Intro Western Phil Tradition
Introduction to the Western Philosophical Tradition This course will introduce students to fundamental philosophical issues concerning the nature of reality (metaphysics), the possibility of knowledge (epistemology), and the nature of value (ethical theory) through a reading of a number of important primary texts of thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Kierkegaard, Mill, Nietzsche, and Freud. Cannot be taken by students with credit for PHIL 0151.
Prof. Woodruff is an amazing professor and incredibly effective in conveying philosophical ideas in an easy-to-understand manner. Her lectures were interesting and easy to follow and her exams were always managable. I would highly recommend taking this course with Prof. Woodruff.
I really enjoyed this class with Professor Woodruff, she was extremely accomodating and helpful throughout the semester. Readings were also carefully selected and instructions on expectations of class were fairly clear. If you enjoy philosophy I think this course is a good place to start.
I really enjoyed this class with Professor Woodruff, she was extremely accomodating and helpful throughout the semester. Readings were also carefully selected and instructions on expectations of class were fairly clear. If you enjoy philosophy I think this course is a good place to start.
This class is a lot of fun, especially if you haven't read any philosophy. There is a fair amount of reading, but you don't really need to do it(however, it does make the class more interesting and fun) because the professor goes over the analysis of everything in class. The class discussions are fun, and while the class does cover a lot of ground, it isn't that fast-paced. The exams are not difficult as long as you listened and understood what was talked about in class.
This class is a lot of fun, especially if you haven't read any philosophy. There is a fair amount of reading, but you don't really need to do it(however, it does make the class more interesting and fun) because the professor goes over the analysis of everything in class. The class discussions are fun, and while the class does cover a …Read more
I found this class very interesting and prof Jacobson definitely helped with that. He really made the class interesting and made me want to do the readings. We had two short papers, a presentation and a final ~3 page paper as the only assignments, but there was lots of readings. I did find writing papers on philosophy to be challenging so I would recommend going to office hours in order to get an idea of how the prof wants you to write. Overall though i did enjoy the class and would definitely recommend taking a class with Jacobson to anyone.
I found this class very interesting and prof Jacobson definitely helped with that. He really made the class interesting and made me want to do the readings. We had two short papers, a presentation and a final ~3 page paper as the only assignments, but there was lots of readings. I did find writing papers on philosophy to be challengi …Read more
I think this course is extremely valuable, as you learn a lot about the most prominent philosophers. Woodruff is extremely passionate about the subject, but would sometimes have trouble conveying certain philosophers ideas concisely.
I really enjoyed Professor Woodruff’s teaching style and content. I felt that I learned a lot for an introductory course and she was always very kind and encouraging to students who needed extra help or time on projects.
Martha Woodruff is very accommodating and nice. Her teaching style is very go-with-the-flow, and she likes to rely on students to direct class discussions. Lots of reading is required, some tolerable, others very dry. To get the most out of the class, reading is necessary and enjoyable if done without procrastination.