PHILOS 22
Introduction to Ethical Theory
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Not open for credit to students with credit for course 22W. Recommended or required for many upper-division courses in Group III. Systematic introduction to ethical theory, including discussion of egoism, utilitarianism, justice, responsibility, meaning of ethical terms, relativism, etc. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
I really do not want to sound mean, but this professor is by far one of the worst at UCLA. She stumbles over ideas, confusing the students. She asks the class: "Is that clear?" and she expects someone to raise their hand and say what? "Uh, I have no idea what you've been talking about for the past 30 minutes." She is so unclear and extremely difficult to understand and follow during her lectures. Her teaching style needs a serious overhall.
I really do not want to sound mean, but this professor is by far one of the worst at UCLA. She stumbles over ideas, confusing the students. She asks the class: "Is that clear?" and she expects someone to raise their hand and say what? "Uh, I have no idea what you've been talking about for the past 30 minutes." She is so unclear and extremely difficult to understand and follow during her lectures. Her teaching style needs a serious overhall.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - This class was really easy but kind of odd. Basically all you do is read and go through Plato's Republic (which you do not need to buy, a pdf is provided on bruinlearn) with 2 writing assignments (1 midterm and 1 final). The lectures are honestly really boring and not super helpful, and lots of people in the class stopped showing up. Prof Julius is super laid back and records the lectures, so you don't really need to go to class or discussion if you have better things to do. Attendance is not recorded. Your entire grade is based on just the 2 writing assignments, which are graded very loosely. Basically if you put in a good effort and turn it in on time, you get a 1 (aka an A) or the TA will just make you do it again. A very low-stakes class, basically pass-fail but with letter grades lol. However, despite the easiness, Plato's republic is a drag to get through as the language is super dense and doesn't make a ton of sense. Prof Julius goes through the book in lecture along with the sections you're supposed to be following along and reading, but his lectures are just him talking for an hour with no slides. He is a big rambler and never really finishes his sentences which gets annoying fast. If you zone out for 10 seconds you'll probably get lost since he is always jumping around topics. If you can write a decent paper on your thoughts on philosophy you'll be fine in the class. Overall, an easy A class, but not really that fun or interesting.
Fall 2025 - This class was really easy but kind of odd. Basically all you do is read and go through Plato's Republic (which you do not need to buy, a pdf is provided on bruinlearn) with 2 writing assignments (1 midterm and 1 final). The lectures are honestly really boring and not super helpful, and lots of people in the class stopped showing up. Prof Julius is super laid back and records the lectures, so you don't really need to go to class or discussion if you have better things to do. Attendance is not recorded. Your entire grade is based on just the 2 writing assignments, which are graded very loosely. Basically if you put in a good effort and turn it in on time, you get a 1 (aka an A) or the TA will just make you do it again. A very low-stakes class, basically pass-fail but with letter grades lol. However, despite the easiness, Plato's republic is a drag to get through as the language is super dense and doesn't make a ton of sense. Prof Julius goes through the book in lecture along with the sections you're supposed to be following along and reading, but his lectures are just him talking for an hour with no slides. He is a big rambler and never really finishes his sentences which gets annoying fast. If you zone out for 10 seconds you'll probably get lost since he is always jumping around topics. If you can write a decent paper on your thoughts on philosophy you'll be fine in the class. Overall, an easy A class, but not really that fun or interesting.
Most Helpful Review
I got a B+ but I didn't expect it since I got a B- on my essay which was 40 percent. So, it is worth it to study hard for the final. For the final, I listened to his lectures on the podcast while walking at the park. Good times lol! I thought the lectures were pretty interesting but sometimes missing one word or getting distracted in one instance will get you lost in what he is saying. I listened to the podcast for each lecture twice because i never went to discussion so that helped me. However, If you need an elaboration on what Lawrence says, then you should go to discussion. Also, use sparknotes.
I got a B+ but I didn't expect it since I got a B- on my essay which was 40 percent. So, it is worth it to study hard for the final. For the final, I listened to his lectures on the podcast while walking at the park. Good times lol! I thought the lectures were pretty interesting but sometimes missing one word or getting distracted in one instance will get you lost in what he is saying. I listened to the podcast for each lecture twice because i never went to discussion so that helped me. However, If you need an elaboration on what Lawrence says, then you should go to discussion. Also, use sparknotes.
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