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Steven Levy
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Based on 119 Users
This course can be difficult or easy depending on how your mind works. However, with some practice anyone can get significantly better at it. Take myself for example, I only had an 89 for my first midterm but ended up with a 99 for my final.
Professor Levy is a great professor. He has a very good grasp on the material and cares a lot about his students. His powerpoints are clear and easy to understand. The homework is minimal and reasonable and the Logic 2010 program is quite easy to navigate.
I have nothing but good things to say about this class and would encourage it to anyone.
LEVY ROCKS. He is like the epitome of the crazy philosophy professor. I LOVED going to lecture, and never wanted to miss one because he was so fun and engaging. He makes the worst jokes ever and puts really pointless animations in his powerpoints, but all of that makes the class so fun.
Like everyone else said; do the homework. And do it ON TIME. Not only is it crucial to your understanding of the material but the points add up, and even just doing it late can hurt your grade. That being said, it isn't difficult. This depends highly on how your mind works, but don't believe anyone that says you have to be a math person. I'm not at ALL and I got 100% on the final. Just be open to thinking a new way and ask questions in section when you have them, and you'll be gold.
Levy's class is the bomb, I highly recommend it, especially for every Philosophy major.
Great lecturer and an expert in his field. Going to lecture was a joy because they were well organized (and sometimes hilarious) powerpoint presentations and the homework assignments matched up pretty well with the lecture series for the week. He's not a hard grader but you MUST DO THE HOMEWORK. I cannot emphasize that enough. You can contact him at all hours of the night with questions about the material, but if you've been slacking off on the homework and not coming to lecture -- don't even think about it.
Professor:
Sweet, relatable, the grandpa I wish I had. He's so caring and genuine that he makes learning the rather insane material feel like it's no big deal. One of the best professors I have ever had at UCLA.
Phil 31:
DO THE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS, every single one. Attempt everything, submit it on time. This is a bulk of your grade, I'd say about 50%. Tutors are beyond helpful if you need them, but Levy does a very good job teaching you everything you need to know in lecture. Emma Sabean was very responsive in her emails to help as well. As a LAST resort, he goes over the difficult hw problems in class--redo them and re-submit them for partial credit afterwards.
Midterm and Final:
Very fair, nothing shocking. Everyone agrees that symbolizations are the toughest. You are allowed all your notes and handouts. What I did was make my own handout of every type of symbolization we had done for assignments and use them as references for the final. Do what works for you. Do not walk into your test with messy notes and handouts!
Book:
Don't buy it. You do not need a book. There is even an online version.
I walked into the class with no idea what I was getting into. You should definitely think LOGIC, not philosophy.
You will learn how to do
1) Symbolizations
2) Derivations (aka proofs)
3) Invalidities
4) Truth Tables
If you don't know what those are, Google/ask someone. I actually had fun doing derivations--I'd do extra in my spare time while watching TV. It wasn't horrible. Practice makes perfect, ended up with a solid A.
Professor Levy is probably one of the best professors on campus because he is actually passionate about his subject and will make sure his students understand the material. He makes a two hour lecture go by fast because he throws in jokes. If he had another philosophy class, I would take it in a heartbeat. For Philosophy 31 there is two midterms, a final, and homework due twice a week, but it is not hard to get A's on the homework. Before the final and midterms, he sets up review sessions which helps answers any questions. This class, as most as indicated underneath, is similar to a math class. I would highly recommend him as a Professor. I took this class for fun and absolutely enjoyed it.
Honestly, Dr. Levy is the BEST professor I've ever had. His teaching style is exactly what I want to model when I eventually teach my own class (I'm current grad student).
He's an awesome professor. Don't worry if you don't get the material right off the bat; he'll be more than happy to support you through out the whole course.
About Levy:
Early time slots for classes are not Levy's fault.
Awesome professor, very friendly, very helpful, very understanding. My favorite professor at UCLA by far. Yeah, his jokes are cheesy at times, but he throws them in there to keep his students interested. The subject would be a bit borring without the flair he gives it. He's really goofy, but that makes him approachable. It's extremely evident that he really does care about his students.
About Phil 31:
Personally, I'm not a math person, I'm a philosophy person. How well you do in this class is completely dependent on how you look at it. If you're bad at math, and you look at this like a math class, then you'll do poorly. If you're bad at math, and you look at this as a series of puzzles, then you'll do well.
Just a warning, some of the concepts are not easily grasped at first teaching. You WILL have to devote an extra 1-2 hours a week either to go to office hours, or to the provided tutoring sessions. The tutors are all really flexible though, so if you can't make one of their scheduled times, they'll probably schedule one on one time with you.
Go to class! It's so easy to fall behind here. You cover new material every week. It only becomes more necessary after the first midterm. If you don't go, then you won't be able to do the homework. Homework will be your key to getting a good grade in this class (especially if you didn't do so well on the midterms).
