OK so I took this class because it's supposed to be an easy A. I ended up getting an A, with minimal work, but not without being lost/confused out of my mind until the TA basically paraphrased the quarter in a couple hours before the final. I don't need to talk about the criticisms of his lecture style, because pretty much everything below is true, it just depends on if you like that style of "teaching." I don't. For me, it was a torturous class about a boring subject (numbers) that I really felt I learned nothing from. Luckily, in the end, my TA was able to condense his incomprehensibly jumbled and long-winded lectures into clearly articulated succinct arguments. Bravo! (for the TAs).

Almog is one of the brightest professors at UCLA. He is genuinly interested in the topic he's talking about, and tries really hard to get people to understand difficult concepts. The difficulties people have with him are usually based on his teaching style. It is really difficult to take notes, but if you just listen to what he is saying, and let him guide your thinking through his processes, you will probably understand more. This class is about understanding, not memorizing. Most students are used to only memorizing and spitting out information for their classes...in this class that will get you no more than a C (if you're skilled). Classes that require understanding do not require writing down every word said in lecture, so if you are open to stop just memorizing what you learn (if you are one of those people), take this class. Almog is so passionate about what he teaches that he switched the subject from phil of mind to phil of mathematics the quarter I took it. I highly recommend Almog if you are prepared and committed to understand rather than memorize.

Professor Almog's lectures seemed disorganized at times, he is all over the place in terms of lecturing. He doesn't use a mike, and in such a large class, it can be hard to hear and therefore, understand the concept. However, if a sufficient amount of people attend class, he will give you the questions to the midterm and the final a few days in advance, and if that is the case, then you are home free because the TA will almost spoon-feed you the answers. The course reader is about $5-$10... I didn't even read it. You don't need to. Basically the entire class is focused around 1 central subject/theme, which you will not need to attend every lecture to understand. This is a pretty easy GE, take it for an easy A. Some concepts in the class are interesting too, such as learning how the idea of not really existing (the Matrix) came about.

This class was a joke. The professor is a ridiculous man who lays down on the stage and exposes his chest hair with his very French style of leaving the buttons on his shirts open down to his stomach. I could not take him seriously and could not take any notes because nothing he says makes sense. I understand that philosophy concepts are abstract but give me a break! If my TA hadn't basically narrated what our midterm and final essays should sound like and I hadn't memorized every word of it, I would not have passed this class. It is a joke and it made me give up on my philosophy minor.

Almog is well, not nuts, but not far from it. No offense to him if he is reading this, it's just that I couldn't understand a good ninety percent of what he was saying. Every once in a while he'd make a point that sparked a dim lightbulb in the heads of the five people in the room who were paying attention but, for the most part, he spent two hours eliciting a five minute point, and then spend the next lecture reviewing the same thing. Plus, the TA made even less sense. It's not hard to get a good grade; he has no homework and the tests are easy; however, you have to be able to spin his particular brand of BS, and I wasn't adept at that. The trick is to write more BS and less stuff that makes an ounce of sense, to you at least. Do that and you'll be fine. Also, he says you need to go to lecture to be ready for the exam, but you really don't. At all.

Almog is by far the worst professor I've had at UCLA. His lectures are 2 hours of unintelligible gibberish which leave 350 students clueless and there is no syllabus. The good thing about Phil 7 is that there are no papers, barely any reading and he gives you the midterm and finals questions in advance. The class is easy yet boring and pointless. Even though I got an A I would never take Almog again. Unless you want to spend 10 weeks stupified and trying to understand where in the cosmos the number 2 is, STAY AWAY!!

"People who slam Almog simply reveal themselves as intellectual babies who can't handle a semi-sophisticated class with engaging material. If they put half of the energy they use hating this man into listening in lecture, they'd find Almog not only intelligible, but intriguing and valuable. His lectures might be difficult, but his grading is incredibly easy. The reading is easy and the exam questions are given ahead of time. He uses funny examples to illustrate his points, which, if someone actually listened, he repeats over and over so that students will understand them."

Call me Dr. J, because I am reinventing the slam dunk. I'm not going to slam Almog for being unclear, or for his class being too hard to understand. His concepts are in fact so simple, that his lecture material for the entire quarter is comprised of six analogies, five or six axioms, and repetitive pointless assides. Reading the material he gives you is really the only way to understand the concepts for yourself, since the teaching is pretty much "down your throat" repetition. He openly reveals to the class on the first day that they are incapable of understanding Philosophy, so he will have to repeat the same thing for weeks on end to be effective. He is actually compensating for his laziness, and teaches Philosophy of Mathematics instead of Philosophy of the Mind because in his words "it is easier to think about one problem at a time" so we will benefit from learning about what he is interested in and working on. Well, what would benefit the students the most is a capable professor, imho.

In the end, he is unwilling to accept any other views on the issues he presents other than those he presents as valid. Doing outside reading and research will actually work against you in this course. You are to regurgitate, and little else. He will tell you "think about this on your own" and then have review sessions before each test in which the answers are given by the TA's, and all you have to do is paraphrase what they present in class. It is an easy class if you can handle not thinking for yourself.

If you are interested in Philosophy, think critically and do a lot of outside reading, DO NOT take this class. You will be treated like a child, suffer through elementary and shockingly crude analogies, and your TA's will expect little of you but admirance of their high wisdom.

I've met rocks that were greater philosophers than Almog. He is a fascist philosopher, which is an oxymoron.

Almog is a terrible professor. I can't believe that after teaching for so long he hasn't learned how to convey material in an organized and understandable manner. He doesn't seem to care that his students don't understand what he is talking about, and although students constantly ask him to provide a syllabus or change something to make his lectures more accessible, he seems too arrogant to realize that his teaching is NOT effective.

Well I waited a little to comment on this professor thinking that maybe I would be easier on him with a little time given after his class, but no...I still think that Professor Almog is a terrible professor. Don't get me wrong...I got an A- so its not the student...I would rather get all my teeth pulled then take another class with Professor Almog. His lectures are very confusing and I found it too easy to drift away unless I was seated in one of the first couple of rows. I don't think he's an idiot...he just isn't a good lecturer. I thank God that I will NEVER have to take another one of his classes. If you are already stuck taking a class of his...pray you have a good TA.

If you're even THINKING about taking this class with Almog, think again. Worst experience of my life.

However if you're already stuck in that hellhole, forget about the lectures, and just go to your sections and THE REVIEW SESSIONS. My god, go to the review sessions. The TAs will give you the EXACT answers to the final!

Otherwise...STAY AWAY.