3.2
Quality2.9
Difficulty45%
Would Retake86
Reviews45%
Would Retake
86
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
22
4
23
3
16
2
18
1
7
What Students Say
“The position deMarneffe takes is clear”
PHI336 - 2.0 rating“Essay assignments are as clear as mud”
PHI336 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
67%
Textbook Required
83%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
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4.0
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Reviews (86)
OH MY GOD! What a moron! This man rambles on and on about the worst possible ideas. I have never heard anyone suggest Tolstoy should take Prozac. The class has nothing to do with ethics and is a huge waist of time!!!
No Comments
He mixes his own convoluted thoughts with the actual philosophy he is attempting to teach. He speaks much too fast and has no consideration for the students. He is the worst Doctoral that Harvard ever produced.
I wrote VERYTHING down that he said and then copied it to the test and still got a 'C' in the class. I don't know where I went wrong. Also his voice has a magical quality to it, it puts everyone to sleep! I wanted to listen, but I couldn't stay awake.
The classes are soo boring, but you have to go or you will fail. You can get an easy A if you just write down what he says in class.
good class and easy if u go to class...
This class is so boring...and the professor is so weird. Just copy down everything he says...the first time. He'll say the same answer in 3 different ways to confuse you, so just memorize the basic answers he gives you and always show up and you'll be ok.
This guy is ridiculous. Honestly seems that his chosen profession is beneath him. A horrid lecturer muddling up what he says often confusing himself and usually the students too. His TAs grade the assignments and they only read the first 2 lines of your work so get your answers clear right away
No Comments
This poor guy got stuck in a field he just was not cut out for. It is obvious from day one that the guy has never learned how to teach! I don't think he really cares, though. There's an air of depression in DeMarneffe's voice as he lectures, which gives th
Very ambiguous grading.
I found him great actually; I'm a law student now though--so perhaps I'm biased because I can only dream of teachers like him. He is incredibly interesting, and I found myself attracted to his intelligence..I know he has kids, I'm not being creepy. He is not the teacher for those students that don't really enjoy thinking or analyzing..well anything. It wasn't my easiest A, but I found his tests to be predictable.
It's really hard to follow him sometimes, but he's pretty clear other times. Its 50/50
VERY boring class. VERY boring professor. Easy format to the class, but some of his answers seem very subjective and inconsistant. Can be a bit pretentious and demeaning to some students.
Pretty easy class if you are good at picking up abstract topics. His tests are hard to excell on, but also hard to fail. I liked him, but I got an A, so I may be biased
WOuld be nice if his classes were smaller for the subject at hand. His TA's are VERY VERY VERY inconsistent w/ grading--one easier than other. He is a bit arrogant, but damn, his mind makes him sexy as hell! Yet, I would NEVER--repeat--NEVER take another course from him again. If he was the last professor--I would change schools first!
Fantastic professor, especially if you are interested in talking about his class or his work outside of class - I recommend his writing on drug legalization in particular. Like another of the reviewers, I am a law student now and I found his Philosophy of Law class good preparation.
The best ethics professor who I have taken at ASU. His class is not easy, but he presents the topics so well that so long as he have time you can get an A. You know what is coming - and he provides you will ALL the tools to get an A, it is just a matter of doing it. His passion and interest in student development make his class unforgetable.
I don't care if he has a Ph.D. from Harvard, he sucks. I went into this class with a very open mind, eager to learn, and I left annoyed and dissheveled. I am an excellent student, but he nearly failed me. If you cannot handle ambiguity, do not take a class from him.
In PHI105 he can be kind of demeaning to some of his students, as other ratings brought forth, but rightfully so in a philosophy class of 150+ students. All the negative reviews of PHI105, in my opinion, stem from the nature of the coursework: summed up, PHI105 will teach you that lexical ambiquity is the enemy, to be destroyed if possible.
I didn't understand a thing during the lecture, but ask the TA to go over the questions and answers for the test and you will ACE all of them. It's really essential you do this from the begining since there are not a lot of points in the class.
Kinda boring, monotone, not very personable, but I do not know how it is possible to fail the class - he puts questions on the board, answers them, and then puts 10 of the EXACT questions, wording and all, on the test - just give the answer he gave you. Only way to fail is to not go to class and not memorize the answers. Only 4 tests, so study!
The class and topic were interesting. de Marneffe is incredibly smart, and he is helpful if you see him during his office hours.
Easy, cool class! Tests are just as described below! Just go to class and learn his answer and you'll ace the tests. This class was a better intro to philosophy than phi 101!!! He's pretty funny when dealing with those douchy kids who try to argue with him. He reads you the important parts of the reader, I never read a page of it-- easy A for me!
