Mark Murphy - Georgetown University

Professor: Mark Murphy

Department: TBD

College: Georgetown University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PHIL010
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Cool, chill guy and very engaging lecturer. Readings are all modern and I actually found the content really interesting - everything ties together at the end really nicely. TA was meh but it is what it is. 2 easy exams that he grades, 4 short responses (pass/fail), 3 papers which are graded tough by TA but the exams/responses balance it out.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PHIL010
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I LOVED having professor Murphy in my first semester at Georgetown. His lectures were engaging and class discussions really helped me learn the content. I left wanting to major in philosophy, something I has never considered before. He makes complex topics interesting and understandable. Learned the names of all the students on the first day.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PHIL010
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Murphy is awesome-- Chandler Bing doppelganger with a lot of energy. He made lectures really fascinating and laid the material out really nicely. 4 short papers with interesting prompts and easy midterm and final. Also, I accidentally slept through my midterm and he was so cool about it. Go to office hours and ask an occasional question in class.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PHIL010
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He inspired me to really work hard at this material (including writing papers, which can honestly be headache-inducingly difficult)--which helped me learn it was more than worth it to grapple with these issues. One of my favorite and most influential classes at Georgetown--take this class with him!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PHIL232
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Incredible professor! I have never been interested in Ethics before, but Prof Murphy was able to peak my interest with his engaging lectures. The class was the most challenging philosophy course I have ever taken, but it forced me to write more analytically and substantively and overall made me a better philosopher.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PHIL010
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Murphy's class felt really fluid in comparison to most other intro classes which are rigid in definitions and feel rushed. The whole class ties together and I learned way more than I expected. Attendance is a must as lecture help clarify difficult reading.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PHIL099
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

TAs grade all papers (can be really goodbad). Must sign in to class (3 unexcused absences allowed). Reading isn't required, as his lectures are a good summary of the text. Often speaks too quickly in lecturewords get jumbled. Be careful if you're not a native English speakerhave a hearing impairment.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: INTROETHICS
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great guy! He can be a little loud during lecture, but it'll wake you up. He makes ethics an incredibly interesting subject, and definitely take advantage of office hours.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PHIL010
• 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:

I enjoyed Ethics with Murphy overall. Readings are all online, so no books which saved $. Lectures are clear, but at times painfully repetitive. Could cover a lot more ground - his slowness caused us to cram 2 wk's worth of material into last class. Four 4-pg papers graded by TA, a midterm and final (graded by him). Thought-provoking class though

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PHIL152
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Took Christian Creeds...clearly passionate about the subject and well-connected in the field. Engaging and interested classes, but grades very harshly, as if I'm a philosopher myself. Tough, but I learned a lot. Take him if you're want to learn more about your Christian faith...very valuable for this.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PHIL099
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Murphy's class is very hard. The papers are extremely tough and you need a great TA to get through. As for the lectures I was not too pleased. He is great at clearly laying out what each Philosopher talks about and all that but he didn't give me some of the insights into philosophy that I was looking for and that I might have gotten with Mitchell

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PHIL099
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The best professor I had in 4 years at Georgetown. Does a fantastic job in his lectures - I learned more from his class than any other political theory I took. It's not challenging if you actually no how to formulate a rational argument and can write decently.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PHIL099
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Prof Murphy's lectures are outstanding. The material is interesting and he is a very engaging lecturer, even at 8:50 am. The TAs grade the first two papers, and since they are graduate students the grading can be pretty harsh if you aren't an outstanding writer. Murphy grades the second two and is much more charitable than the TAs in his grading.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PHIL099
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

PST - this class is VERY difficult to get an A in. Papers are graded rather harshly. His lectures are okay - he stumbles around a lot - but the class is structured well: the flow from one author to the next is well done. Lots depends on the TA - mine was not too helfpul. From what I hear - this is the toughest PST class.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PHIL099
• 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:

Murphy gives energetic and clear lectures. The workload is pretty heavy, there is a lot of reading and 4 pretty tough papers. Murphy is not a hard grader, but the TA's grade your first two papers. No midterm, no final.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PHIL099
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very clear and somewhat entertaining lecturer. All 4 papers are exposition and criticism of political philosophy claims, which are very difficult if you don't have prior philosophy experience. First 2 papers graded by TA, second 2 by Murphy.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PHIL099
• 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:

Grades too harshly. I used to be a philosophy major and, whereas I received A's from an Oxford professor, now get C+. Not very inspiring or interesting. Lectures are boring in that they don't go into detail. TA's are useless and bad teachers. Do not take him if you love philosophy. He will discourage you.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PHIL099
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very talented. Somewhat hard but very fair. You'll learn a lot and he's very engaging. Even though the class was at 850 and I'm not usually up before noon, I actually looked forward to going. He really knows his stuff and he's very enthusiastic. But, as a caution, the TAs matter more for grades, so talk a lot in section.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PHIL152
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Murphy is an absolutely fantastic professor. Don't leave Georgetown without taking him. Christian Creeds really changed the way I looked at the tenets of my faith and I am glad that I took it.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PHIL099
• 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:

Mark Murphy is just plain awesome! I hate philosophy with a passion but his class actually kept my interest. 8:50 lectures are a pain but Murphy's energy kept me engaged. He explains concepts well but leaves room for you to make your own argument. TA's are a big part of your grade so definitely make sure you're comfortable with your TA. Murphy is a