AI Rate Professor

Philosophy

Doug Thiel

PHIL01 · PHIL1 · PHILM05 · PHILM01 · M01 · PHILOSOPHYM01 · INTROPHIL · PHILMO1 · 72 lifetime ratings

AI rating
36/100
RMP rating
3.4/5
Take again
25.81%
Difficulty
3.1

The decision

if and can tolerate his flawed required book; many students recommend someone else.

Best fit · Effort For RewardSelf-published textbookEssay heavyTough graderGrammar-error bookPolarizing feedback
  • Many students resent being forced to buy his error-filled self-authored textbook.
  • Course is essay and , so .
  • ; some writers still earn As with careful, on-time work.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

48/100

Many earn As, but and .

Online students stress high-stakes stress; some in-person students call it easy if you write well.

Is the course easy?

Beginner

58/100

Intro philosophy content is manageable, but his book and .

; many online reviews call it harder than a typical intro.

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

55/100

; in-person sections more often treat it as required or graded.

Online and .

Is this professor recommended?

Avoid

28/100

Would-take-again is about 26% and many explicitly say stay away because of the book and grading.

Negative tone is strong in both formats, with some positive outliers in each.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

30/100

and claims he docks for missing his preferred answers or opinions.

Format shift

and in-person reviews.

Workload

Moderate

42/100

Not endless daily busywork, but essays, readings, and .

Format shift

Online short sessions feel heavier; and essays.

Teaching experience

Average

42/100

Some praise insight and feedback; many say lectures or .

Format shift

; in-person opinions are more mixed over time.

Assessment method

FocusOnAssignments

28/100

and papers with limited quizzes or tests in many sections.

Format shift

Both formats emphasize papers; a .

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

30 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

some call it easy and and overly tough for intro.

Main concern

Forced textbook quality and .

What students said

“His book, that he forces you to buy, is littered with grammatical mistakes and is written horribly.”
PHILM01
“Very easy class, read the material .”
PHILM01
“ .”
PHIL01

Remote format

Online

20 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online sections stress the , and few graded items.

Main concern

Error-filled and .

What students said

“He forces you to buy his book that's impossible to read due to the amount of spelling/grammar/punctuation errors.”
PHILM01
“Please save yourself.”
PHILM01
“An easy class but very stressful- the whole class is only out of 100 points, and he .”
M01

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Assessment is mostly essays and occasional quizzes with .

Essay heavyFew total pointsQuizzes varyNo late workSelf-authored textbook

Assessment risk

Standard

55/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person sections mix quizzes, essays, and sometimes midterms; .

Quizzes and essaysTough essay gradingAttendance sometimes for points
“ and 2 essays to do.”
PHILM01
“essays are worth 2 pts and quizes vary from 10-25 pts”
PHIL1

Online

Online work is mostly papers and discussions; reviews do not clearly prove webcam or Lockdown Browser use.

Essay heavyFew graded itemsNo late workOutside-Canvas submission sometimes
“the whole class is only out of 100 points, and he ”
M01
“I also dislike when professors require assignments to be submitted outside of canvas”
PHILM01

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“He forces you to buy his book that's impossible to read due to the amount of spelling/grammar/punctuation errors.”

Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews, highlighting textbook issues and . Credibility rating: High.

📚 Textbook Frustration

25/100

“He forces you to buy his book that's impossible to read due to the amount of spelling/grammar/punctuation errors.”

📝 Essay-Heavy Load

42/100

“So much work and he used his own book for the assignment. Essay heavy.”

⚖️

30/100

“Professor Thiel is one of the toughest graders ever and it is very hard to earn an A in this course.”

🚫 Low Recommendation

28/100

“STAY AWAY.”

Theme 1

📚 About The Textbook

  • forces you to buy his book that's impossible to read
  • littered with grammatical mistakes
  • How this thing got published is beyond me
  • you can't sell it back

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • very hard to earn an A in this course
  • whole class is only out of 100 points
  • if you do ALL of his work and try hard you will get an A
  • Very easy class, read the material

Theme 3

💬

  • but gets better

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

50

Recent reviews read by the AI

72

Lifetime ratings

84/100

Evidence confidence

50 reviews across many years with recurring textbook and and in-person split.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 525
4 out of 518
3 out of 58
2 out of 56
1 out of 515

Course coverage

PHILM0128 reviews
M017 reviews
PHIL015 reviews
PHILMO14 reviews
PHIL12 reviews
Show 3 more courses
PHILM052 reviews
INTROPHIL1 review
PHILOSOPHYM011 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

27 reported outcomes

A range

16

A+ 2 · A 13 · A- 1

B range

6

B+ 1 · B 4 · B- 1

C range

0

No reported values

D range

0

No reported values

F

1

F 1

No letter grade reported

4

Drop/Withdrawal 1 · Incomplete 1 · Not sure yet 1 · Rather not say 1