I took this Spring of 2020 during the coronavirus quarantines/protests. This quarter was a bit different in design from the usual in-person class, so the grading may be different in future classes.

Overall, I'd say it was really easy: there were originally supposed to be 5 quizzes (about 1 every 2 weeks) worth 50% and 2 papers worth the other 50%, but Smith was very accommodating and dropped the lowest quiz and paper, so only 4 quizzes and the highest scoring paper counted for your grade. Since I got 100s on the first 4 quizzes and did well on the first paper, I was basically exempt from the last ones. All of the lectures were pre recorded and uploaded so we could watch them at our leisure. They were also shorter than in a normal 1.25 hr timeslot so you can watch on 2x speed.

The quizzes were 10 questions with a generous 20 min time limit that covered only material from the last lecture of the previous quiz to the most recent material, so it was mostly 2-3 lectures worth of material and was also open notes and book. The papers were also manageable, though it does depend on who you get as a TA and what they are looking for in your papers!

There is one book that you are required to get, but it can be found online free in PDF form. You'll likely need it for the papers, but the quizzes themselves were based mainly on handouts from Smith that accompanied lectures. There are also two outside source readings you have to do, but it isn't hard and as long as you take notes in lecture or discussion on them, you don't really need to read them either unless it is what you choose as a paper topic.

Overall, this class was an excellent and easy choice for a philos GE/pre-req compared to some other philosophy classes. The content is not difficult to understand at all either. I recommend taking it!

This was a super easy GE. Sheldon did a great job of moving everything online during the COVID quarter, and was a cool professor. Two 4ish-page papers, 5 easy quizzes, and he ended up canceling the second paper anyway. This class was cash.

I took the class my very first quarter here at UCLA, under the impression it was to satisfy one of the philosophical and linguistic GE's I needed. Turns out this class actually satisfies a physical science course for students in the college of LS so that's a plus.

Anyways, in regards to the class, it was extremely easy. One midterm, one paper, and the final. For the midterm we were provided a study guide that was completely comprehensive and had the answers to just about every question for the midterm... same for the final. Definitely collaborate on this in a Groupme with classmates. We had plenty of prompts to pick from for the paper, and it wasn't long at all, probably around 4-6 pages. Due to the TA strike, for the second half of the quarter many lectures were cancelled and bruincasted, and honestly I'm not sure if the paper or final were ever graded lol. Nonetheless, this class was highly enjoyable and Professor Smith is obviously deeply passionate about philosophy and just a kind, golden retriever like guy. Would definitely recommend taking this course when it's offered.

Professor Smith is really knowledgeable about this topic. I will say the topic was confusing if you are not well-versed in philosophy, let alone Philosophy of Science. And I also never went to class after week 4 with the exception of the midterm and final (because I could never get up before 9:30am LOL)... I ended up getting a good grade, primarily because my TA was so nice and helpful during office hours. Please go to office hours if you need it. My suggestion is weekly or biweekly, I regret not doing that. There are many concepts to grasp and it can be easy to get behind while it seems like your classmates understand everything right off the bat. There are also helpful quizlets to use and what not. We had an in class midterm, a paper, and an in class final. Each were 33% which is why it is important to finesse and focus solely on the things that matter. The readings were interesting to an extent but the length made them boring because they were so "academic" if that makes sense lol.

Highly recommend this class as a GE. Class consisted of 5 very easy and straightforward quizzes (each worth 10%) and 2 essays (20% and 30%), plus a point of extra credit (boost grade by 1%). Quizzes took questions directly from the lectures and were open note. Essays had somewhat complicated prompts and not a lot of guidance, but were doable if you checked your ideas with a good TA. Professor Smith’s lectures are clear, even though the material is difficult to fully grasp at times. Would not recommend buying the textbook, as it unnecessarily complicates the material. Overall, a very easy class with little work involved.

all lectures recorded , attendance not taken. class is really easy, i got an A on the midterm and the term paper but didn’t do as well on the final, but to my own fault. super easy class

I took this class for my major (Cognitive Science) but was elated to see it knock off a physical science requirement as well! Professor Smith is a very kind-hearted prof and his lectures are pretty intriguing. He does not use slides but to be honest, that was never a problem because he lectured like he was telling a story. Also on Bruinlearn, there are lecture notes provided which is what he goes off on and elaborates on it + the audio recordings are also uploaded. Although the class is Philosophy of Science, the professor made it clear that we do not need to know any science for this class - it is moreover how scientists think. This is by far one of the best classes I have taken so far here at UCLA because the content is so interesting and I never felt bored. There are readings for this class but I never did them because I found going solely on the lectures was good enough. Additionally, there are no assignments in this class whatsoever besides the three things listed below.

The breakdown of the class is:
33.33% -> Midterm 1 (if you attend all the lectures and take notes on them, use them to fill out the study guide as pretty much all the information you need to know comes from that. There are three short essay questions in it though which TAs can be pretty picky on wording for, so pay attention to that)
33.33% -> Essay (this I think was the hardest part of the class, you are given 6-7 prompts to choose from and the TA went over them during the discussion as well. You have 2 weeks to do it, and it is 4 pages long. The topics have been discussed in class before. I had TA Guo and he was really sweet and offered individual OH to help craft your essay which I highly recommend you do as the TA is the one grading the paper)
33.33% -> Final (look above, same format, same style as Midterm)

Professor Smith is adorable. He is so passionate about this class, which is very straightforward. You don't need to do ANY of the readings, or even go to lecture really -- just read the notes he posts and you will get the main ideas. For the two exams, he gives out study guides 2 ish weeks prior. The exams are almost EXACTLY what the study guide consists of, so just memorize that!
You don't need to like philosophy or understand any of it to do well in this class, just memorize terms and their meanings!! Good luck!

This class is alright. The quizzes were fair. Lectures were boring (at least for me). And writing the essays were annoying. I felt that my discussion section was not helpful at all so I stopped attending them. I also did not read the book (which I probably should have to do better on the quizzes) and I got a B+ so the class is not very difficult.
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I AM SELING PDF VERSION OF "Theory and Reality, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science" by Peter Godfrey Smith. Send me a quick email:
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Very interesting class and great professor.