PHIL 2660

The only grades come from three tests throughout the semester, and the tests are hard. But if you prepare for them and go to all the review sessions and listen to everything the TA says, it is possible to get a good grade. The material is mostly interesting and is a good introduction to philosophy. It's not entirely necessary to do the readings if you pay attention in lecture.

Merricks is one of the best professors I have had at UVA. He makes classes so interesting, I loved him so much I took his metaphysics class without having any idea what metaphysics was. There is assigned reading, but it's hard to understand without going over it in class and Merricks thoroughly covers it in class, so I learned plenty without doing any reading. There are only three tests and he gives you study guides with exactly what will be on the test. The class was very manageable, fun and interesting I recommend it even to people who have never taken philosophy before.

Professor Merricks is easily one of the best professors in the philosophy department. He is very engaging, and definitely sets up the class in such a way so that it is easy to follow. He learns everyone's names in a 40-60 person class, which is pretty impressive. He's very approachable, and the subject matter and arguments that we cover are very interesting. . There are only 3 tests for this class, so no final during finals week, and Merricks curves each of the tests. You receive back your raw score as well as the letter grade that your score gets. He also gives you a study guide that is extremely helpful. I met up with a friend a few days (2 days t the very least before each test to grind the study guides. Make sure you can answer each question in full (that is, without omitting any relevant details), and on your own, and then you should be fine. I used this strategy and I received an A in the course. For any questions you are unsure of, Merricks is really helpful and likes to talk to students in his office hours, so its easy to clear up any lingering questions there or with a TA. Also, I definitely stopped doing the reading at a point...as is the theme with a lot of philosophy courses, the professors usually clear up what you need to know in lecture anyway. Very satisfying course, would highly recommend to others to take it with a friend!

Professor Merricks is an amazing professor -- he makes classes interesting with his hilarious personal anecdotes and memorizes every students' name! Even though the material is difficult to grasp, he stops to answer all questions and is easily accessible during office hours. Philosophy of Religion itself is a thought-provoking class as well, and you don't need to do the readings before class (unless you want to tackle the material yourself) because they're just confusing and Merricks explains everything you need to know in class. Your grade for this test depends on your average of 3 tests throughout the semester with HUGE curves on them - the TA went through each question during the discussion after and explained what points were based off, so you would always know why you got points taken off. The discussion section for us was optional but I'd highly recommend going, as the TA reviews material from lecture in a clearer manner. It's easy to succeed in the course if you get yourself a study group and put in effort to study before exams, especially since Merricks releases a full study guide a week or two before the exam with the questions that will appear on the exam.

Trenton Merricks is one of the best professors on grounds. He will memorize everyone's name on the very first day of class (60 people at once! I don't know how he does it) and facilitate discussion throughout the entire course. If you want a good start into Philosophy or are just interested in a very fun class centered around the existence/non-existence of God, this is a great course. Merricks pushes you to really think and will challenge you during discussion in class, but loves when you argue back and will really listen to what you have to say. The readings are dense but thought-provoking. Great class!

This class is hard and yet still a blast at the same time, which is extremely rare. You must write everything down from lecture and you must know every little detail. But Merricks is a cool guy and the semester's TA was an actual Dominican Monk, which makes sense since its philosophy of religion. Overall, I'd say take the class, but make sure to understand everything.

This course was a huge disappointment. The course has an atmosphere where people are afraid to answer questions because no one is ever right. And if your really unlucky, the professor breaks down every level on which you’re wrong. Grading is all 3 tests each with three short answers. Grading is based off spitting out what the professor said verbatim rather than on any sort of comprehension. There are literally specific words and phrases that he looks for. And if you don’t use them, you lose points. Example: I answered a question perfectly and reiterated what he had told us in class, but I lost 25% of the question because I didn’t use the word “contingent.” Teacher also has a tendency to take jabs at students who are absent. The week after I was absent, he made an example in class all about the fact that I was present today but not every day. It was really embarrassing. I was absent because I had strep.

I took this class because I had an open spot in my schedule and thought that it would be interesting to learn about and apply arguments against and for the belief of religion/God. In hindsight, I really wish I hadn't. I would not recommend this course to a friend. It's definitely a B+ course and it's extremely difficult to pull off anything higher (still possible though if you're very very diligent and prepare well/just good at philosophy). The course is graded on your ability to memorize arguments in specific detail to a T in the specific way that Merricks is looking for students to answer/spit back out. There are three tests, all essay form, and the course was boring in my opinion; you don't get to apply any knowledge you learn or consider your own arguments, etc. I did not enjoy having Merricks as a professor, at all. At first, when he was memorizing all our names, I thought he would be a respectable, just perhaps strict professor, but this was not the case. Despite what Course Forum says, Merricks is not friendly, he's condescending and calls students out and embarrass them if they said or did something like ask the same question/walk in a minute late, and he definitely made me feel very uncomfortable at times during his lecture or by the comments he made towards other students. It's a small classroom and you cannot miss even one lecture or you will get lost/ will have to get notes from someone and you just have to hope those notes are good.

This class is difficult, I will say that. That being said, if you listen go to lectures, Professor Merricks lays out the arguments very clearly. Additionally, you have a discussion section that can be helpful if hearing the ideas from a different voice is helpful for you (our TA was helpful to some and not as much to others). That being said, although the ideas of this class are sometimes difficult to understand, once you do "get" them, they're pretty easy to lay out for an exam.

On the note of exams, there are three equally weighted tests. You are given practice questions about two weeks before the exam and anything that will be on the exam are written in those questions- you just need to piece together an answer from your responses that you have already written. So if you take this class, LOOK AT AND ANSWER THE PRACTICE PROBLEMS. They are meant to help you, and if you get them right, you should be okay with the tests. That being said, Merricks grades on a "there are good and better answers" so even if everything you write on your test is correct, you may end up with a B+ because there could have been more to say. With the curve, however, the points you miss are mostly gained back.

Overall, I loved this course, the material, and the professor. I definitely recommend it if you want to explore philosophy and want something challenging but manageable.

I loved this course. It definitely was a lot of work to do well but I enjoyed studying for it. Merricks is a great lecturer and you can tell he loves the topic. I really recommend finding a good study group and starting the study guide at least half a week before the test. Make sure you pay attention and write EVERYTHING from lecture down exactly as he says it; you will need exact wording for the test. He is super fun to talk to during office hours and very excited to help clarify anything. The curve is super generous so you will not fail if you put in effort. You have nothing to do until the tests but you must study a LOT for them to do well. Definitely do the study guide and make sure you can answer any of the questions in full before going into the test. Other than that you get one reading every two weeks which isn't bad and you honestly don't have to do them because he covers everything in lecture. It was my hardest class but the one I did the best in and by far my favorite. Zach was also an awesome TA. I 100% recommend this class if you are willing to put in the work. Honestly is making me consider a philosophy major.