Paul Thagard - University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON

Professor: Paul Thagard

Department: Philosophy

College: University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: COGSCI300
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

discussion course, very passionate prof. papers are marked kind of arbitrarily. you'll lose marks if you don't go to class because there are free marks if you go to class by handing in a commentary of the readings.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PSYCH256
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The testing is 100% from the textbook and about 0-10% from the lectures. So he has 8% for attendance by doing 1-min question submission at the end of class. The lecture feels pointless because its not tested. The marking is often vague, there's always an extra mark on each question for clarity or something which the marker can choose not to give.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PSYCH256
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This man has excellent taste in cardigans, but in all seriousness, I had mixed feelings about the class. Very high level material presented in a dumbed down version, but you feel like you still don't understand because you were given the Tl;DR version. Got a decent mark and I still don't understand. Not at arrogant at all.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PHIL110A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He's a genius however, he could be boring and his explanation as clarity is a little shakey. Nevertheless, he's a nice easy going to person.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PSYCH447
• 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:

Prof Thagard is an extremely intelligent prof who is always willing to help. He knows many fields too and it a great person to talk to about philosophy, computer science, and psychology. Definitely take a class with him if you get a chance!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PSYCH256
• 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:

Fantastic prof and a great class. This was my first ever arts course and I wasn't disappointed. I got a high mark and didn't have to work hard. It helps that the content is interesting, Thagard knows it inside out, and is a good lecturer. I would take another class with him. Farthest thing from arrogant; took the time to answer every question well.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PSYCH256
• 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: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Thagard is a very intelligent professor. The course may seem a little too advanced for an introductory level course, but I found it very fair. He is a great professor and really puts in the effort during lecture. Really enjoyed this class with him!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PHIL256
• Grade Received: INC
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Great discussion-based lecture format. Uses down-to-earth examples to expand on relevant course material. Very interesting class, though Thagard tries to cover a LOT of ground in one course; while he is good at getting the big picture across, I feel a lot of finer detail is left out. Not sure where the comments on arrogance are coming from.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PHIL224
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Thagard is a bit full of himself. The class is relatively easy. The Mind Map assignments (25%) are the easiest marks you will EVER get in university. Went to about 60% of the classes and got an 85% (Just read the textbook and his slides!)

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PHIL224
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

First off, the guy is a genius - he really knew his stuff in a plethora of categories. In terms of actually teaching, he wasn't overly understanding. The bulk of the class was first year Environment and Business students and he treated the class as a more advanced philosophy course (way above our heads). Not technically "hard" but can be tricky.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PHIL224
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I found the class to be very interesting. Although it is not at all necessary to attend the lectures in order to do well in the class. The assignments were all really easy, the class average was nearly perfect for every one. His exams on the other hand can be a bit challenging. Although he does give the questions ahead of time.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PHIL224
• 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:

All you have to do in order to succeed in his class is look at his exam questions at the end of his lecture notes and get the answers from the textbook. Attending his lectures were not very helpful at all. Overall, even though my mark was good (high 80s) I feel like I haven't learned anything.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PHIL224
• 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:

An amazing prof! Very interesting classes, and seems to actually CARE about student learning by having small discussion groups during each class to discuss content. Not arrogant at all, which is unusual for a prof, but is not afraid to disagree with a student. Highly recommend him!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PHIL224
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Worst prof at UW. He doesn't accept or acknowledge any other view of the topic at hand but his. Deflects students views as being wrong right away. Also rambles about useless points irrelevant to overall course. Makes useless assignments that are not related to the information. Transfer out if you get stuck with this guy.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PHIL256
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

The course was way too general, as he attempts to explain ALL OF what is cognitive science. He also assumes that students are familiar with Computer Science jargon and cognitive science concepts. He has a mundane style of teaching and is quite arrogant. I have taken nothing away from this course, absolutely hated it. Stay away at all costs!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PHIL226
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

One of the worst professors at University of Waterloo. He is not very clear in giving instructions and you will be surprised by the grade you get. His teaching style is old, boring and I believe that he should stick to writing books.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PSYCH256
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Thagard is a pretty calm guy, nd helpful too. Heavy use of the text, and d Mind readings text, for the articles. 3 mts, an essay, and 1 minute essays at d end of every class, worth 1% each....forces u to always go to class. Pulled all-nighters for every midterm and ended up w/ an 85 :).

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PSYCH256
• 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:

An ok prof overall and even a good guy (not malicious, generally fair), but he has a number of drawbacks... He'd be great if he could maintain a faster pace, reduce the repetition, and increase the clarity (with the number of highly detail driven, obscure examples comes confusion and miss-allocation of key attributes of theories).

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PHIL256
• 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:

Attendance wasn't mandatory, but there were essays each class which were graded on a passed in = 1 / not passed in = 0 basis. 5 minute discussions each class. Two texts for class, both used heavily; he wrote one, the other is a collection of papers. Marking was tough but fair; all done by the TA with oversight from Thagard, can ask for re-mark.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PHIL255
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I have now taken two courses by this professor and both were excellent. I would highly recomend Phil of Mind- makes you think and show you what university is really about. He has helped me find an area of philosophy to focus. Classes can be a challenge if you don't like to think or read, but maybe you should rethink uni then?