PHILOS M152B
Topics in Moral Philosophy: Evil
Description: (Same as Study of Religion M179.) Lecture, three to four hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Preparation: one philosophy course. Course 152A is not requisite to M152B. Exploration of philosophical issues raised by topic of evil actions and/or evil people. Issues may include nature of evil, problem of evil and theodicies, responsibility for evil and problem of free will, causes and motivations for evil action, and variant responses to evil such as forgiveness and punishment. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2024 - This was the second philosophy class I'd ever taken and as a result, it was definitely the most time consuming class in my schedule. Despite it being an upper div, around half the class didn't have experience with philosophy and didn't know how to write a philosophy paper. My TA was Dan Ranweiler and he was extremely helpful in learning how to write the papers, but without him I likely would've been lost. Johnson is a passionate professor but often goes on tangents during class and isn't very good at clarifying the material or philosopher's thoughts. Moreover, the material is interesting but I would advise anyone signing up for the class to make sure they are in a good state of mind if they decide to take it. Learning about evil for 10 weeks can be mentally exhausting and I often found myself feeling a bit depressed throughout the duration of the class. Johnson also has a clear affinity for Nietzsche so he would oftentimes try to push his ideas, even in the weeks where we weren't reading him. Overall, this class definitely improved my critical thinking skills and I have come out of it retaining some optimism (I don't believe human nature is cruel) but it's a lot of work and the reading can be very emotionally heavy so I would advise anyone to proceed with caution.
Fall 2024 - This was the second philosophy class I'd ever taken and as a result, it was definitely the most time consuming class in my schedule. Despite it being an upper div, around half the class didn't have experience with philosophy and didn't know how to write a philosophy paper. My TA was Dan Ranweiler and he was extremely helpful in learning how to write the papers, but without him I likely would've been lost. Johnson is a passionate professor but often goes on tangents during class and isn't very good at clarifying the material or philosopher's thoughts. Moreover, the material is interesting but I would advise anyone signing up for the class to make sure they are in a good state of mind if they decide to take it. Learning about evil for 10 weeks can be mentally exhausting and I often found myself feeling a bit depressed throughout the duration of the class. Johnson also has a clear affinity for Nietzsche so he would oftentimes try to push his ideas, even in the weeks where we weren't reading him. Overall, this class definitely improved my critical thinking skills and I have come out of it retaining some optimism (I don't believe human nature is cruel) but it's a lot of work and the reading can be very emotionally heavy so I would advise anyone to proceed with caution.
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