes Fundamentals | GATE Humanities and Social Sciences - Philosophy

10 Qs · ~10 min

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