From 2024, History of Philosophy will once again be a general core subject in Baccalaureate and Selectividad. It is very likely that you are preparing it for the PAU in 2026. We tell you what the exam is like and give you some tips to prepare for it.

What will the 2026 PAU Philosophy exam be like?

As a new feature from 2026, the Philosophy exam will feature two texts from one of the philosophers on the syllabus: 

• Plato.
• Aristotle.
• San Agustín.
• St Thomas.
• Discards.
• Hume.
• Kant.
• Rousseau.
• Marx.
• Nietzsche.
• Ortega y Gasset.
• Hanna Arendt.

You will have to choose one of the two texts and answer four questions about it, each worth a maximum of 2,5 points. These questions will relate to identifying the author's thesis and concepts such as ethics, morality, and politics.

The correction criteria place special emphasis on the importance of using precise vocabulary.

General format

• Duration: 90 minutes.
• Amount: 10 points.
• Structure: 4 questions, 2,5 points each.

How to respond

First you must Choose one text from A or BOnce chosen, you answer the questions 1, 2, 3 and 4 according to the exam instructions.

Exact structure of the exam

Question 1: about the chosen text. It has two parts:

• Identify and explain the main thesis of the text.
• To put into dialogue the issue of the text with another author or philosophical movement, from the same or another era, through a short explanatory text.

Question 2You choose one of two issues of ancient or medieval times:

• the problem of human,
• the problem of the society and/or politics. (For example)

Question 3You choose one of two issues of modern era:

• the problem of the reality and/or knowledge,
• the problem of the ethics and/or morality. (For example)

Question 4You choose one of two issues of Contemporary age:

• the problem of human,
• the problem of the society and/or politics. (For example)

How do they correct

In question 1, it is valued:

• Identify the thesis of the text: up to 1 point;
• to analyze it critically from the perspective of another author or school of thought: up to 1 point;
• use precise vocabulary: up to 0,5 points.

In the questions 2, 3 and 4, it is valued above all the correct exposition of the philosophical problem chosen from the corresponding author or movement (up to 2 points) And the use of precise vocabulary (up to 0,5 points).

5 tips to obtain the best results in the Philosophy exam

If you want to go for a 10 in the 2026 PAU History of Philosophy exam, don't miss our tips:

1. Read a lot exam models so that you become familiar with the type of exercises that they can give us. 
2. Create your own notes. Divide them by eras, and in each era summarize the most important authors. For these notes, use all the sources you have available: class notes, books, PowerPoint presentations, external resources. Remember that the essential thing is that you completely understand the author and, for this, all help is little.
3. When you summarize each author, divide their theory into problems to make it easier to study: human being, god, knowledge, ethics, politics (world or society).
4. One of the most difficult points of the exam is the text commentary. So that you go with confidence, make sure you read and analyze enough texts by each author. It is recommended that you can read solved models of comments too.
5. Don't forget to check all the exam models solved by our teachers that you can find in our YouTube channel. It will help you a lot to try to do it yourself by measuring the time it takes and then compare your answers with those of the teachers. What grade would you give yourself?

In addition to following these tips, it is also important that you avoid making the most common mistakes in philosophy exams. You can see them in the article they have written on our collaborator's page, Bravosol Academy, in which they tell you the 4 most common mistakes to avoid in the Selectividad exams, both PAU and PCE UNEDasiss.

We hope we have helped you, good luck!