Professor
Tyler Burge
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Most Helpful Review
Burge is a very smart man. He knows and understands Kant in a way that most professors in this country do not. Seriously. Google him. And he can teach Kant very well. The only problem is that Kant is really, really, really hard. It's not that he's so hard to study for an exam, it's that to actually truly understand him and to have a real philosophical dialogue out of studying him, you need to know Descartes, Hume, Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza, and whoever else came before him. So, if you're going to take the 115 class, and you really want to get a lot out of it, then your philosophy better be rock solid. That being said, 115 is not at all a class that is difficult to get a decent grade in. But as far as real knowledge goes, if you want to maximize that and do justice to Kant, then listen to Burge when he says that you shouldn't take this class without at least 2 upper and 2 lower phil classes beforehand. Even with that, you'll still probably not get as much out of the class as you could if you were about to graduate with a phil major and this was your last class in the department. The problem with the class is that the vast majority of people really does not know what Kant or Burge are talking about the vast majority of the time. Yes, that does mean an easy B, because that just means being just like everybody else. If you dont want this class to be about just a grade, then be very, VERY devoted to the subject of philosophy and know a lot of it before going into the course. Something I personally didn't do at all and wish I did. Final word on Burge as professor- he is kind of dry, and he does repeat himself a lot and the lectures are really long and they are a drag. The biggest reason for that is because he really wants people to actually get what he's talking about, even though that's hopelessly wishful thinking at most times. Go to his office hours or just talk to him out of class if you want to really get an edge on the material without trying to stay awake all the time.
Burge is a very smart man. He knows and understands Kant in a way that most professors in this country do not. Seriously. Google him. And he can teach Kant very well. The only problem is that Kant is really, really, really hard. It's not that he's so hard to study for an exam, it's that to actually truly understand him and to have a real philosophical dialogue out of studying him, you need to know Descartes, Hume, Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza, and whoever else came before him. So, if you're going to take the 115 class, and you really want to get a lot out of it, then your philosophy better be rock solid. That being said, 115 is not at all a class that is difficult to get a decent grade in. But as far as real knowledge goes, if you want to maximize that and do justice to Kant, then listen to Burge when he says that you shouldn't take this class without at least 2 upper and 2 lower phil classes beforehand. Even with that, you'll still probably not get as much out of the class as you could if you were about to graduate with a phil major and this was your last class in the department. The problem with the class is that the vast majority of people really does not know what Kant or Burge are talking about the vast majority of the time. Yes, that does mean an easy B, because that just means being just like everybody else. If you dont want this class to be about just a grade, then be very, VERY devoted to the subject of philosophy and know a lot of it before going into the course. Something I personally didn't do at all and wish I did. Final word on Burge as professor- he is kind of dry, and he does repeat himself a lot and the lectures are really long and they are a drag. The biggest reason for that is because he really wants people to actually get what he's talking about, even though that's hopelessly wishful thinking at most times. Go to his office hours or just talk to him out of class if you want to really get an edge on the material without trying to stay awake all the time.
Most Helpful Review
Burge is one of the best professors I've ever had. He writes pretty much everything you need to know for the midterm and final on the board. Extremely organized, respectful and pleasant man. Doesn't waste time or wonder off like other profs. For 115 we had 1 midterm and 1 final, both in class. A study guide is given for each with 8?s, out of which 4 were chosen and 3 needed to be answered. I didn't read the book at all and got an A-. Discussion were slightly helpful but the midterm and final are completely based on Burge's notes. I took thorough notes including the notes he wrote on the board and also what he talked about but didn't write on the board. TA Will is great in OH and via email. Answered my ?s regarding the study guide, which were very helpful for the midterm and final. Try to answer the study guide questions couple days beforehand and give about 2 days for studying. a lot of memorization but not as intense as described by some commenters. no essay, he pretty much tells you what you need to know for the exams and you basically need to memorize the answers for the study guide/regurgitate. You just need to extract the proper answers from the notes. I would take him again!
Burge is one of the best professors I've ever had. He writes pretty much everything you need to know for the midterm and final on the board. Extremely organized, respectful and pleasant man. Doesn't waste time or wonder off like other profs. For 115 we had 1 midterm and 1 final, both in class. A study guide is given for each with 8?s, out of which 4 were chosen and 3 needed to be answered. I didn't read the book at all and got an A-. Discussion were slightly helpful but the midterm and final are completely based on Burge's notes. I took thorough notes including the notes he wrote on the board and also what he talked about but didn't write on the board. TA Will is great in OH and via email. Answered my ?s regarding the study guide, which were very helpful for the midterm and final. Try to answer the study guide questions couple days beforehand and give about 2 days for studying. a lot of memorization but not as intense as described by some commenters. no essay, he pretty much tells you what you need to know for the exams and you basically need to memorize the answers for the study guide/regurgitate. You just need to extract the proper answers from the notes. I would take him again!
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Most Helpful Review
Burge is really smart and a pretty nice guy, but phil 129 is crazy hard. His textbook is the hardest thing I have ever read. I am a 3rd year philosophy major, and the content of this class is seriously insane. Its very technical, very complex, and, to me, it was very abstract. For the sake of your grade and your sanity, I would not suggest taking phil 129. Seriously don't do it.
Burge is really smart and a pretty nice guy, but phil 129 is crazy hard. His textbook is the hardest thing I have ever read. I am a 3rd year philosophy major, and the content of this class is seriously insane. Its very technical, very complex, and, to me, it was very abstract. For the sake of your grade and your sanity, I would not suggest taking phil 129. Seriously don't do it.
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