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This instructor really knows his stuff. Sometimes loses me but can follow questions from students well. I really learned alot and would recommend him to anyone.

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Russ is fantastic. He goes over alot of heads, but that's cause most heads are empty and low. If you're actually interested in philosophy, he'll get you thinking. If not, take it with somebody else and don't waste his time.

Really nice teacher, and was helpful and clear, I would reccomend him.

A good teacher, but very random lectures. He is also pretty easy going, I don't think I really understood the material but I still recieved a B in this class. If you can focus well in class I would recommend him, if not try to find a teacher who has a more set form to their lectures. Overall, I learned a lot and he was a nice teacher.

He is a good professor. He can get boring at times during his lecture and you can easily get lost on what he's talking about if you don't pay attention. You don't get any homework, which is good. Didn't use the book much, but he'll tell you some of the stuff he'll ask you on exams.

Class was ok, but if you don't afree with him, he's quite a jerk. If you have any religious views, stay away, he'll harp on you all the time. VERY opinionated!

Really nice guy and helpful teacher. The subject is philosophy so it's not the easiest thing in the world, but still he makes it very interesting and lets the whole class participate.

Payne is great, but don't take his classes in the earlier mornings, his voice and rambles will send you straight to sleep. Loves to talk talk talk about everything and nothing, but is very intelligent and philosophically minded. Tends to talk over beginner's heads, so if you're new to philosophy stick with someone else. Lots of discussion.

I aced his class without reading the book. I also did about 70% of the homework. I felt his explanations in class were clear and easy to understand. Often goes off on interesting rants. some people had problems understanding him. I don't know why. Only complaint was he had 2 quizes, 1 exam, 1 final so if you messed on one you could get a bad grade.

Great teacher! Quite intellegent and completely understanding. As a running start student in my junior year of high school, the 200 level philosophy class was managable and at the same time quite interesting! I highly reccomend Mr. Payne for any of his classes!

Russ is a good prof. I wish more classes were like his. If u like phil., the manner in which he designed the course allows for a lot of concept absorption time. There is no mad rush in trying to complete assignments bcuz little work is assigned. Rather, you have time to actually read and contemplate, allowing one to get their mind around the info.

I really liked him - easy-going, laid-back, not a stickler for the homework, though it was crucial to understanding the material. He made me love the subject even more (Intro to Logic). Really, really liked the class, and Russ. I want to take a class from him every quarter.

Russ works as hard to help you succeed as you are willing to work.

His main flaw is that he falls off track of the material we should be covering in class. He's very patient with students who don't understand, and amazingly patient with students who are absurdly argumenative. Read the exam questions ahead of time (on his site) so you can ask questions before. If you do this, you should do well. Very nice professor

Russ was an awesome teacher! He has such clear and easy ways of explaining things and progresses along with the material at a very reasonable rate. He's funny and makes class interesting too. You will have to work hard- read the book and do the homework. But he grades fairly and overall is a lot of fun. :)

I'm in running start, and I loved this class. The only problem with Russ is that he's almost TOO smart, so sometimes it's kind of hard to understand his complex vocabulary. The tests are all easy. He's really nice, laid-back, and willing to help during office hours. Cool first time PHIL class, cool teacher.. very small workload.

cool dude

great person but very diffucult to keep him on track he ventures off on other topics a lot, DONT purchase the book you dont need it at all he puts everything you need online.

Russ is always ready to provide out of class help if you have any questions. I found his class a great intro. into the world of phil. It's true that he often went off on tangents. Which sometimes got to be irritating, but mostly just interesting. Great teacher, recommend the class. Oh, and DO NOT buy the book. Total waste.

An easy A, reads right out of notes and textbooks, mostly lectures takes no attendance but if u dont show up u will fail, very hard to get a hold of for individual questions and can get carried away with offtopics overall great teacher!

