This class' saving grace is of course Dr. Kraal. He's just a brilliant instructor. Otherwise, I'd have skipped over this if I could. It's just a requirement for me, like the social and political one. I really don't care about this content. You may like it if you're into Descartes, Leibniz, or Pascal. Edit: funny, this has been my highest grade in my entire career. I spat out my drink when I found out.

Like I said, it's Leibniz, Descartes, and Pascal. You should note that we spent all of our assessment covering Descartes. That might change for you. Essentially, we spent all of the term on Descartes and only now at the end are we touching on Lebiniz and then Pascal. That disappointed me, because I was getting a little tired of Descartes, but at least it kept the scope of the exam tighter. I don't much care for Leibniz's Metaphysics or Monadology which is what we're reading of his. For Descartes it was close reading of the Meditations and the Discourse on Method. That segment was less annoying, but personally didn't entice me. It's unclear what Pascal is going to be, but I'll update that when we finish up. Edit: also funny, there was a bit of Pascal that we covered but subsumed under the ...read more

Kraal is of course excellent. However, even the brightest stars have their limits in terms of shine, and this course was just rough for me personally. I can't complain about my grades--they're treating me really well. However, the material is to me insufferable. In truth, it is tolerable and indeed worth attending because Dr. Kraal is there. He teaches so well that you'd be remiss to not attend his class, even if the content bothers you.

Take it if Dr. Kraal is teaching it, don't otherwise (unless it's another particularly brilliant faculty member). If it's your requirement (hist. of phil), this goes doubly.