He's chill. He gives a lot of stuff to read though.

This professor cares a lot about his students and he is very intelligent. I took this class before with another instructor and didn't learn anything. Placenia has a great method of teaching.

A heck of a teacher and very easy to get along with. I got a C in his class (Winter 2011) and I worked hard for it too (the class wasn't easy and I'm not a nearly a Philosophy major). His teaching style and my wanting to graduate made me show up. Warning: His class is very popular so sign up as soon as you can.

probably my fav teacher of the semester. hes kind of young and tries to be cool. he also tries to act like a badass the first day and mean, but his class are the complete opposite. i had a blast in his class but u have to do the readings and homework! i highly recommend him.

Nate is hands down the best philosophy teacher in the world. Take his class, take his class, take his class. He is the best you will have a blast.

Solid. take this class before PHIL 6 and PHIL 20. otherwise it is a waste. I already learned all of this and wish i came to PHIL 1 first. overall, i wouldn't take another one of his classes but good class.

honestly one of the best professors ive ever had. great guy. incredibly nice. super knowledgeable about the material. walked away with an A and new found appreciation for philosophy. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!

No textbook needed but lots & lots of reading. Tests are easy if you read the stories, study slides and don't miss class. He's a very helpful teacher. If you do all of the above, you'll be fine.

Great teacher, great class.Gives you a choice for the mid term and finals for either an essay or MultiChoice.No textbook required,all online.READ IT! In class dissucsion counts, slidess are helpful but being there is better.He is relaxed but organized.Hes funny & loves what he does,you can tell.

Great Professor at Valley! His test are easy if you read the assigned material to read. His way of teaching is awesome because you truly understand what philosophy is all about. No textbook needed because he provides all necessary links. If you read the material it will be an easy A. Lets you either take multiple question test or essay. TAKE HIM!!!

Lectures are very dull but class is overall pretty simple if you pay attention.

He's young & a PhD holder but doesn't like to be called Dr. He is a very nice Prof!No text book cuz all assignments are done & submitted online. Easy points on HW if you show that you tried.1 M/T & 1 Final. Explains things very clearly, the discussions in class are fun & helps you understand the lecture more clearly.Very helpful guy! recommend him!

Funny interesting teacher. Makes the class fun. Its not a boring philosophy class. If you attend the class everyday and do the assignments and pay attention you will pass. Record the review setion before the final you WILL PASS!!!!

Very nice and sweet professor. Very helpful, tests were mostly from his lecture notes. I definitely recommend him. Take his class and enjoy.

AWESOME PROFESSOR. SO INTERESTING and very nice. Tests are very very fair and easy if you read the stories that he assigns you... I definitely recommend his class

Professor Placencia is a great professor. The class was fun and interesting. I enjoyed every lecture and SQ's that were given once a week.

Good teacher.. would have taken him for phil20 if he taught it, instead had to take another teacher who is quite picky on everything such as being a MINUTE late... Classes are fun and he seems like a really down to earth person in general. Would take again

Nice class. Midterm/Final. Homework worth 40% of grade, tests worth 50% of grade, and participation 10% of grade. No Book!!! All readings online. It's not as easy as it seems, just be very attentive. Had fun

Amazing professor! Although the class may not be easy because midterm and final requires that you understand and read everything, this professor explains the material very well. Take him, you won't regret it!!

awesome teacher

Class consists of 2 exams and multiple readings. Overall easy class but you actually learn the material. Just show up to class everyday, take notes, and you will pass. The professor is down to earth and is pretty funny.

Very easy class. Consisted of a midterm and a final. Requires a lot of reading. No textbook needed. Very helpful and clear. I definitely recommend him!

I took Phil 1 and Phil 35 with Professor Placencia. I loved both classes. His classes are organized and lectures are very helpful. You will do well in his class if you put in the effort. Professor Placencia is my favorite professor at LAVC, and any student is lucky to have him for one of their professors. I recommend any student to take his class.

This class was relatively easy. I took it over summer and I received an A with minimal studying. Professor Placencia is pretty nice and helpful. His class consists of lectures and notes and the occasional reading that you have to do from an online source and not a textbook. If you attend class and do all the assignments, you'll get a good grade.

