PHIL 1000
Logic and Critical Analysis
Introduction to the elementary tools of logic required for constructing and critically evaluating arguments and the claims they support. Topics include: the nature of an argument; argument structure; how arguments can fail both in structure and in content; formal and informal fallacies; propositional logic and predicate calculus; and critical analysis of rhetorical strategies for presenting arguments. Students will be encouraged to develop critical reasoning skills that can be widely applied.
Instructors
Allan Hazlett, Chris Dorst, Gillian Russell, John Gabriel, John Heil
Reviews
2 or less hrs/week
honestly not that bad if you keep up with the readings (the book is pretty easily piratable online). very straightforward and sequential. lectures are boring but the male TA is a goat
7/7/2024
2-4 hrs/week
My god, good luck if you’re gonna take this class. Everything builds on each other, if you don’t understand something in the beginning you’re for sure going to struggle the rest of the class if you don’t ask for help. Weekly quizzes weren’t too bad but the tests were difficult. You’ll definitely need to do the practice problems in the book to understand
5/22/2024
4-6 hrs/week
Very hard but very useful for understanding humanities reasoning and logical explanations used in various theoretical frameworks, especially by philosophers.
5/21/2024
4-6 hrs/week
This course is not a 100 level course in difficulty, it is definitely harder than most 300 level philosophy courses. However, there is simply no replacement for the formal logic. Make friends with the TA's.
5/20/2024
Horrible, has no connections with students, and always rambles on and on. Just take another philosophy professor, you will have so much more fun.
4/18/2024
Lecture's boring. Does not care about his students. Not recommended.
1/19/2024
LOGIC IS A MATH CLASS! I didn't know that going in, and it sucked. But even if I knew, Heil struggles to explain the textbook HE WROTE, moves ahead of the syllabus, and is very inaccessible to students. The weekly logic lab quizzes were a burden too. If you get a good TA and love mind-melting course material, this class is tolerable.
12/29/2023
This is equivalent to a math class. He uses his textbook for reference and sells it for 20 bucks. However, his textbook was not good compared to the other options you might have. Do the practice and you will be fine. But be careful he may give questions over definitions to make you suffer. The female TA suck, don't go to her logic lab.
12/14/2023
He goes ahead of the syllabus, he mostly does practice in class instead of explaining the concepts, and I was honestly taught more about logic by the TAs. He does really love the subject and wants people to do well, but his teaching style is difficult for someone who isn't naturally inclined toward logic. Overall, nice guy, but an ok teacher.
12/8/2022
PHIL 100 is a math class so if you're looking for an intro philosophy class, take something else. Going to class isn't mandatory but you will miss some pop quizzes if you skip. The textbook teaches you everything you need to know. Boring class the few times I went, that's why I stopped going. Study the book and go to logic lab and you'll be fine.
12/13/2021
Heil is like a stereotypical grandpa figure: a little goofy and quirky at times, but clearly full of wisdom. Go to class and keep up with the textbook readings and you'll do fine. Heil covers the material well in lecture, as he wrote the textbook he follows it very closely. Personable and humorous enough to keep my interested in class. Cool guy.
12/1/2021
Phil 100 didn't have a graceful transition to an online format. While I did appreciate the flexibility of the asynchronous format, the structure had 0 professor interaction. The AIs manage everything except the prerecorded lectures, which were fairly unhelpful. There was a lot of reading, but it was reasonably interesting, and manageable.
4/28/2021
2 months into this man's logic class and the pre-recorded lectures have done nothing for me. It is 100% asynchronous and online. The 'practice' he puts online does not have solutions for all problems, so it is useless. Also doesn't explain quiz grades. TAs are the ones who teach. His textbook is full of flaws that render it useless and annoying.
10/20/2020
If you go to class and do homework, you will do well. Content can be confusing, but Dorst is very accessible outside of class and will always answer emails.
10/31/2018
Took Logic and Critical Analysis, really easy class/grader. Lectures consist of going over the previous weeks homework for an hour then doing two examples. Really really boring but you dont need to pay attention.
4/18/2018
I stopped going to class and my grade tanked. You have to take a quiz once a week off-campus (it was in the village this particular time) at night, which was annoying. He wrote the text book and sells it for $20.
12/18/2015
Dr. Gabriel taught fairly clearly and the grading was fair.
1/14/2015
Teacher is decent; he teaches directly from his own book which is made available cheaply to students. If you miss a class you can easily read the 10 or so pages covered. There are weekly *evening* quizzes which are a hassle, but it replaces homework. The final was really really long, but I still managed an A in the class.
1/15/2011
good professor, fairly interesting with a good sense of humor. i skipped this class a lot and had no problem since the textbook really covers everything. weekly quizzes are easy, and tests aren't bad at all if you put in the time. if you can do everything in the book, you should have no problem in this class, and heils not as bad as people say.
11/21/2010