Go to the gala review sessions! They're really helpful. Often held one to two days before a major test in the large CLICC room on 3rd floor Powell
In all, I highly recommend Levy, especially if you have to take 31
This course can be difficult or easy depending on how your mind works. However, with some practice anyone can get significantly better at it. Take myself for example, I only had an 89 for my first midterm but ended up with a 99 for my final.
Professor Levy is a great professor. He has a very good grasp on the material and cares a lot about his students. His powerpoints are clear and easy to understand. The homework is minimal and reasonable and the Logic 2010 program is quite easy to navigate.
I have nothing but good things to say about this class and would encourage it to anyone.
LEVY ROCKS. He is like the epitome of the crazy philosophy professor. I LOVED going to lecture, and never wanted to miss one because he was so fun and engaging. He makes the worst jokes ever and puts really pointless animations in his powerpoints, but all of that makes the class so fun.
Like everyone else said; do the homework. And do it ON TIME. Not only is it crucial to your understanding of the material but the points add up, and even just doing it late can hurt your grade. That being said, it isn't difficult. This depends highly on how your mind works, but don't believe anyone that says you have to be a math person. I'm not at ALL and I got 100% on the final. Just be open to thinking a new way and ask questions in section when you have them, and you'll be gold.
Levy's class is the bomb, I highly recommend it, especially for every Philosophy major.
Great lecturer and an expert in his field. Going to lecture was a joy because they were well organized (and sometimes hilarious) powerpoint presentations and the homework assignments matched up pretty well with the lecture series for the week. He's not a hard grader but you MUST DO THE HOMEWORK. I cannot emphasize that enough. You can contact him at all hours of the night with questions about the material, but if you've been slacking off on the homework and not coming to lecture -- don't even think about it.
Professor:
Sweet, relatable, the grandpa I wish I had. He's so caring and genuine that he makes learning the rather insane material feel like it's no big deal. One of the best professors I have ever had at UCLA.
Phil 31:
DO THE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS, every single one. Attempt everything, submit it on time. This is a bulk of your grade, I'd say about 50%. Tutors are beyond helpful if you need them, but Levy does a very good job teaching you everything you need to know in lecture. Emma Sabean was very responsive in her emails to help as well. As a LAST resort, he goes over the difficult hw problems in class--redo them and re-submit them for partial credit afterwards.
Midterm and Final:
Very fair, nothing shocking. Everyone agrees that symbolizations are the toughest. You are allowed all your notes and handouts. What I did was make my own handout of every type of symbolization we had done for assignments and use them as references for the final. Do what works for you. Do not walk into your test with messy notes and handouts!
Book:
Don't buy it. You do not need a book. There is even an online version.
I walked into the class with no idea what I was getting into. You should definitely think LOGIC, not philosophy.
You will learn how to do
1) Symbolizations
2) Derivations (aka proofs)
3) Invalidities
4) Truth Tables
If you don't know what those are, Google/ask someone. I actually had fun doing derivations--I'd do extra in my spare time while watching TV. It wasn't horrible. Practice makes perfect, ended up with a solid A.
Professor Levy is probably one of the best professors on campus because he is actually passionate about his subject and will make sure his students understand the material. He makes a two hour lecture go by fast because he throws in jokes. If he had another philosophy class, I would take it in a heartbeat. For Philosophy 31 there is two midterms, a final, and homework due twice a week, but it is not hard to get A's on the homework. Before the final and midterms, he sets up review sessions which helps answers any questions. This class, as most as indicated underneath, is similar to a math class. I would highly recommend him as a Professor. I took this class for fun and absolutely enjoyed it.
Honestly, Dr. Levy is the BEST professor I've ever had. His teaching style is exactly what I want to model when I eventually teach my own class (I'm current grad student).
He's an awesome professor. Don't worry if you don't get the material right off the bat; he'll be more than happy to support you through out the whole course.
About Levy:
Early time slots for classes are not Levy's fault.
Awesome professor, very friendly, very helpful, very understanding. My favorite professor at UCLA by far. Yeah, his jokes are cheesy at times, but he throws them in there to keep his students interested. The subject would be a bit borring without the flair he gives it. He's really goofy, but that makes him approachable. It's extremely evident that he really does care about his students.
About Phil 31:
Personally, I'm not a math person, I'm a philosophy person. How well you do in this class is completely dependent on how you look at it. If you're bad at math, and you look at this like a math class, then you'll do poorly. If you're bad at math, and you look at this as a series of puzzles, then you'll do well.
Just a warning, some of the concepts are not easily grasped at first teaching. You WILL have to devote an extra 1-2 hours a week either to go to office hours, or to the provided tutoring sessions. The tutors are all really flexible though, so if you can't make one of their scheduled times, they'll probably schedule one on one time with you.
Go to class! It's so easy to fall behind here. You cover new material every week. It only becomes more necessary after the first midterm. If you don't go, then you won't be able to do the homework. Homework will be your key to getting a good grade in this class (especially if you didn't do so well on the midterms).
Go to the gala review sessions! They're really helpful. Often held one to two days before a major test in the large CLICC room on 3rd floor Powell
In all, I highly recommend Levy, especially if you have to take 31