You don't need a book for his class. There is online reading and answering questions, once a week and 2 tests the entire semester. He's pretty easy going and it's an easy A in my opinion

Keeps you entertain. Does't move to the next lecture until you understand the section. Has study day before test. Read everything and go to class. Easy to remember his topics. Test are base on his topics. Commonsense is needed

pretty easy class, despite hard to understand readings, he repeats himself a lot so I didn't need to study. pretty straight forward hes super chill. one of us.

Interesting class, in overall. Clear lectures. Definitely lots of readings, however it's worth the information.

Truly enlightening learning experience. Wonderful professor and lecturer. Uses good examples to make sure you understand the important stuff. A good amount of reading but professor placencia makes it crystal ! It was very enjoyable, class discussions flew by. Interesting subject to study.

LOVE this teacher. Probably my favorite at Valley. He is so funny and cool and smart. I gave it my all and tried my best, but philosophy is not that easy, and I ended up with a B in the class :(. I highly recommend taking him though, you will learn a lot and his lectures are so interesting.

great teacher. pretty easy class with reasonable workload. very fair. i feel like hes too easy on students and doesnt like to say they are wrong. i would like more group activities where we can just talk about philosophy. overall excellent.

This teacher is life. So helpful , clear cut. Very understanding. Explains philosophy extremely well. Best teacher award goes to Prof. P!!!!!!!

Professor Placencia is really good when it comes to philosophy. He is very in detailed with the lectures. His lectures might be boring for some but they are important for the mid term and final. He's also hilarious, he does try to entertain the class sometimes. He does assign some easy hw. Put in your effort and time and you will pass with an A

I took Placencia for Phil 1 and decide to take him for Phil 6, it is a different concept, he does teach differently on his Phil 6. He will make you work for you grade. His lectures are useful when it comes to writing papers. He does make you think critically which is very helpful. He class is also amazing. Put in time and effort and you will pass!

Professor Placencia is great. I took his class for winter session and have no regrets. I learned a lot and enjoyed it very much. There is a lot of reading, but he tries to assign interesting readings. Attend class everyday to fully learn test material. He covers basically everything in his lectures since there is no required text.

Dr. Placencia is a great professor. He is young, witty, intelligent and very knowledgeable about theology and monotheistic religions. It was an absolute pleasure to learn from and would definitely take a class with him again. Definitely one of the most memorable philosophy professors I've had!

Professor Placencia was a fantastic professor. He listened to all views and was extremely knowledgable to the subject matter. He gives study guides for his exams and is a fair grader. He is one of those teachers who is there to educate, not to persuade. His goal is to teach and to pass those who take the subject seriously. Easy A and you lear a lot

Clear grading criteria. Participate and do all the assignments and you should pass the class easily. Tests and final are multiple choice.

Great Professor, easy class. Just make sure you go to all the lectures and follow them. His lectures are fun and interesting. You don't need a textbook because he has all the resources available online. Tests are straight from the lectures. I would recommend his class.

Professor Placencia goes above and beyond to ensure that his class is in tune with his lectures. There's a fare amount of reading if taking in fall-spring, and a load if taking in summer-winter. Also 1 homework per reading, a midt, a final-multchoice. Don't hesitate take the class with him;YOU won't regret it. Readings r amazing, already miss them.

Overall, Professor Placencia's lectures are interesting and always goes over the readings so you have a better understanding. Took the course over the summer, midterm and final were multiple choice, no extra credit. Great professor!

Professor Placencia is truly a great teacher. From the first couple of lectures you can tell he's a incredible critical thinker. He knows all the material extremely well, and has a great teaching style in which he allows you to engage into deeper thinking. Great Professor and overall person. You do have to read, however. Thanks Dr. Placencia!!!

Professor Placencia is one of the best Philo professors you can come across. Very straight forward and insightful. He is approachable and will answer any questions you have. If you show up to class, you will get an A because his tests are based off his lectures (mainly, reading is required) if you don't go then you won't pass.

Take this Class! I took his Phil 1 online class for spring 2017 and I can say that it was a good class. Weekly writing assignments and weekly worksheets are due, 1 midterm, 1 final and no quizzes. He does a few recorded lectures and the rest is reading material which is free, no book was needed. I finished with an A in a fairly easy manor.

A very knowledgeable philosophy professor. No textbook is required and homework assignments are solely based on turning them in on time. Lectures are long and he can sometimes go off into tangents but he covers everything that'll be on the test in the lectures. Not a difficult class at all, keep up with assignments and readings and you will pass.

