The class is fairly easy, attendance is not mandatory, with him posting his lecture notes online. No need to get the book, it just complicates everything. the grade consists of midterm, essay, and final with each being a third of your grade. both tests are easy if one looks either looks at the lecture notes or listens in lecture, and then brings up particular questions with the TA. If your TA is good you may be able to study purely off of their packets and discussion without the need for lecture. The essay might seem daunting but if you talk to your TA and the professor ahead of time you will be able to get a good grade. The problem with this class is that philosophy papers are graded fairly hard and the way to get an A is to get very good grades on the tests, which is not that difficult.

Used one textbook and readings did matter, the exams were pretty standard and as long as you understood the concept, you would be fine. Professor Smith sometimes rambles and then you get lost, he doesn't really say anything if you come in late. Makes a lot of jokes and it's a comfortable class if you can grasp your head around somewhat abstract concepts.

I would say you should take this class if you like philosophy and science but if not, then don't do it. I liked the professor and all but the class was too abstract for me personally, to wrap my head around it. The textbook for me was available in ebook form and like cheaper.

A midterm, essay, and final was the way it went for me.

While this class is extremely simple and easy to follow, and is a generally easy GE, your entire grade essentially boils down to the paper. Unfortunately, in the words of my TA, "even though [I] worked very hard on it, it isn't what [she was] looking for." As other reviews say, philosophy papers are very much unlike every other paper you have written, and your grade is entirely at the discretion of your TA for these papers. If you don't do a lot of work to find out exactly how your TA wants the paper written, best of luck. In fairness, I didn't do as much as I could have to get in touch with my TA to make sure my paper was as she wanted it, but when she gave me back the revisions to the paper, the revisions were VERY light, and I received a 70%.
Additionally, if you are not deeply interested philosophy, this class will be the most boring thing you've ever sat through. This is not to discredit Sheldon Smith; he's a great lecturer and a funny dude, but he won't respond to your emails, and his material is, unfortunately, absurdly boring. I did very well on both of the tests, but ultimately received a B- in the class because I got the wrong TA. Beware.

If you are looking for an easy GE, you have found the right class. The professor is extremely clear and helpful in his lectures. The tests are extremely easy as long as you have a basic understanding of the material (which there isn't much of). The readings are not exhaustive and are really all you need to understand the concepts. The hardest part of this easy class is the term paper. I say this because the class is so damn easy.

Jokes aside, you still should go to class and make sure you have a thorough understanding of the philosophical concepts if you want an A.

I really liked this class. It's a good Philos credit for science people and a good science credit for those not so sciencey. Prof. Smith is funny but sometimes his lectures are too long and drawn out. He often goes off tangent but it's still interesting stuff. I would not say that lectures are necessary, but he goes through the material step by step, so it's really clear. The book was totally needed and took a while to read and take notes, but it's really all you need for this class. The course is set up like this:

1/3 Midterm
1/3 Final
1/3 Paper

The paper is the hardest part of the course for sure. It brought down most people's grades that I asked. The final was as little cumulative as possible, he asked maybe one question from the midterm review and it was related to the material in the final. Get help on the paper from your TA, mine looked at it and gave pretty decent feedback that definitely helped. Philosophy papers are really different from that of basically any other subject, so do your research and get help and I don't see why you couldn't get at least a B.

I have never taken Philosphy in my life so initially I didn't feel so confident about this course, but it turned out to be that I really enjoyed this class. Although it was early I personally enjoyed going to lecture and hearing Smith's jokes, I think it made lecture much more interesting. The material was definitely not difficult since Professor Smith always handed us a copy of his own notes. These notes helped me with the midterm and final. I think if you study his notes, along with going to lecture and taking notes of his in class examples then you should have no trouble in getting a good grade. Perhaps the hardest assignment was the written paper but as long as you ask your TA or Professor Smith for clarification, then you will be okay as well. Overall, this course was pretty awesome, and did not give me a headache, considering the fact that I did not have prior knowledge of philosphy.
P.s- I have never written a review before, but I think this class, along with Professor Smith deserve a review.

Dr. Smith is an awesome lecturer who uses clear examples from the textbook to support what he is teaching. He also prints out handouts each lecture for students, and these are great supplements to lecture. I took this class as a major requirement, but found it very interesting and I definitely learned to think and analyze in much different ways.

The midterm, term paper, and final exam were all weighted equally (33.33% each.) the midterm was very reasonable (10 multiple choice, five short answer, and three essay questions) and if you do all of the readings and look at the handouts you will do well.
The term paper is about a topic of your choice (from a list of prompts he gives) and if you work with your TA on your outline and invest time into the clarity of your arguments, you will do well. My TA was Chad, and he was always willing to meet outside of class to help with my essay and in reviewing for the midterm.
The final exam was not cumulative, and had the same format as the midterm. The class does not appear to be curved, as I got an A on the midterm, an A on the paper, and an A- on the final (and wound up with an A- in the class.)
Overall, I think this class was great and would highly recommend it.

This class was so boring and I found all of the topics we learned incredibly dumb and useless. It was an 8AM so nobody ever showed up. I studied hard for the midterm and the final but the TA's grade the essay's really hard. In terms of attendance this class is great because you're not required to show up to lecture or discussion- but, I still would not recommend this class.

The class, professor and material is all good, manageable and easy BUT IF YOU ARE TAKING THIS CLASS WITH CEDAR GREEN AS YOUR TA DROP OUT IMMEDIATELY OR SWITCH TAs.
I got graded terribly on the first midterm in which I got all multiple choice questions and short answer questions correct yet I somehow forgot all the material on the essay portions (???).
He also just confuses all the students during section and I found that everyone would just skip it instead of going because the professor didn't count participation points.
I think maybe he got butt hurt that no one went and decided to just grade harshly.
TAKE HOME MESSAGE: This class is good if you want an easy grade/class but if you have CEDAR GREEN, enter at your own risk. You have been warned.

this class is an easy A if you just show up to lecture and take notes. yes, he has a book, but buying it is unnecessary since everything, i mean everything, you need for the class is on the handouts. Dont rely on just the handouts though, i think being in class and listeting and actively taking notes is easier than cramming everything on the handouts at the end to study. Class does get a little boring, but i found that he mainly lectures the first hour really, and the second hour he answers people's questions, or goes over the material he just taught again in more detail..so i mainly only found myself taking notes during the first hour, and just sitting and listening during the second hour. overall, pretty good class, easy if you just show up and actively take notes, but was a little boring.