George Mattey - University of California Davis, Davis, CA

Professor: George Mattey

Department: Philosophy

College: University of California Davis, Davis, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PHI1
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Poorly organized lectures. Tends to go off topic a lot, but that's normal for Philosophy professors. Despite this, I've taken 3 classes taught by him (PHI1, Descartes, and Asian Philosophy) because he's a sweetheart and knows his stuff. His excitement made me become a philosophy major.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PHI011
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Super easy class! Some people in the class only showed up once the whole quarter. I'd recommend go to discussion because the TA literally tells you how to write the papers and tells you what the questions are on the final. Class had only 2 essays then a written final which he told us the answers and questions to. Easy class and super sweet guy!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PHI1
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

There is a lot of reading for this class, but Mattey clearly explains (for the most part) the readings and their content/meaning. He can be a bit dry at times, and lectures are long, but he clearly knows what he's talking about. Class consists of two papers and a short answer final, all of which are fairly easy if you study/put a bit of effort.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PHI001
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lectures overlapped and were boring. You don't need to be there, once only 40 people showed up to a 400 person lecture. I think that philosophy is interesting but he can do a better job at teaching it. Ok GE.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PHI001
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

... Do the readings and go to office hours. He can be a little dry sometimes, but the quality of what he is saying is immense. If you don't read you will still learn a lot, but if you read you will gain such a deeper understanding of philosophy

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PHI001
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I love this guy. I took it during winter and felt his lectures were inspirational. The material really changed my life even I took it for a GE. Also the essays and tests are easy and you don't have to buy a textbook.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PHI175
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

This class was all about Kant, and Mattey is a Kant scholar so he really knows his stuff, but his presentation of the info is extremely confusing . I did alright, but only because I listened to almost every lecture over again (he podcasts them) and retook my notes on them, as well as reading through the entire text carefully.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PHI001
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I really liked Mattey's Intro to Philosophy class. The course material is interesting and he is passionate about it. The essays were really easy as was the final with some studying. In order to understand the material you MUST attend and take notes in every lecture, but that isn't too much of a chore because it really is interesting.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PHI175
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Knowledgable. But I sense that he has been teaching so long that he forgot how to teach because the material is so intuitive to him. This entails no modern and intuitive examples to teach material, a lack of direction and help for students. Youtube videos and directly reading Kant is literally easier to comprehend. He's difficult, not challenging.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: 94379
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I personally consider Mattey the best philosophy professor at UC Davis. He is incredibly knowledgeable about the history of Western philosophy, in all of its diverse forms. Most of the other professors are focused mainly on contemporary analytic philosophy, and will not teach you about anything else. Take Mattey's classes to broaden your mind!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PHI001
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

The amount of reading is crazy and nothing is connect (I mean, one reading doesn't help you to understand another). The assignment papers are hard but the final exam is easy.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PHI001
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Ridiculous amount of assigned reading. It was astounding how much he expected us to learn and no other intro to philosophy professor assigns this much work. Weekly quizzes are pretty easy, essays were okay, final was cumulative and required us to learn every single philosopher. Although I got an A, I believe this professor should be avoided.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PHI151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Mattey's ridiculously knowledgeable and teaches an incredibly difficult class well. Hegel is by far the hardest.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PHI001
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Course structure easy; 2 essays and a final. Final covers a lot of material but only at surface level. Lectures are dull, hardly worth your time when lecture slides and podcasts are available online.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PHI001
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

if you get matt as a TA you will get an A. He is really interesting but the lectures can be really boring. Just go to office hours to get your paper graded a better score. Not that bad as everyone is making it seem

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PHIL102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Excellent professor. Extremely knowledgable. Very clear and easily accessible. Very passionate and interesting. One of the best professors in academia.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PHI24
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Lectures really made the readings clear. They can be repetitive, but are really helpful. Mattey makes podcasts of his lectures so you can miss class. He's a nice guy, knows his stuff. Not a totally easy class, but if you put in the effort you'll do fine.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PHI102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Professor Mattey is a very knowledgeable man but the class is poorly organized. The final is impossible because there is too much information on it. Professor Mattey did a terrible job in trying to make this information understandable. I really regret taking this class and would definitely advise you to not take it!!!!!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PHIL001
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Horrible teacher. Waaaay to much information. Paper grading is insane. I've never gotten less than a B on any paper I've written until this class(this includes several upper div classes). Don't waste your time.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PHI001
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He loves the topic- loves helping students- final is freaking hard - there's simply wayy too much material- and extremely specific material at that. Papers are graded rather weirdly- and TAs grade so grading isnt even standardized...this class did help me decide that I hated philosophy though