PHIL 3790

John Arras is the man. Do you think his tie is bitchin'? Inquiring minds want to know. No one can dragoon you into taking this class, but it's certainly worth the B+ grade you might get. Regardless of your grade, you'll be much better off in the course than you were outside of it, so Arras doesn't owe you anymore than that.
The class is all discussion based, and it really gets at the heart of the relationships between doctors/researchers/patients and the duties owed to patients. Really fascinating course for pre meds and other people who want to be involved with health care. Not really a stiff philosophy class, it's more about how you apply the stuff to philosophy. It's easily done without having taken a philosophy course before.

Good professor, hard grader

Arras makes this class so interesting. He really challenges students to do their best in the papers for the class. There is a 5 pg and a 15 pg paper along with a mid term and final which he gives you the questions before. Its easy to get a B, but As are a little harder to get. An A is definitely possible if you put a lot of time into the 15 pg paper.

I love arras! I was very intimidated by him because he is such a big name in bioethics, but he is extremely approachable and will help you out if you need guidance on papers etc. he is a tough grader though, so don't go into it expecting an A

I LOVE Arras. He is by far my favorite professor at UVA. He is very funny and I encourage students to go talk to him, especially about your final paper topics. He grades those all himself so it is important to get his feedback! Great class if you are a bioethics minor!

Very good professor. Smart, funny, accessible, and knowledgeable. If you aren't used to philosophical reading, it can take a while to get used to it, but it's definitely doable. The class depends heavily on class participation, so do your reading and contribute in class. You don't need to be a philosophy student familiar with all the major schools of ethical thought in order to do well in this class. Take the time to clearly think through what the authors mean and how you might argue with (or support) them, and you'll be fine.

Arras is fantastic, funny, smart and down-to-earth: he's one of the best professors I've had. That said, I didn't find the material terribly interesting. If you are pre-med or a philosophy major (or both!) then you will LOVE this class. I assumed it would be a lot like RELG 265... and was wrong.