No Comments
Interesting class, a little over my head... but seriously- if you want to succeed and understand GO TO THE T.A'.s before every test... If you don't I promise you will regret it, they break it down so simply for you. Suddenly it will all make sense.
Lectures are unstructured and poorly delivered. Often gets confused and contradicts himself. I'm not sure if he reads what he has assigned. However, he did prepare review sheets for the tests with the exact questions that would be on it. Textbooks were poorly chosen, in my opinion.
still to this day one of my all time fav professors. he is so funny (in a dry sense) and you have to be brain dead to not be able to keep up with him. his review sessions are the best, do not miss them, he will give you the answers verbatim to the essay tests
Brilliant Teacher. Tests are based on the lectures. Make sure to take good notes. He explains the material very well so you do not have to read, but i recommended you do. Class is based on 4 tests. Study before each test and you will be fine.
This is class is uper easy, you never need to read the book at all. He gives you all the aswers to thetest exactly ahead of time, and attendance isn't mandatory.
Extreemely clear. If you pay attention and attend class, you are highly capable of getting a great grade.
I highly recommend this instructor. Not only is he an excellent thinker, but he challenges these thoughts in class. Tests are based on the lectures, and interactive meets make his class very memorable. Register quick; he fills up.
PHI 105 is easy- don't bother buying the book. He gives you all the test Q & As in class. If you are interested in Philosophy, you might have a good time participating in discussions- although sometimes he might just ignore your question if he doesn't know the answer. If you're not, bring something entertaining to do- he's smart, but boring.
This teacher isn't for those who learn by lecture. His lecture's aren't teaching you anything. All you do is answer questions (all from text) MUST READ TEXT AT ALL TIMES in order to be successful in his class and must understand readings. He doesn't provide study guides.
This class is easy if you attend class every day. He tells you exactly what you need to know for the tests. All of his tests are essays, and he grades kind of hard... but he literally spells out the answers for you in class
I learned a ton of information from this class but lost interests towards the end. It is not clear how he grades exams.
Its really easy as long as you take notes and study before the test. Try flashcards. The class isnt for everyone, if you dont like philosophy and dont have to take it...then dont. If its ur thing you'll love it
Useless teacher. You spend the class time answering "test questions". He gives answers to everything on the test but he can pick from up to 45 questions. Must pay attention and study. Do not take if you have no interest in the subject. Would never take again. Has very annoying gestures.
I highly, HIGHLY, recommend this teacher to anyone who is interested in Philosophy or Law and legal theory. Harvard educated, he is extremely articulate and crystal clear when expressing arcane, complex legal/philosophical issues. The tests are pretty basic--ten short answer/essay questions. You must study and pay attention in class to ace them.
He is a very bright teacher, but not all that personable. Very difficult to talk to in office hours, see the TA's. If you pay attention in class, you should be fine. He can get off on a tangent, just don't be looking for an answer during this, just sit back and relax.
Has trouble with blackboard and I don't understand why he doesn't use powerpoint, but overall easy class.
I loved going to this class! What teacher gives you the test questions before the test? He gave us all the questions. Make sure you pay attention and take notes on his answers see the TA's to make sure you got em down right.. This was seriously the easiest class I've taken at ASU
He's one of the best lecturers I've heard at ASU. His explanations of complicated legal issues are surprisingly clear. Although he isn't the most personable guy in the world, you can learn a lot from him simply by attending his lectures. And he gives a very thorough study guide before each test.
I was so excited to take this class. He ruined it for me. I am not a student who is not willing to do the work, I am a good student who enjoys being challenged. This class was AWFUL and it was mainly because of him. He was disrespectful and narrow minded. No structure for studying for the test. No structure in class...only pointless tangents.
Very good teacher. He changed the curriculum to a less abstract, more Constitution-focused class, and I think it bored him, but overall I'd recommend him.
Very knowledgable professor. Of all the undergrad courses I've taken, this one is most similar to a law school class both in subject matter and teaching method. There are four tests with questions taken from a list handed out a week before the test. He'll answer the questions you do not know in the review session held on the class before each test.
Okay, so this class is ridiculous. I was required to take it against my own free will. If you're into Philosophy: go for it. If not steer clear. He doesn't explain himself and as for the tests if you don't put the correct answer down, word for word, you will be docked significantly.
