Definatly NOT an easy A!!! Although i could mostly follow what he was saying, he wondered off soooo much and a frequently got confused as to which side he was arguing for since he switched between two theories constantly without warning. If you have a choice, take an easier class...psych majors, i hear phil 2 is a LOT better :)

You can literally miss every single lecture in this class and still pull off a decent grade. That being said, you can probably figure out how effective this class is. I really think that Almog is in a world of his own and really doesn't care about educating the students. What professors leaves the country during the entire 10th week?

*****By far, this has got to be my FAVORITE course, and my FAVORITE professor I have ever had... ever! I walked into class have trepidation\355s because the reviews of this professor are BEYOND BRUTAL, and, I just have to say this is the first time in my life I declare the professor reviews to be inaccurate, if not, the antithesis of what I experienced.

To be up-front about it, Professor Almog is strict and formal in class. In lectures, those who ask questions may sometimes feel intimidated, but he later proves that questions are welcomed and appreciated. He lectured with a loud and booming voice, speaking slowly, articulating clearly, and his slight French accent was not an impediment at all. It humors me to hear students complaining about the \354incomprehensibility\356 of his lectures when they had formerly declared that the lectures were too redundant. Philosophy is not an easy subject- you NEED to repeat statements and phrases over and over to get the gist of it, and Almog lucidly did exactly so, and I was able to follow what he was saying. Occasionally I was lost, but my absolutely phenomenal TA Justin Kirvan elucidated everything\326EVERYTHING in a perspicacious, friendly manner.

Professor Almog distributes the midterm and final a week before they are administered, and the TA\355s and the review sessions clearly state what is to be written, which was very helpful. MAJOR MAJOR rave for this enlightening class! I loved the clear examples he gave, and the topics were actually quite interesting, despite the fact I am not a philosophically oriented person.

If you are a whining-type of person who doesn\355t like redundancies but later professes to be confused after not paying attention, then I would not recommend this class at all! On the other hand, if you want to take an extremely unique course with absolutely no homework and intriguing lectures, go ahead and take Phil 7. I heartily recommend TA Justin, he was the best, who explained everything CLEARLY, easily, and interestingly.

He is very disorganized and confusing. His lectures are difficult to follow and he has no syllabus! He announced about the midterm during the sixth week and... he scheduled the midterm the same day I had midterm for Life Sciences course :(( That was messed up. Also, he does not explain the subject well since you read just three articles by three philosophers. It is really difficult and confusing stuff and there is no book to clarify it. Also, DON'T take Jen Nery as your TA. She is the worst TA I've ever had; she does not know the subject. In section, she didn't clarify things, but confused us even more due to her lack of knowledge. I heard Eron Taylor is a great and effective TA. Overall, this class is confusing, but Almog passes out the questions in advance and TAs conduct review sessions and give you the answers to the questions. Your job is to combine what they tell you :) I know some people who did well without knowing anything, but there were some who were really screwed... So, if you take Almog, make sure you have a good TA and attend review sessions before the exams. Going to the lectures is neither helpful nor necessary. I wouldn't take another class with Almog. It's a waste of time.

Taking this class was one of the biggest mistakes I have made at UCLA. Almog butchers the subject and makes it extremely incomprehensible and boring. It was a waste of 10 weeks and is not as easy as everyone says it is. A lot of people I know have done poorly and are really stressing out about this incrediby stupid class.

The class is interesting, but there is no such thing as having your own opinion that differs from his. You write down what he says and then you regurgitate it back on the final. If you can thoroughly parrot the material, you will get an A. You will not be asked to think on your own whatsoever. You just have to understand what he's talking about. I recommend going to section because the TA's put the material in an order that makes sense, and they are the ones grading your paper anyway. Section is more important than lecture as far as your grade. I recommend the class if you want something that doesn't have much work, but not if you are actually interested in philosophy.

Prof. Almog is a nice man who definitely wanted us to learn and understand philosophy. However, his lectures were long and confusing. We discussed Putnam, Burge, and Kripke. The first 5 weeks of the quarter, we solely discussed only one philosopher. He did distribute the questions for both the midterm and final, which I'm really thankful for because otherwise I would have done poorly. If you attend lecture (and try to understand), and definitely attend discussion...you will do fine in this class. Having a good TA is a plus though...If you can take another philosophy class though instead of this one, do so.

Despite the fact that a few people seemed to enjoy this class, I was definitely not one of them. Almog makes no sense and the two hour long lectures are awful, and resulted in a two hour long nap for me. There was no organization and often no point to the lectures, most the time Almog himself didn't even seem to know where he was going with his lectures. Gradewise, i couldn't even tell you much, because I took this class this past fall and I still haven't received a grade (yes, it's the middle of second week spring quarter). I got an A on the midterm without knowing anything, honestly. If you are goign to take this class, definitely go to section and the TA review session before the final and midterm, where the TAs pretty much tell you what to write because honestly, they too know that the lectures made no sense and taught nothing. I definitely don't reccommend this class, even for an easy class that involved literally no work during the quarter (we read 6 pages all quarter).

Prof. Almog is a very intelligent and interesting philosopher. As I read through the reviews about him, I see students' opinions differ widely. It's either "love him" or "hate him". In all fairness, I have to admit that I had no idea about what he talked about in class for the first two weeks. I was just as frustrated and confused. Not till later did I start to be able to appreciate his brilliant interpretation of Decarte. He used simple examples to illustrate some very abstract and difficult concepts and theories. I was most impressed by his insight. Often times, a student would raise a question that more or less touched the surface of a real philosophical debate. He was discerning and able to sublimate the question up to a whole new level, then answer the question concerning what the student really meant to ask.

Prof.Almog's lectures demand high degree of concentration in order to be undertood. That partly is due to the difficulty of the material, though getting a good grade is not too hard. Having a good TA is also important. I would recommend this professor.

this class was the most irritating and pointless class i have taken thus far at ucla. almog's lectures are scattered and redundant; we spent the ENTIRE first half of the quarter on the first page of descartes' meditations... almog uses the same examples to explain different concepts which is confusing and ineffective. just because he gives you the questions before the midterm and the final does not mean you will get a decent grade... also, the TAs do not understand what almog is trying to say, so their subjective grading is based solely on how well they think you are articulating abstract concepts, which is something they themselves do not understand. also, if you have a question, it will never be answered, because both almog and the TAs make you feel stupid for not understanding the subject material. to sum up almog's lectures: "blah blah blah". those unfortunate souls who have also taken this class will know what i mean. this class is not an easy A, it is an utter waste of time. please do not ever conside taking this class.