Robert Murray - Ryerson University, Toronto, ON

Professor: Robert Murray

Department: Philosophy

College: Ryerson University, Toronto, ON

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PHL201
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Decent lecturer, with a sense of humour. As head of the department, he has a vested interest in giving a broad and in-depth view of the ideas studied which gives a great sense of the progression of philosophy over time as an academic discipline. Lots of reading, and lots of opportunity for discussion. Pay attention, take notes, go to office hours.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PHL201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Very unorganized and unclear. His powerpoints are almost always out of order and are mostly direct quotes from the textbooks. He did give good feedback on the essays. You can pull off a decent grade without actually doing any work. He really does care about students though which is a plus. But it doesnt make up for the content of the lectures.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PHL600
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Seventeen thumbs down. So dry and repetitive and such a hard marker for what tiny amount he teaches. Never taking him again

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PHL101
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I was disappointed as I had selected this professor due to his great reviews. I experienced a 15% drop for my mark in the course, which he had admitted was due to the TA marking the latter half of the course for our section. When I went to speak to him, he admitted I could have gotten a higher mark, however was unwilling to change anything.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PHL333
• 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:

Very nice and approachable. He wants to see his students do good, esp if you go to office hours, he will help you very indepth

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PHL333
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He's not a bad prof, but the entire course on Philosophy of Human Nature is kind of a dud. Its really just evaluating one book, and his lecture notes are just quotes from the book. He doesn't really go into depth, and he's pretty unclear when it comes to specifics and willingness to go further into questions.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PHL101
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Murray was extremely clear during the lectures. They're worth going to in order to help you with the essays (he often gives you hints for arguments to use on your essays). He goes into depth beyond the book. However, I personally wasn't very interested in the topic. This course is going to be a hit or miss for a lot of people.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PHL101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Interesting class and nice prof. He repeats important stuff and gives hints for the exam in his lectures. As long as you go to lecture and read the book, you can easily get a good mark.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PHL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Really boring prof. Stopped going to lectures after first class. Used online resources to research for essays. No point in actually reading the book. Got 75 and 82 on the essays without reading his power points or attending class. Take this class if you want a decent grade with barely any work.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PHL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very boring class. You are better off reading The Republic and using sparknotes to gain some clarity on the difficult sections. He's an extremely nice person but he reads off the slides, asks awkward rhetorical questions, and lacks in class discussion. Could have been a good class if taught better.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PHL101
• 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: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Nice guy but honestly not a good teacher. I was excited about the course and when we started he made it so boring and all his slides were just quotes from the book that he didn't really explain. His essay prompts were just a series of questions about the book and didn't ask for any opinion or anything which sucked. I would avoid his class

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PHL101
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He seems like a reallllyyy great person. Too bad he did not channel it through his powerpoints! I also agree with ppl about the quotes. Going to class 1/2 of term for 1st essay & stopped going to class 2nd half for 2nd essay; got same grade on both. Didn't really learn anything in class! Sadly, a lot of ppl dropped his class throughout the term!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PHL101
• 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:

He is a great guy but his lecture notes were just quotes from the textbook. I did learn a few things but The Republic is an extremely difficult book to read and I felt like I was in a third year course, not an introduction to philosophy. He jumped right into it and he assumed we all knew Plato. This course extinguished my passion for philosophy.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PHL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Really tried to be interested in this class but just couldn't. Use of powerpoint slides weren't very helpful as it just used quotes from the book. Discussions were boring. Essay instructions were too vague and unclear. Only thing that helped was having the prep for the exam essays. Reading The Republic on my own seemed to be better.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PHL101
• 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:

The most boring prof at ryerson, he pretty much just reads off of his slides. I also found his instructions for assignments really vague and emailing him questions is useless.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PHL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Brutal class. Lecture was so boring and I had no idea what was going on half of the time. At least he gives you the questions on the exam so you get to prepare beforehand.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PHL110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Great class and very entertaining teacher. Makes it easy to catchup if you missed a class and is an all around easy going guy.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PHL110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Extremely boring. the class attendance dropped by half within the first month, myself included.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PHL503
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

took his moral phl class. worst class ever!!!! and hes a hard marker

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PHL110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

just horrible. his teaching sucks and all he does is read off the slides and explains nothing. the book he chose was the most boring and complicated book i've ever had to read. i couldn't be happier that this class is over!