This professor is horrible. He talks to fast for anyone to handwrite notes. During lectures he rambles on and makes you feel stupid if you ask questions. Yes, he may give the test questions but he never directly gives the answers. All tests are written and U can be marked down on simple things like not using a particular word.DONT TAKE THIS CLASS
Awesome class! Attendance is not required. It is very interesting, and he gives you all the answers to the tests. Easy A.
The class seems like it should be easy, especially the way he explains it on the first day. He does tell the answers for the test and it's all memorization. Just hope you don't get bad graders otherwise the easy A will more likely be a B.
Professor De Marneffe is very knowledgeable but he is extremely unclear in his presentation of the subject. Even with my previous knowledge of the content, his lectures were often hard to follow. He gives the answers to all the test questions but the answer is sometimes hard to pick out of all the things he says.
This prof. is incredibly knowledgeable, but he is not the best teacher. After the 2nd exam he said that he taught the class horribly and out of order. This acknowledgment was not helpful because he did nothing to help compensate for the classes low grades. He is also very condescending, and frequently rolls his eyes when students ask questions.
This professory is ridiculous. Sure, he gives a studyguide of the questions that will be on the exam, but he gives 60 questions for you to study when he only uses 12...not helpful. Dont take this teacher if you dont have to, plain and simple. There are 4 grades in the class, those grades are 4 tests at 25% each. Terrible.
This Professor is very intelligent, and makes his class fairly easy. However, if you are someone who actually wants to learn (i.e., you go to office hours after tests to find out why you missed what you missed), forget about it. He simply deflects his students to his TA whenever they have questions about their exam.
I managed to get an A through hard work. I went with both of the TA's to get the lectures explained to me and make sure I got the right answers. He grades based on the answer he gives and it has to be exactly the same or else you get points off. There are only 4 exams which require extensive hours of study that is if you never understand the materi
This class started off incredible interesting, but eventually tailed off into an endless analysis of Ronald Dworkin and justice Scalia. This class is pretty difficult, but as long as you know his entire study guide, you should do fairly well. The first quarter of the class is interesting enough to make up for the boring last three quarters.
Attending class is mandatory since all quiz and exam answers are directly from the lecture, kind of stupid though since answers have to be exactly what he said not you own thought or input on the subject. MUST have laptop since he goes through answers pretty fast. Not a very nice teacher either and makes you feel stupid.
An extremely good, thought provoking lecturer. Attendance is a must for exams - yet he thoroughly discusses every question and answer he gives on exams. Easy A and an interesting course if you just attend the class.
Professor de Marneffe enforces attendence with pop quizzes. However, all the questions on the test and quizzes are discussed in class in excrutiating detail, so all you need to do to get an A in the class is go to lecture, write down the questions, write down the answers (exactly as he gives them) and memorize them for the test. Very boring easy A.
EASY!!! You don't even have to do the readings! He gives you all the answers to the questions that will be on the test. Just write down what he says. Such an easy A.
De Marneffe is a class act and brilliant! I love this class. It is ridiculously fun. However, BEWARE of TA's. Typical Philosophy (chip on the shoulder) bunch that grade crazy hard and mark off because words are wrong.
I took this class expecting something completely diffferent. It was really obscure and subjective. He never answers the questions put on the screen he always tails off onto something else which makes it hard to follow. It is mandatory to show up if you want to pass the class. I wouldn't recommend this class unless philosophy is your thing.
Not helpful at all inside and outside of class. Questions from students were rarely answered without judgement from the professor. Professor always made a point to point out students during lecture who weren't paying attention; wasted time during the lecture. Tests were graded unfairly; focus would be on using one specific word in an answer.
He can explain difficult theories with obvious talent.
Take a computer to class to type questions and answers. Questions he provides in class are EXACTLY on the exam! So get the answers to questions he provides and STUDY THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS. Couldn't be simpler. Just have to memorize 50 answers for every test (the test is 10 questions). If you're good at memorizing then take this for easy A
He is very knowledgeable, though disorganized at times. The course content was fantastic. He was helpful one on one and via email. No homework other than reading. He can be difficult to follow if the content is complex. If you are not a good note taker, become one before taking a class with Dr. DeMarneff Overall, the class experience was excellent!
A sign of a good philosophy professor is that you can't tell what position heshe takes. The position deMarneffe takes is clear. The term is laid out as if he's taking you through his own critical analysis of libertarianism. He gives a scant intro to Nozick and then spends the rest of the class asking leading questions against libertarianism.
