David Albert

just here to confirm that the reviews from 2013 and 2024 are still true. content about the interpretation of quantum mechanics is super interesting and finally starts to make sense towards the end. beware that the first half of the semester is spent learning the mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics based on linear algebra, absolutely no philosophy. the latter half is spent learning various theories physicists have come up with to explain quantum mechanics and why they might be philosophically debatable. the class size rapidly reduced to a quarter after the shopping week, probably because of the notoriety of how bad the grading and organization of this class is, and half of the remaining class were auditors. few people followed the curriculum enough to even formulate questions. do NOT take this class without a background in physics or math, especially in linear algebra.

I absolutely loved this class. I thought Prof. Albert was engaging, willing to explain difficult concepts, and overall a fair grader. The concepts were really interesting, and the course was structured in such a way that everything built on each other and at the end of the class you have this kind of big picture introduction to philosophy of science with a bunch of interweaving details that were discussed throughout. Contrary to some older comments, I found Prof. Albert very willing to meet and answer questions about the class and assignments.

I absolutely hated this class. Not that I didn't find the material somewhat interesting, I did. But Albert was awful. He has a background in quantum mechanics, so if you don't know much about physics, a lot of stuff in his lectures won't make sense. Also, he's just not great at explaining things clearly to a group of undergrads. The lectures are not great. He presents a single problem, asks the class for possible responses, tears their answers apart, and eventually moves on without providing an answer at all. Each problem would take about 4 classes to get through. This got boring and frustrating. I realize that the problems he presents don't have perfect answers, but it would have been nice to at least look at what modern philosophers have to say about them. There were 3 essays. He only counted 2 of them for the final grade. The grading was VERY arbitrary with the TAs grading some, Albert grading some, there was no consistency. Also, he let you write about anything from the course, which was sort of annoying because he pretty much had already demolished all of the class' ideas on the subjects in class. Would not recommend.

Regardless of whether you are majoring in philosophy or not, taking a class with this man should be on your before-you-graduate bucket list. For non-philosophy majors, I especially recommend methods & problems. Professor Albert is the epitome of what a philosophy professor should be, namely, deeply disillusioning. If you let him, he will leave you more puzzled than when you began. His lecture style is very Socratic. He is not interested in giving you answers for free and will make you work for them. Maybe this is what rubs people the wrong way, but isn't this why we came to Columbia in the first place? To be forced to critically examine our worldview and, if necessary, uproots those pieces that do not stand up against such examination? And when he finally does offer his two cents, he does so in the clearest, most colloquial way, so as to make the typical philosopher blush. His ability to translate extremely complex and abstract issues into layman's terms is a rare gift in this field. In so doing, he is able to make philosophy extremely accessible, which is why I, again, recommend methods & problems to all non-philosophy majors.

David Albert is a wonderful man. In no other Lit Hum sections that my friends were in did they ever spend hours talking about "why this passage is beautiful" and nothing else. If this type of discussion sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend getting into Albert's class. Although the structure is very loose and the attendance seemingly inconsequential to your grade, if you go and listen to this man, the world just gets a little bit prettier. He does tend to interrupt students incessantly, but this is countered by his tendency to support your ideas and encourage your thinking like few other professors i've had here. You may find yourself dozing off once in a while, since he can sound a bit droning, but it usually has more to do with the two hours of sleep you got last night and less to do with the content of his lecture. As for office hours, Albert was there when I needed him, encouraging, excited, and happy. I mean the man didn't even know the drinking age was 21 in New York until we clarified it for him. He just thought everyone should be allowed to drink a little wine and talk about love. there's a mind untainted.

I suspect that Prof Albert is a bit challenged to the needs of his students. He never truly answers their questions and never ever replies back to their emails. He is often quite condescending and arrogant in class, less so during his office hours, which he frequently does not show up for. His lectures too were a bit random and not as organized as the booklets.

Fantastic course, but be prepared for heavy technical material. You won't have to solve any equations but you will be asked to understand some advanced topics of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and philosophy. The material was interesting and engaging, with fascinating implications, and I quite enjoyed the course and discussions. Just make sure to interrupt him with questions, concerns, and counterarguments regularly and from day 1; if his answer isn't good enough push back and demand he explain it again. Come to class with questions from the readings ready- nothing is assigned weekly, but if you work for it you will get a lot out of it. Professor Albert if funny and engaging but can rub some people the wrong way with his strong opinions, but he is incredibly passionate about the topic he has great expertise in and fully believes in, and is transparently excited to discuss it and sometimes can't help but interrupt you, or challenge you to rephrase or defend your concerns. He's pushing you to grow. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Spring 2025 Course: PHILGU4675_001_2025_1-THEDIRECTIONOFTIME : PHILGU4675_001_2025_1 - THE DIRECTION OF TIME Instructor: David Albert

Just took the class Spring 2024, and I can confirm the 2013 review is still spot on. I found some discussions of quantum theory interesting toward the very end but it doesn't make up for how disorganized the class was.

Going into the class I was very worried due to the previous reviews on here. I eventually realized the previous ones were way too harsh. Professor Albert is one of the kindest and most engaging professors I've had at my time here. He invites the entire class to be in conversation with him as he discusses the issues in philosophy of science. He loves loves loves arguing with students and making the students get philosophically precise with what they mean. This is an amazing exercise for anyone that's interested in being good at philosophy and thinking clearly in general. I liked the content of the class but at times it felt a bit slow. If you want to succeed in his class, go to office hours often and write clearly. Your grades will be punished if your writing is imprecise– I definitely recommend taking an analytical philosophy class beforehand so you can get a sense of how to write good philosophy.

David Albert is a fantastic teacher. He really gets you into the mode of philosophical thinking. I took the Barnard equivalent of Methods and Problems, and while it was good, I appreciated that Albert took a less structured approach. Instead of reading out of a text book, it felt more like we were getting the chance to discuss philosophical issues with a really, really intelligent man. I would highly recommend taking the course with him, and YouTubing some of his talks because he always has something interesting to say. That said, if you have thin skin or aren't used to being criticized, exercise caution! I didn't find Albert unfriendly, but I know that some people in our class were a little offended by his mannerisms.