John Heil
2 courses · 30 reviews
All Reviews
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
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
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
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
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
Wasn't too difficult until the final, which was a load of crap, hardly tested what we learned in class, and is probably why there are "very few As in the class", as he puts it. But he knows his stuff and is a pretty good teacher. Go to class and do the book exercises and it won't be too bad. Oh, and he looks just like Jerry Jones. I'm just sayin'.
12/19/2009
His tests are all-right as long as you do the problem sets, and I found his lectures fun and helpful. I was actually sad when I had to miss his classes.
11/1/2009
Lectures are helpful and tests are not as difficult as described. But the jerk comment is absolutely right. He made students suffer, and he enjoyed it!
4/25/2009
The ratings for this class are little too harsh, and they worried me before I took this class. As long as you keep up with the work, you will be fine. Heil teaches the material well, and he is semi-amusing. I can say I actually enjoyed this class. Grading is tough though. A is hard to get (not impossible) but B is very do-able.
12/27/2008
when the average grade is in the 60s with no curve and the class is 100-level, you know the prof is a COMPLETE JERK - material isn't that hard, he just grades like hitler and seems to think he's a better person for dishing out D's and F's
4/9/2008
everything is right out of the book - irregardless he grades exams very rigidly so the average is in the 60s and there's no curve! weekly quizzes are easy since they're replications of the exercises in the book but don't be fooled going into exams since you're probably going to make a few mistakes and the way he grades, it'll cost you.
3/6/2008
Not too bad of a class. Liked his lectures because he did a lot of derivations on the board. Keep up on doing the exercises from the book otherwise the weekly quizzes will bury you. He was a big jerk about helping me reschedule my final cuz i had three on the same day though, completely unwilling to compromise. Final = laughably difficult
4/27/2007
Professor Heil is hysterical (kind of awkward, but funny and well intentioned), so his lectures aren't too bad to sit through. The quizzes at night were kind of rough, but if you go to class, a lot of them are finished in like 5 minutes. He lectures pretty much directly from the book (he wrote it) so if you miss class, not a big deal lecture wise
12/26/2006
very systematic - if you go to class, you'll understand even the more complicated material. weekly quizzes outside of class are a pain, but easy. interesting material. tests were challenging but not awful; the final was the most comprehensive i've ever taken, though - know what you're doing.
1/16/2006
The quizzes are alright, tests are way too hard, mean was somewhere in 60s with NO CURVE
4/20/2005
He is VERY thorough...to the point that your bored out of your mind, but you learn a lot. He grades papers harder than the tests.
1/8/2005
While I have no other philosophy teachers to compare Dr. Heil to, I feel like he wasnt the most intriguing professor for the topic. No lively discussions took place in class, and the lectures were very dry and boring. Reading the text wasnt helpful with his teaching style, which killed interest.
12/27/2004
Heil was a really good professor in my opinion. The material was difficult and often hard to understand, but I feel like that would be the case for any professor teaching this class. Heil was very interesting, never negative or moody - always upbeat. I think he's got a very cute personality. :)
12/26/2004
The man is a decently good instructor, but you never really understand what the heck he's talking about. He doesn't get much clearer on instructions for papers, either. Heads up: He takes attendance, at least in my class.
12/8/2004