Essay assignments are as clear as mud. There's only 1 right answer his and there's no room for discussion. This is the most frustrating class I've ever taken. It's difficult to grasp the material as he sees it. Difficult tests and hardly a syllabus either Also misleading about required texts being available online, had to buy 60 ebooks midclass
Interesting subject material, but unfortunately Dr. deMarneffe is an excruciatingly difficult grader. I'll understand concepts, but will still get dinged for not using precise words in your writing assignments. Tests are multiple choice, however do NOT let that fool-- those multiple choice quizzes are difficult. Good luck!
It is an interesting class, but deMarneffe is very unclear as to what he expects. The class did not receive writing assignment expectations till week 5 of a 7 week course! Very very tough meticulous grader, be ready to argue your grades because you'll consistently see 1820 even though you answered the question fully. Tests are worded difficultly.
He goes over the exact questions in class that will be on the tests. The concepts are sometimes hard to follow, but he is very helpful if you don't understand. The student aids grade the tests and were tough graders. Besides that, just go to class for the pop quizzes and you'll do fine
The material is alright. He gives you all the answers to tests in class and you just have to basically recite them on tests. Pretty easy, just boring to attend. Watch for pop-quizzes!
Lectures quickly and often goes off topic.
This class has 10 pop quizzes (1 question from that days lecture) and 4 tests (10 questions from that section). He asks you to read (which you don't need to to pass) and asks the exact same questions he will ask on your tests. Pop quizzes are given randomly, so show up to class. His tests are easy if you memorize his answers to his questions.
PHI 105 was interesting because i did not read a single reading or bought the assigned book yet passed the class with a high A. this is because all the test questions given and answered in class. as long as you have them written down and memorized, you should have no trouble. it does take time and effort to memorize questions. DONT MISS ANY CLASS
I enjoyed this class a great deal. Dr. deMarneffe is passionate and knowledgeable about the subject matter of the class, and has the advantage of knowing three of the writers we focussed on. He grades strictly, but fairly, and his feedback is excellent. He will help you become a better thinker and/or philosopher.
He is kind of boring and gets off topic a lot, and this class in general has some hard to understand topics. All of the test questions are discussed in class so its really not too hard and you dont actually have to do the readings. show up to class for the pop quizzes and make sure you have friends in the class for days when you're not there
I love Peter. He is just such an inpspiration for the ASU students. He makes philosophy so interesting, and even though he goes off topic sometimes, I appreciate his insight on topics. He is very knowledgable and made my time here worth it.
If youre not extremely left of center politically, dont bother. If you disagree with something he says, keep it to yourself. Ask one wrong question and youll never be called upon again. Hes also scatterbrained and he devises assignments on a whim. His grading is also subjective, so good luck getting an A if youre planning on dissenting.
Peter deMarneffe is great! Tough, but fair, grader; happy to help if you ask. I took his online class, so I can't speak to what he's like when he lectures in person, but don't let the other reviews scare you. Text was free online. Grades were based on discussion posts, short summaries of the readings, and multiple choice quizzes.
Professor deMarneffe is great, he definitely knows what he covers and is always engaging with the class. Show up to class consistently to get a good grade. You'll also have to actively invest yourself in the topics and philosophies he covers to know what you're doing, don't worry though, this should come naturally if you pay attention in class.
He grades mainly one four papers, five tests, and ten quizzes. The tests are ten questions and multiple choice. The quizzes are pop but one question each. For the tests and quizzes, we go over every single question but sometimes when he goes over the questions its not very clear which question he is answering.
The overall grading system doesn't seem to bad (5 quizzes and multiple choice) but it adds up. The quizzes are all taken together as a class. Attendance is mandatory, he makes you read 3 books, many case studies, his journal he wrote years ago (that's very long), and other journals as well.
the class is mainly everyone reading and him talking about what we read. he does engage in discussion with students but it was boring most of the time. there are 5 tests and he goes over the test questions in class but i think you can find the quizlet to the test questions if you don't want to attend. the TAs grade essays kind of hard.
deMarneffe was an interesting professor. His tests were EXTREMELY confusing, and one time an argument broke out because of it. Students complained to him that he made them too difficult on purpose and I can't really disagree with that. I'm giving him 3 stars just because the lectures and material were interesting and I learned a lot.
He doesn't really teach you anything he just argues with his students all class. My advice would be to not waste your time on lectures and just look up the study questions before the quizzes.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
67%
Textbook Required
83%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.44 avg changeRatings by Course
PHI420
5.0
(1)PHI306
5.0
(1)PHILOFLAW
4.0
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4.0
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4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
PHILOFLAW
5.0
PHIINTROETHIC
5.0
PHILOFART
5.0
PHI7125
5.0
phi335
5.0