Professor Kaplan is an impressive and unique person to take a course with. A lot of philosophy classes cover hundreds of years and dozens of thinkers. Kaplan, on the other hand, gives you an appreciation for the insights possible in analyzing paragraph. We spent this class on a few papers important to the Philosophy of Language and were tested on only those. The midterm and final are each an 8-10 page paper answering a list of questions. They ask for a little original thought and understanding, so pay attention! If you're here, take Kaplan! (If you can only manage one, take 127C.)

I've never reviewed a professor or class before but I had to come through for Kaplan and his 127A/B/C series. He is beyond brilliant. I originally took 127A on a whim, but I now hope to complete the entire series. The subject itself isn't easy (like logic, it often either comes naturally to you or it doesn't), but the way Kaplan teaches -- and the way he organizes assignments -- makes the class easy. He podcasts all his lectures, doesn't assign homework, and only gives two take-home "exams" (which are basically a handful of short essays). In both 127A and B he assigns just one short text (a single article or chapter) for the entire quarter, and in my experience we never even finish it. He's very funny and approachable, and he repeats important ideas dozens of times, so you never have to worry about missing something crucial (trust me, you'll get the hint). He almost teaches like he's under the assumption that everyone in the class is kind of dumb, and I mean that in the best way possible. He explains EVERYTHING thoroughly. He's also one of the most knowledgeable people in the world on this subject, and offers clear, simple explanations of the material that you could never have come up with on your own/could never get from anyone else.

If you are REMOTELY interested in logic/linguistics/philosophy of language, or if you're tired of reading a dozen texts for a single course and you need a break from that cramming, take this class

I've never reviewed a professor or class before but I had to come through for Kaplan and his 127A/B/C series. He is beyond brilliant. I originally took 127A on a whim, but I now hope to complete the entire series. The subject itself isn't easy (like logic, it often either comes naturally to you or it doesn't), but the way Kaplan teaches -- and the way he organizes assignments -- makes the class easy. He podcasts all his lectures, doesn't assign homework, and only gives two take-home "exams" (which are basically a handful of short essays). In both 127A and B he assigns just one short text (a single article or chapter) for the entire quarter, and in my experience we never even finish it. He's very funny and approachable, and he repeats important ideas dozens of times, so you never have to worry about missing something crucial (trust me, you'll get the hint). He almost teaches like he's under the assumption that everyone in the class is kind of dumb, and I mean that in the best way possible. He explains EVERYTHING thoroughly. He's also one of the most knowledgeable people in the world on this subject, and offers clear, simple explanations of the material that you could never have come up with on your own/could never get from anyone else.

If you are REMOTELY interested in logic/linguistics/philosophy of language, or if you're tired of reading a dozen texts for a single course and you need a break from that cramming, take this class

I took Philosophy of Language in the Fall of 2002. My expectations for the class were incredibly high. Unfortunately, they were let down. No syllabus for the class and the midterm and final were due within about a week of each other. Although I admire thoroughness, we only discussed two pages of Frege's "On Sense and Nominatum" the entire semester with some supplementary material. He sprinkled his lectures with tons of amusing stories but the small amount of material covered could be maddening at moments and at the end of the class I felt as though I couldn't even describe what I got out of it. Kaplan was absent about four times. Also, there were far too many "Kaplanites" (students who worship him for his reputation in the field) in the class.