Very good instructor and very knowledgeable. He puts all the material you need on his website, so don't buy the book. He had everyone assemble in small groups to study for exams and that helped out tremendously. His final exams require a lot of writing so be prepared.

The most influential teacher I have yet taken. Very patent and helpful with everyone making a plesant in and out of class experience learning the material.

I took this class online. We can ask questions in the discussion board; and Russ responded quickly. Russ required us to participate in the discussion board; and it affects your grade! However, I sometimes felt frustrated that I didn't know the standard of "fully participated".

He's so helpful, he's really there for the students. He does go on rambling about many things that was often confusing, but overall he's great!!

Stick with this class....its worth it.

Very helpful and he wants you to understand the content.

Really enjoyed this class. May be tough out of the gate, but well worth it. Just stick with it....it gets easier. Has a great sence of humor.

Very passionate about teaching, education, critical thinking, and philosophy; shows in his lectures. Occasionally gets off topic worth it when he does. It's not the easiest class, and he expects thinking, but he makes his students WANT to learn. *A lot* of reading involved, most of the learning is from self discipline. But over all amazing prof.

Prof. Payne makes logic (a topic that can, at first, be confusing) become clear. To begin with he may seem a little intimidating, and the beginning lectures are fast, but hang in there - it gets WAY better! He's willing to help. :)Rent the book from the bookstore - way cheaper. Lots o' truth tables/comp q's on first few tests. 4 tests - 1/chap.

Philo of Science. Loved the class. Lectures were a little confusing because it's philosophy but it that's your thing, you're good. Payne makes it fun. Ask him to tell you stories, he's got good ones. :D Read the book and answer the review Qs before tests for practice and you'll be fine. I got an A.

Lectures are interesting and relevant. All info for class is on his website. Lots of readings - and they can be a bit tedious - but he explains them well in class. Tests are essays, he posts questions on his website at beginning of quarter. Good experience and easy if you put in the effort and have a brain.

Russ is super friendly and helpful. His grading is more on a case by case basis which much more appropriate for a philosophy class than the more traditional black and white grading methods. He takes homework and test scores into account as well as improvement and time spent seeking extra help.

The best professor I've had in my life. Prof. Payne is helpful, understanding, and interesting. I even screwed up and missed the time of the final; I went to his office afterward and he just smiled and asked "ready to take the test?" He has a sense of compassion as well as a learned intellectual. Take this class if you want to learn something.

Really cool guy, class was fun. The other kids in the class suck butt. You don't need to try and impress this teacher so just shut up and listen.

I took his class last year. This teacher is great! He cares about the students and really tries to make us understand that subject! He is definitely one of my most favorite professors of all time!

Great professor! The class was mainly lectured based, but its interesting and he knows what he is talking about. If you put in the effort, getting an A shoudnt be a problem!

Very eloquent and willing to share his knowledge of Philosophy. Very honest too! I thought he was fair at grading. Sometimes lectures though were hard to follow, but only if you hadn't read the material. Overall a great teacher.

Professor Payne is awesome. I went into PHIL 101 with no idea of what to expect and was pleasantly surprised by how interesting philosophy is. He didn't use a textbook for the Fall quarter class as he was trying new curriculum. The class is largely based on interactive lectures.

The material itself can be pretty confusing, but Mr. Payne is incredibly patient and will give you thorough explanations to any questions you might have. You can tell he's passionate about what he teaches. Super nice guy!

Russ single-handely took over the position of my favorite teacher after his class. He is humorous, but that is because he is honest. The class is lecture based. He assigns readings for homework, but lectures on them the day after, which can be somewhat anti-productive. He is willing to adapt for the class with when things are due. Great profe

Took the course online- no textbook, all material posted. Lots of reading, so pace accordingly. Participation is key, and don't be afraid to speak your mind. Nevertheless, participation from others was very low. Regret not putting more time towards this course. Lots of reading material; actually understanding it helps keep enthusiasm alive.

