Philosophy department?

I’ve taken quite a few philosophy classes, so I can provide my subjective opinion!

I’m taking ancient philosophy with Emily Fletcher right now, she’s very humble and knowledgeable (not a usual mix among philosophy professors) the class is easily a favorite. I also enjoyed Freewill with Jesse Steinberg, very chill person. He invited us to go out for beers and chat about philosophy with him. If you’re interested in logic, Peter Vranas is pretty famous in the department. Modal logic (512) is challenging, but he’s passionate about the subject and is pretty well known. I’d recommend checking out his lecture on time travel: https://www.pbs.org/video/time-travel-processes-and-paradoxes-qxmkbs/

My favorite class was Philosophy of Art with Hank Southgate, but I don’t know how often they teach that class. I found it interesting because I like Art and learning the philosophical ideas behind art movements (but maybe that’s just me).

Another favorite was Theory of knowledge with John Bengson. On the surface he appears serious, but he has a secret sense of humor (and great facial expressions) which makes the class entertaining.

I took Philosophy of Mind with Farid Masrour, the readings were interesting but I usually left class more confused than when I came in. The assignments were also unclear, but the content is worth the confusion if you’re into philosophy of mind stuff. I think Modern Ethical theories is usually taught by TAs, but we had weekly readings that were thought provoking and the class was entirely discussion based. I’d recommend if you’re interested in ethics. I took Modern Philosophy with Anat Schechtman, she took the class very seriously, but overall is a sweet person. (I’m pretty sure she’s married to John Bengson? It looked like they had the same house over zoom. Cute kids lol)

Overall, I’d say my favorites are Jesse, Emily, and John, but I’ve heard people rave about Titelbaum and Sidelle (especially metaphysics with Sidelle) as well. Hope that was helpful! Have fun with Philosophy!

/r/UWMadison Thread