PHIL 1000

This class is definitely low workload, so in that respect it's good. Professor Cameron usually assigns 1 or 2 readings assignments for the week, and they're really short, at MOST 10 pages. Despite this, this class really wasn't for me. I'm sure many people enjoy philosophy, but the readings were incredibly boring, and Ross often just goes over the same points in the readings multiple times in the lectures (which made them pretty boring for me personally). We were assigned two essays and a midterm, and if you do the readings, they're fairly easy. Most of the essays are just explaining the respective philosophers point, and only 20-25% is you actually giving your philosophical opinion, so if you pick the right prompt this should be a piece of cake. Overall, I'd recommend the class because it's easy, and it'll likely determine whether you like philosophy or not!

Prof Cameron is a great lecturer and applies the concepts we are learning to real world situations. The workload for the course is low with the exception of two papers, but if you don't do the readings for homework it will catch up to you. Though the discussion classes don't have mandatory attendance, they definitely help the material stick and I recommend going. Great class

Professor Cameron is a great lecturer. He makes the really boring philosophy readings more interesting and makes complex concepts simpler. There were two papers, a midterm, and a final. The important part of the papers is to be very clear in your explanations of everything. It is mostly just repeating back information with a little bit of analysis. The midterm was true false and short answers. The final (which was supposed to be cumulative, but mostly covered the second half) was short answers and an essay. Grading depends entirely own the TA. I had Kirra as my TA, and she was the worst. Discussions weren't mandatory, and I honestly would have been better off not going. Kirra couldn't explain anything and honestly made things more confusing. She also was a hard grader. I enjoyed the class overall, but hated my discussion section. However, that wouldn't stop me from recommending this course.

Professor Cameron has a great love of the material, and explains things in a way which makes what could otherwise be very dense in a clear way. Even if you're not looking into philosophy as a major (I'm not one), you'll enjoy it with Cameron.

Absolutely loved this class. Professor Cameron is so cool, he has a nice accent and explains the theories very well which is a difficult thing to do because they can get confusing very quickly. The class material is interesting on its own and there isn't much work outside to do except to read. If you pay attention in class and make summary notes of the articles he has you read, you'll do perfect. The exams were short and to the point, that's one good thing about philosophy, they don't want the fluff that you put in normal short answer tests or essays. The papers are hard if you don't know how to expand while not sounding like you're BSing. But the TA's are very helpful!

Professor Cameron is quite engaging during lecture and very knowledgeable about the course material, and displays evident passion for the subject of philosophy. His lectures are usually fairly easy to keep up with, and he does an excellent job of explaining more difficult concepts. All of the readings are covered rather extensively in lecture and the powerpoints are available on Collab, so it is possible to get away with not doing the readings, but readings are necessary if you want to get an A in the class. A very interesting, thought-provoking class, but NOT an easy A- the exams and essays require a great deal of thinking and engagement with the course material. All in all, however, a very worthwhile course which contributes to students' understandings of various academic subjects.

Ross is an amazing philosophy professor--he definitely sparked my interest in philosophy! Going to lectures is imperative (as is paying attention) especially since Ross connects bigger, theoretical philosophical ideas/theories with common, day-to-day concepts that really aids in the understanding of the material. Ross' connection to real world examples really helped me grasp the material better and I often found myself referencing them on exams/in essays. The class doesn't require an insane amount of work--preparation for the essays will be lengthy as well as exams, but if you understand the material, you should be fine. Readings aren't required; I remember doing one the entire semester and it didn't even help/seem to correlate with what was discussed in class. Take your drafted essays to your TA at least a week in advance!! I remember mine was able to read over mine a couple times after having edited it, helping me construct it better and end up with an A for that paper. My TA was super passionate about the topic and so was Ross--very worthwhile class if you're interested in Philosophy!--also fulfills a requirement!

He was an awesome professor who really explained everything so you could understand it. I would only recommend taking the class if you genuinely want to learn about philosophy and keep in mind philosophy is really abstract and so you are questioning basically everything and in the end there really are no definite answers because that's what philosophy is. You can read the designated readings but they were really confusing, so you can definitely get away without doing any of the readings because as long as you go to class and attend the lecture he will explain everything and his powerpoint are pretty great. There is a midterm and a final and the best way to prepare is just go over and make sure you really understand his powerpoints. There are two papers 800-1000 words long but as long as you visit your TA and show you are trying, then you should be fine. There is really not a lot of work at all and if you have an interest in philosophy then this is definitely the class for you.

This course is divided up into the main four subcategories of philosophy: epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and God. The class spends an even amount of each (about 3-4 weeks each) and focuses on the readings for the week.
Prof Cameron is really awesome and is extremely enthusiastic about philosophy. He explains the sometimes difficult concepts with ease, and always provides really modern and interesting analogies to better understand the content. He does an extremely good job of presenting things in an unbiased way. He's a great professor for sure.
The grading, however, is tough. There are only four grades the whole semester: two papers (~1000 words each) and a midterm (20% each of grade), and a final (40%). All grading is done by your TA for discussion and is highly subjective. As evident from the grading distribution, getting an A is extremely difficult. The TAs expect a near perfect philosophy paper for an A with extremely strong arguments and counter arguments. You are more than likely to get a B no matter what you do, unless you are extremely gifted at philosophical writing. It's still a great course, just tougher than I expected.