Philosophy passages are the most frequent genre in CAT RC and the hardest for most aspirants. The right reading list does not just expose you to philosophy content. It builds the specific skill of following a complex abstract argument across multiple paragraphs.
Aeon Essays is the starting point. Choose essays from the Philosophy and Mind sections. Good starting points are essays on the nature of consciousness, the philosophy of language, moral philosophy and theories of knowledge. These are the topics that appear most often in CAT RC philosophy passages. Read two to three Aeon essays per week.
The New York Times Philosophy column, The Stone, publishes short accessible philosophy essays of around 800 words. These are closer to CAT RC passage length and are an excellent way to build comfort with philosophy writing at a manageable difficulty level.
Prospect Magazine publishes essays on political philosophy, social theory and ethics that are closer in style to CAT RC passages than academic philosophy journals. The writing is rigorous but accessible. Read one Prospect essay per week.
JSTOR Daily translates academic research into readable essays of 600 to 1000 words. It covers philosophy, history, science and culture, and the writing style is very close to what appears in CAT RC passages.
GRADFLIX publishes philosophy essays daily in the exact length and style of CAT RC passages. Every philosophy essay on GRADFLIX is written to mirror the genre characteristics that CAT philosophy passages share: abstract central argument, development through qualification, and a conclusion that is implied rather than stated directly. The RC questions are designed to test main idea, inference and tone, the same question types that appear in CAT philosophy RC sets.
Monday to Friday, read one GRADFLIX philosophy essay and answer the questions. Wednesday, substitute with an Aeon essay of 1000 to 1500 words. Saturday, read one NYT The Stone column. Sunday, review all your wrong answers from the week. That is a complete weekly philosophy reading plan that covers both reading ability and question practice.
GRADFLIX philosophy essays are written in the exact CAT RC format. Abstract, idea-driven, with inference and tone questions. Free to start.
Read Philosophy EssaysAeon Essays for long-form philosophy reading, The New York Times Stone column for short accessible essays, and GRADFLIX for daily CAT-style philosophy passages with built-in questions.
Essays from the Philosophy and Mind sections, particularly on consciousness, moral philosophy and theories of knowledge. Start with essays between 1000 and 1500 words.
Two to three Aeon essays per week plus daily reading from a platform like GRADFLIX that provides CAT-format philosophy passages with questions.
JSTOR Daily, which translates academic research into readable essays, is useful. The academic journals on JSTOR are generally too technical for CAT RC preparation.