Phil 20 was not the easiest to grasp- initially. Midterm and Final. The midterm is 41 questions asked 5 different ways. Understand the different moral theories thoroughly!Supposedly no extra credit. Yet two in the final!Great class! Would recommend!

Prof. Placencia is awesome! He dose a great job explaining philosophical concepts. The "Allegory of the cave" was may favorite. There is HW you need to it if you want to pass. The tests are on everything we cover in class. no books needed. you will need to read long readings in order to fully understand the concepts and to do the HW.

While I am not a fan of philosophy, Professor Placencia made it easy to understand. His tests are multiple choice and written, but he basically gives you all the answers through lecture and his powerpoints. I'm sure you could pass if you don't go. It was an easy A. Homework was easy as well! Try it out!

My second philo course with him, and Im just gonna stay with him for the next courses. Hes absolutely brilliant. He definitely gets you to critically think! Philosophy 14 was not easy but he breaks it down for you. Hes incredibly kind. I grew to appreciate him. Hes fun! He, Knorr, and Ravitch - hands down best philo professors. Take him!

Just show up, listen to the lectures, do the study questions once a week, do his midterm and final (which are both multiple choice) and you will pass with an A. Even the lectures are on his website, so there's no reason to fail unless you don't try at all. His class was not stressful at all. I'm glad I took Philosophy w/ Prof. Placencia.

I dont understand why his score is not higher. He is the best. Hands down. Midterm and final. Sqs for homework. Tests are hard. Its critically thinking. It is possible to get an A. Philosophy 14 has tough theories to grasp but he breaks them down for you. TAKE HIM! Im taking him again!

If you want an easy A, take this class with this professor. Homework is super easy. If you show up to his lectures and pay attention, you'll easily get A's on the tests. 2 tests, midterm and final, multiple choice. No textbook for this class. And despite how easy it is, you do learn a lot. I highly recommend taking this class. It's great.

Easy Peasy. Summer Course. Basically just did a couple homework questions a day and read short articles online. You watch the Matrix movie. Midterm and Final. Graded not on right answers but just completion of Study Questions. Overall gets you thinking about some concepts of the world. Not that difficult to pass. Just show up and listen to lecture.

The class was OK. I liked that he posted his own recorded lectures to listen to. All of the materials to read were also posted online. The final exam had some questions that seemed outside of the course material. If you don't like philosophy like I don't take him - it was easy and somewhat interesting.

He's a really cool professor! He can be very chill but i enjoyed learning about philosophy in his class.

Best online class ever!

Readings on-line. A few videos. I enjoyed course, read heavily and took many notes. I liked writing my views about reading. Mid-term and final were fair, moderate difficulty, but make and study your notes beforehand.

Took his class online and then another on campus. His on campus course is soooo much better! Take a class face to face, if you have a chance.

Online class is straight forward, clear grading criteria. Overall it's pretty easy, but you learn a lot. ��

My class had to go online after COVID. He kept doing a live video lecture. Which was great! He told us that in Fall 2020 all his classes, except Phil 1, will have live interactive lectures for those who can attend and the lecture will be recorded for those who can't make it. Hope that helps.

Learned a lot. Pretty flexible course. Live recorded lectures and live review sessions. Tests are straightforward, if you study the lecture videos. Discussion topics make you think. Perfect pandemic class, lol.

Zooming online is not the best for a Philosophy class. But he tries and cares about the students. However, since the Zoom sessions are recorded, a lot of student don't attend the live lectures, which kind of ruins the vibe of the class. But he still does it best to make it enternaning and has good lecture notes etc.

Winter 2021 session with Nathan Placencia. Great professor! Due to COVID, the class was online. He provides video lectures and articles for you to better understand the material. Reading old philosophy texts can be difficult, so he provided us with YouTube videos to clarify the tough readings. Fair grader. Do the work, and you'll do well!

Very nice Professor. His exams are not easy. You really have to read the material and discussions. No real study guide, you just have to really read the material provided. No need for books he provides everything

Updated Zoom recordings of live lectures and interesting links to online resources make this class interesting and kind of fun. Live Zoom review. Perfect for an accelerated 4 or 5 week summer or winter session.

Kind hearted and cares about your education success. Lectures are straight to the point and you learn a lot. Readings assigned are a bit long but he covers it in the lectures.

