Bernard Berofsky

The reviews are pretty accurate, Berofsky likes to mumble so sit up front to prevent yourself from dozing. Also, participate!!! Our class was partially brain dead and there were maybe two or three people that would ask questions or answer Berofsky's. If you engage in the class then it becomes more interesting. That said Berofsky knows his shit. He is THOROUGH and if you want to learn alot then take this class. It was definetly worth it, and he is an extremely nice guy. Some of the readings are difficult so it pays to read them before the lecture and ask questions. Take good notes, you will need them for the final!

Don't take this class with Berofsky unless you are really into philosophy. He is very methodical and breaks down all the concepts and really drives them into your brain, but you'll need caffeine because he does have a rather....uh....droning style. However, by the time I left this class, I felt that I had achieved a very comprehensive understanding (for an undergrad amateur) of the issues and arguements that are central to the free will debate. Which is what is really most important. And I did not find the readings particularly boring, though I would say following up on some of Berofsky's suggestions for outside reading certainly made the class more interesting. There is really not a whole lot of reading for a philosophy course. I found him to be quite an easy grader. As far as papers, I would suggest that you see him, at least if you intend to go off the list of suggested subjects. If I had, I probably would've gotten more out of the class and a better grade. Also, I agree with the reveiwer who said that Berofsky (like most other philosophy professors) really wants you to basically show that you understand what some philosopher has said rather than to come up with your own stance. The positions are entrenched and pretty well-defined, so be "creative" at your own risk. And, yes, the final was a bit much, but he gave us the questions beforehand. If you've been taking good notes…

The best way for me to describe this is blah. There were times when those 2 hours were totally unbearable, and others when it was very engaging, but most of the time, it just was. He's a very understandable teacher, definitely knows his stuff (particularly Descartes) and is understanding about the huge amount of CC reading. He can at times also be very funny and is *a magician*. He tends to evaluate the works very much as a philosopher (he is afterall from the philosophy department) and sometimes this can leave you feeling a little bit "WHO CARES" (especially if philosophy just isn't your bag, baby). But, for those of you who love philosophy, then Bernie is your man. He will debate and argue all sorts of philosophical points with you, and you can dominate class discussion. For all the rest of you, try getting in your class participation by volunteering to read things outloud, and asking general questions about the class. This way, he will at least know who you are.

Berofsky's lectures are dull. Berofsky's lectures are dry. Berofsky's lectures are mind-numbing. Berosfky is a methodical, intelligent philosopher. He has a complete and extensive knowledge of what he is talking about. He answers student questions throroughly, although he has trouble understanding those who speak sloppily. In all honesty, although I like Professor Berofsky very much on a personal level, I would never in good faith recommend his class to anyone. Granted, have tastes other than mine and somehow fall in "interest" with him. But, with this learned philosopher, very few people who have that sort of chemistry.

Berofsky is a mediocre player on an all-star philosophy team. He's tolerable, but there is no reason to take a class with him when you can take the same one with an amazing professor, of which the dept has plenty. He's straightforward and intelligent, but very boring, and clearly has long forgotten what it's like to be a student. He will deliver the material to you but doesn't add much that you don't pick up on your own if you do the boring (particularly for Free Will) and dense reading he assigns. Don't waste your time and tuition.

Let's just say this: While describing the ideas of a certain very prominent and well-known philosopher, Berofsky says, "I disagree, and I told him so when we were playing ping-pong once. He's not that good at ping-pong... I actually won a ping-pong torunament in the Bronx once..." In other words, the class is full of fun, hilarious, interesting anecdotes. I highly recommend it.

Knowledgeable and laid back. He understands that students can't always read 300 pages for every class but still delivers well-researched and interesting lectures. Not very discussion oriented, but his extensive experience with the texts has given him some fascinating insights to share and he's familiar with much of the criticism and opinions associated with the texts. In grading, he's a stickler for good writing. Creates a good classroom environment.

Berofsky is a fabulous lecturer with a style that flows well. He uses clever examples to illustrate some of the more difficult theories (although some of the examples are from the literature), and moves at a nice pace to cover a lot of material. He always stops every fifteen or so minutes in his lectures to invite questions, so his classes are very open and have the atmosphere of a discussion-based seminar sometimes. However, Berofsky does take attendance and even uses a seating chart to make sure people attend classes. He will count attendance in the final grade. That having been said, I should point out that he is very set in his ways when it comes to term papers. Don't believe what he says in the syllabus that papers should be an original argument! What he really wants you to do is just the opposite. He wants you to reconstruct some argument that some philosopher has made on some interesting topic, usually from the reading list. Believe me on this one--I tried twice, and learned the hard way! Don't make the same mistake I did. It's a good idea to go see him in office hours before you go off to do some research for a paper. he will usually suggest one or two readings--Make sure to include those readings explicitly within your paper, if you want to do well. Be careful, too, about pressing a point too insistently in class--he has the potential of making you look dumb.

To being with, Berofsky is HILARIOUS. The casual way in which he makes hilariously ironic comments was enough to keep classes entertaining. In terms fo teaching style, Berofsky is admittedly somewhat dry, but he knows his stuff and does his best to make complex texts and concepts acessible to his students. The course structure, esp in Methods&Problems, was very condusive to giving a broad, general understanding the main currents of philosophy, and while doing the reading is necessary, readings were short and concentrated on the main issues at hand-basically, while you will be somewhat lost if you don't do the reading, if you do it, you'll find that Berofsky's lectures provide answers to the very questions/parts of the text that you had found particularly difficult. In the advanced course, the same holds true. Also, in that class, Berofsky always left time during transition points in the lecture for students to ask questions, but beware, he will challenge you, and force you to think. Overall, I have TRULY enjoyed my classes with Berofsky; my expxerience in methods&problems spurred my decision to major in philosophy and his class on free will has made that topic the focus of my interests in philosophy. I would HIGHLYrecommend him to anyone who has a real desire to understand and as he says "do" a little philosophy of their own. Philosophy classes aren't meant to be easy, but Ber…

Two 1500 page papers (don't be afraid to go over the limit if something really enthuses you and you've done extra research. Berofsky rewards extra effort put in even if he doesn't completely agree with or understand your arguement - again, see him.) Challenging final that will leave you with writers cramp and a feeling of impending doom, but don't worry too much.