Honestly, it could be very cool, but it leaves a lot to be desired. This is a 200-level class masquerading as a 300-level. You'll see more detail about why below.

The content covers what nature is, how we can talk about valuing it, etc. It presumes moral realism it seems; there are no metaethical considerations or discussions in the class. It also was three hours straight on a Wednesday. That's a lot. You read two books; one novel the other nonfiction. The novel is "When The Killing's Done" and frankly it's not great--don't buy it if you don't have to, try to get it used or online. The Golden Spruce, the other book, is excellent. That I recommend you actually get. Anyway, the content is okay, but your readings are many per class. It can be as few as three, and at most five or six, of varying lengths. One of them was 72 pages in all, coupled with a few other readings for a 110+ page count at least. It was way too much. You don't get enough nuance or ...read more

Dr. Beatty is a nice guy and is a competent philosopher. It's clear he knows his philosophy and can exert his philosophical muscle in his feedback to you and if you ask him questions directly. It's a shame, because his class leaves a lot to be desired. He's been around a while, which I think has led to things becoming a little bit stale. The class has long slide decks and the lectures are sometimes about the readings or sometimes slightly distanced before they meander back to the readings. Still, you're left wondering where the philosophical engagement is: when do we get to argue? When do we get to evaluate the quality of certain arguments? Perhaps the most disappointing was the exam: you had to explain the positions of the authors in question (anyone from the readings). Well, that's nice ...read more

I can't recommend the class. If you're going to take it anyway, then just make ready for what I talked about above. You don't really need lecture notes, you can get away with just paying attention and you'll be able to get my sort of mark. What matters is your midterm and final. Both are worth 50%. However, this isn't weighted. Both exams are worth 200 points (100 points per essay). What happens is he gets your first point total /200 and then adds it to your final total /200. So if you get 84 (essay 1) + 86 (essay 2) on your first exam, you get 170/200 and then assume you get 90 + 90 on the final, you get 180/200. But this means you get 350/400 which means 87.5 (which rounds to an 88). However, note that this can short you a weighted rounded-up grade if you get something like 82 + 80 = 162...read more