This class was so fun to learn, he does not require too much, he considers the fact that we are taking other classes as well, he is amazing, the work was all easy and the quizzes and tests were easy as well. HIGH RECOMMEND.

I see LAVC is offerring in-person classes again. I highly recommend his in-person classes like Philos 14 and Phil 35. These classes are soooo much better face to face. I learned a lot and he's very understanding when it comes to grades.

Super easy A if you get the work done. He grades based off of completion for the most part and as long as your response shows you put work into it, you'll get a 10/10. It seems like a lot of work, but all the assignments are easy, you just have to watch the videos and do the reading. Only two exams which are worth 50%. (summer session).

Phil 14 was a wild ride. I asked questions in that class I didn't even know I had. It was amazing! You learn so much but the work is totally doable. He makes sure everyone keeps up.

Super easy class. Only 2 exams and weekly reading questions graded on completeness. He is very nice and understanding when it comes to grading and due dates.

Best class ever! Take Prof. P's class in person. Easy A, but you learn so much!

Legit. Recommended. You need to take the class. You won't regret it. Easy A!

I got Cs on my exams, but completed all the homework so I still got an A! Also learned a lot about philosophy!

You won't find a better class. Clear grading. Not stressful, but you learn wisdom from the ancient Greeks!

Professor Placencia was amazing. Took him during the fall semester and it was overall a very easy class. You're based on the completion of assignments, it's an easy A class. Midterm and final are timed. I finished the class with an 89% after the final but I emailed him and he raised it to 90%. Just take his class he's great!

Amazing professor. I took 3 courses with him. Got all A's with him. He just wants you to put in some effort when you respond to discussions and homework. Show him you read/watched the work and you'll get an A.

I enjoyed being in Professor Placencia's class. He goes above and beyond to help his students and is hilarious. You have to read a lot in this class so prepare for that. There is two exams and weekly discussions.

Professor Placencia is a wonderful professor! I dreaded his class the most when I signed up for it, but it quickly became one of my favorites. He is very gentle on his grades, and genuinely wants to see his students interacting with one another and himself during philosophical prompts. SQ and CD's due nearly every week, but they are fairly easy.

PHIL 31, Philosophy of Religion was so interesting. The material really makes you think. You get to talk about religion without all the biases. No politics. Super chill.

Very knowledgable of the subject. Great lectures, keep your interest in it. Grades by questions weekly, two exams (one midterm one final). Open note, clear on what you need to know. You don't need to go to every class but just show up to as many as possible. He is super understanding and will understand situations if you need anything.

Professor Placencia is amazing. I would highly recommend his course. Requires a bit of heavy reading but his lectures are fun and engaging.

His online course was great. His modules were very organized and he posted old lectures to follow along. He is very accessible outside of the class. He gives some dense readings but lots of time to understand and do the discussion posts. His material was also diverse, sometimes it was movies, readings, or situations to look at. Great professor.

Overall I enjoyed taking this class. It was accelerated Winter semester, but it was pretty easy and straightforward. Should be an easy pass if you do all the work. DO NOT SKIP ON THE READING THAT IS WHAT ALL THE ASSIGNMENTS AND EXAMS WILL BE ON. ALL THE READINGS WERE FREE AS WELL.

I took his online class during a 5 week semester and it was great. There was a lot of reading that I would not skip on, so be prepared. His grading was very clear and makes sure you succeed in the class as long as you are participating. Make the subject really fun and easy, I would absolutely take his class again if i could.

Despite being a boring course in terms of subject matter, Professor Placencia made new topics clear and easy to understand. His grading policy is very lenient, highly recommend.

Take his class! He makes learning the material interesting and fun. He truly cares for his students.

Modern philosophy really made me think. Complicated material but I learned so much. Placencia makes it all clear.

Took Prof Placencia's online fall Phil 001 course. This is a very thought-provoking and enjoyable course, and he has a very easy/efficient structure for this course. He provides an online lecture as well as external resources relating to the topic we are discussing, and assigns a few questions and a discussion each week. No papers. Nice guy too!

Took his Winter 2025 Phil 001 and I would 100% recommend. Great Professor!

I took his class when I was in high school doing dual enrollment, I am now in college and still try to find him as a professor for my other classes. REALLY GOOD CLASS! Take this class if you want an easy A and want a great professor. He was also really nice. I don't really remember the course work but I remember it was very doable. 100% recommend.