I took Professor Smith's class for a GE and I'm very happy about it. The reading is pretty dense but the lectures and the in-class handouts really clear things up. Lectures are pretty engaging; I got the sense he could tell when class was getting dull and he usually threw in a funny joke to get the students up again. Tests are pretty easy... just attend lecture and do the reading to support it if you want. My TA was pretty knowledgeable, but going to section wasn't really necessary. Philosophy 8 is a good class.

I thought Professor Smith was really good. He explains the concepts he presents in class very well and if you don't understand a concept, asking him well definitely clear things up. Although he makes you read the Theory and Reality book which confuses me, with his lectures, everything is much more clear. Although the TA for discussion doesn't help much, he definitely does.

The information in the class is interesting. He gives handouts at every lecture and they are what the test is based off of, so use them. He gives study guides for both tests. Go to lecture just to get the handouts. They aren't necessary and are very long, although he does try to get a couple jokes in. The grading is VERY subjective. My TA didn't mark anything off on one of my essays and when I approached her, she justified it by saying that she 'still gave me a good score'. So....watch out for that. Make it seem like you care and be VERY specific on the essay section of the exams. He said there was a page limit, but it wasn't strictly enforced. All in all, I'd take the class again. It's not difficult, just make nice with your TA. :)

So Phil 8 is an extremely EASY g.e, but it is also the most RIDICULOUS class i've taken.
Don't take this class, unless you want to deal with stupidity the whole quarter.
Unless of course you're a Phil major.
Sheldon Smith, the most boring guy ever! He's nice, and super approachable but he is extremely boring in class.
Midterm and Final, super easy but some of the T.A's are extremely picky which sucks.
Just my advice, don't take this philosophy, if your a science major, unless there's no other option.

This class will put you to sleep. Professor Sheldon tries to make the class easy for newcomers, but in the end, you're still confused. Overall, the class wasn't too difficult. It's an easy GE, but NOT an EASY A. TA's are super subjective, as past entries say. For some reason, my TA loved giving B+s but not As. Me and two other friends took this class and all ended up with B+s. The way this class grading works is most people will get either Bs or fail. Very few will get As. Just get the handouts, stay 30 minutes to get examples (even though you can use your own examples on the test). Otherwise, this class was a waste of time. For those of you looking for an easy A ge to boost up your GPA, this is not one of them unless you really get to know your ta, seeing as they grade your final, midterm and your paper.

This class was just stupid. I stopped reading the book because everything was on his handouts. You'll learn crap that you'll probably never ever need to use in real life. Class was easy is true. Not that much work. But, even if you work, you'd end up with just an okay grade. Rarely anyone get A's. I got a B+ and everyone I talked to either got a B+ or lower. The TA's grade so subjectively and they pretty much expect every single detail to be in the essays. Boring class. I stopped attending lectures. Handouts are a necessity. Book is not. If you want a chill and boring class, take it. But it's not an easy A.

Great professor. Definitely knows his subject and knows how to throw in a little humor every now and then to these philosophy classes that are so often dry.

smith is a great and entertaining teacher. the class is pretty easy in terms of the workload and the material you have to learn. unfortunately, it is NOT easy to get an A. your grade basically rests in the hands of the TA you have. my advice, get to know him/her and go to their office hours so they think you really care about the class. i ended up with an A- in the class even though i really felt like i did absolutely nothing wrong in it. the grading is really subjective and the best thing to do about it is to use VERY SMALL handwriting on your tests so you can fit in as much information as possible on your essays (because there is a page limit). i didnt do this on the midterm and ended up with an 89.4% on it (yeah my TA, luthra, was really a jerk). i got a B+ on my essay, which is worth like half your grade (even though i had several people proofread it, one of which who's a philosophy major who told me "if this isn't an A paper then i dont know what is"). so on the final (worth only like 25% of grade) i wrote really small on my essays and ended up with an A- in the class. so writing small mustve worked. only use the book to expand your knowledge. 99% of what u need to know is on smith's handouts.

Great teacher. Breaks down hard concepts and makes them easy to understand. Pay attention in lecture and you should do fine.

This professor is good. You can tell that he cares about his students learning and wants them to achieve greatness. On the other hand, your grades are all up to your TA. Be careful because this will screw you in the end. iF YOU HAVE CEDAR GREEN, I WOULD ENCOURAGE THAT YOU DROP THE CLASS OR SWITCH TAs. It seems like he wants to fail people. Almost screwed up my whole career. I had a 3.78 gpa and this class dropped it. I just wish the TAs were there to help :'(