Great great professor. However, the online exams are kind of strange. I don't know if that can be blamed on him, but some of the answers are so alike it's hard to tell which one is right-- even if you have a decent understanding of the course material. There are also several spelling mistakes which will throw you off. Regardless, he's great.

Great Professor. Keep involved, take the time to read the articles provided and engage in the discussions. He's extremely helpful and its obvious that he wants you to succeed. Show interest in the subject and you'll do fine.

Was awesome. Favorite teacher in BC. Made philosophy easier than it looks like.

Great guy, Great teacher

Great teacher. He is knowledgeable in philosophy and is great at helping students find passion for logic and critical thinking. Russ enjoys lecture and class discussion. He encourages full class participation and creates a very safe place to discuss ideas. He uses a variety of text as well, so be prepared to read and write a lot. Loved this class!

Philosophy is a hard class to take in general, Russ makes this very clear at the beginning of the quarter however; he works through it with you every step of the way. He answers any questions you have, (even if silly) and is very understanding. The class is very reading heavy, but he is a fair grader, and you get the grade you work for!

Professor Payne is a thoughtful teacher and this course is very well thought out. I've learned a lot and would say to other students, if you can you should take this class! It's very useful and interesting.

Online class has required discussions, which are good and bad. Good because he can elaborate to help you understand. Bad because there's a ton of reading weeks 5-8 and it's hard to understand it by Monday (if you work fulltime or have heavy classload). Good feedback on all assignments, clear course goals and structured workload.

Challenging work. Knowledgeable. If you work hard in this class you'll learn a lot.

Prof. Payne's lectures can be difficult to follow at times, mostly likely to myself spacing out. I felt as the class went on through the quarter lectures became easier to understand though. No book is nice. Make sure you do ALL the assignments to get an A due to having no major grades at the end to boost your grade. Forgiving w/ late work.

Really interesting and rewarding class. Online class composed of readings he wrote followed by a short quiz and a mandatory discussion. Beware: you must post on multiple days to gain full credit. Sometimes, there is a small assignment for readings. He responds to posts frequently and is lenient for late work. Easier standard for an A instead of A-!

Entire class is basically reading and in class discussions. The readings are pretty interesting but they can be slightly long. Assignments are minimal and midterm/final are written in class. Lectures can be boring but if you actually listen he's extremely knowledgable and genuinely cares about his students knowing the material. Easy A if you try.

William Payne is William Russell Payne and he goes by Russ Payne. See the RMP page for "Russ Payne". The students commenting here don't even know their professor's name. Not surprising the reviews are poor.

Solid teacher quite knowledgeable, I generally like philosophy so for me it was interesting class I would continue taking more classes with this professor.

Loved this professor! The optional zoom meetings were a lot of fun and I learned a lot from them. No textbook. Everything we had to read, he wrote himself. I recommend taking notes on the readings he posted. There is a discussion board which is supposed to be like a classroom, to ask/answer questions and talk about the chapter/ what you learned :)

He was pretty chill but his assignments required a lot of reading which made it really annoying.

I was very shocked to see that Professor Payne had a rating of 3.6 on RateMyProfessor. He is at minimum a 5 in my book, very clear and easy standards, actually cares about interacting with student discussions, quizzes are straightforward if you are up to date with the readings (they are easy), and he is flexible. Overall I really enjoyed his class.

The best class I've ever taken. His lectures are incredibly well written and made hard philosophical concepts easy to understand. While there is a steep initial learning curve and a ton of reading and writing, he made philosophy incredibly fun and enjoyable. He genuinely cares about his students and will provide consistent feedback in discussions.

Russ is a solid professor who makes philosophy engaging. While his readings can be challenging, the optional Zoom sessions really help clarify the material. For study prep, Unstuck study and the discussion board were lifesavers.

Very easygoing and passionate instructor. You are expected to read the textbook on your own, for his lectures are mainly him simply talking (60% related to the subject, 40% going on a tangent). Easy grader and gives great feedback. Simple assignments