Helms, Eleanor  

Do not be fooled on syllabus day when this class looks like a joke. Sure, there is not a ton of work over the course of the quarter. The argument analyses (basically short essays) are extremely easy, and you can pretty much use sparknotes to come up with a decent paper and to pass her in class quizzes on the readings. However, her three midterms (which are 20% of your grade EACH) are extremely fucking hard. Absolutely ridiculous. The topics covered in this class are SO fucking dry and abstract, it'd be difficult to understand and pay attention even with a great professor (I'd imagine), but it is literally impossible to follow this lady's train of thought. Her notes on the board are scattered, random, and make no sense. The only reason I passed this class is because I was able to bullshit the written portion of the tests enough to recover from my complete fucking FAILURE on the multiple choice. The questions might as well have been written in another language. Now that I think of it, the books that we read might as well have been written in another language as well, because they made absolutely no fucking sense. This class was horseshit, I'm about to go drown myself in alcohol.

Dr. Helms is an extremely respectable and intelligent woman. She knows what she is talking about and never misses a beat in lecture. The topic is difficult to understand but she does what she can to help you to the best of her ability. Office hours really help. The tests are hard but she does give a study guide that is a basic outline of what you need to know. But the class definently takes some studying and hard work. There are 2 essays and they take a lot of time to even understand the concepts, not to mention write the essay. They are hard. But she is a great teacher (at times a little boring/ her voice is somewhat soothing so you might accidentally take a short nap occasionally). If you want to have a teacher that knows what they are talking about and be open to learning about philosophy take her class.

This class was both very challenging and fun. I feel the previous comment on this professor does not give this class the credit it deserves as I felt the complete opposite towards this class. The short essay assignments required a lot of thought to get a good grade on while also providing a way of mentally working through the material to make it easier to understand. The material can get very difficult to understand when reading the direct text(especially Kant), but the professor's lectures were able to make the text much more understandable and were very straightforward. The two essays (each 20 percent of your grade) were very challenging (I managed to get A of both, but not without a lot of effort), while requiring a good understanding of the material. The professor was extremely helpful during office hours, was very eager to answer questions, and even helped prevent me from screwing up one of the two essays. The midterm tests (each also 20 percent of your grade) I felt were very easy (especially the multiple choice), despite the previous comment stating that they were impossible. The multiple choice questions are based off understanding each of the philosopher's arguments and comparing them to those of other philosophers as opposed to of simply memorizing what they say. The professor's notes taken from class were the perfect guide for doing well on these midterms so I cannot see how the multiple choice questions could be difficult unless you didn't bother to read the notes taken in class or felt simply memorizing what each philosopher says as opposed to following their arguments as the professor clearly states to do to do well in the class (even on the syllabus) was good enough. Overall, I felt this class to be an interesting first encounter with philosophy, fun, challenging, and has all the tools you need to do well in it as long as you can put in the effort.

Dr. Helms is amazing. I just wanted to clarify that this class is hard because it's dealing with the big questions in life. You're studying material of philosophers who have intricate and specific ways of thinking about the universe and life. The hardest part is getting used to each philosophers terminology and understanding how they use. Dr. Helms is extremely helpful with this part and often can present each philosophers ideas thoroughly and clearly. Dr. helms takes her job seriously in that she aims to help students understand the material and use it to fashion their own ideas. So this class is hard, but is definitely worth it. As long as you put honest effort into understanding what each philosopher is trying to prove, and understand how they are proving it, then Dr. helms exams are fairly easy. (The work is hard but the exams are easy) Dr. helms is an extremely fair, and pretty awesome, professor.

Do yourself a favor, and do not take this class. There is a ridiculous amount of work in this class with too many assignments, and readings. The books are incredibly dry and boring. Online assignments take up a lot of time, and class participation and attendance are required. The tests, midterm and final are incredibly difficult and require hours and hours of preparation for a subpar grade. Do not take the class.

So here is the class: You read from Plato, Descartes, and Kant. You learn each of their views on what is true reality and what is true knowledge. This class is more heavily focused on forming your own objections to the philosophers and thinking critically about their arguments than it is about memorizing what they thought. I quite enjoyed it but then again I'm a Philosophy major Five sentences about what you had a problem with in the reading or how you disagree with a philosopher (there are three of these for the year) Reply to two other students (for each, so a total of six) Two 'journals' that are a paragraph or two where you raise an objection to the philosopher Quizzes based on the reading that you get either 2/3 or 3/3 on Two multiple choice tests (these were fairly difficult) Two finals where she gives you the essay questions in advanced with much easier multiple choice questions As for the reading: 30 pages for Plato 40 pages for Descartes 50 pages for Kant So 120 pages total for the quarter If you have any confusion for anything or want to run your essays by her you can spend ten minutes at an office hour and she will talk you through it, this is almost certainly the easiest way to get an A. Run your ideas for thee essays by her and she'll basically tell you when she thinks you have a good objection going. I can easily see how this class might seem boring as shit for a non philosophy major, especially when it's so important to go to every meeting. I'm not sure if this class seemed easier simply because I was more interested in it but it is the first class I got an A in at Cal Poly. I would HIGHLY recommend Dr. Helms if you're interested in taking the class.

Dr. Helms is a great professor. If you are intimated by philosophy in the slightest (or not) I would definitely recommend taking this class with her. She presents the material very clearly and in an interesting way and is actually able to keep students awake during lecture. She is always willing to clarify things until you completely understand them and her tests and assignments are incredibly fair. I was dreading taking philosophy after everything I've heard but I personally thought the class was very interesting and not as hard as everyone made it seem. By far one of the best professors I've had at Cal Poly.

I did not expect to like philosophy this much. Professor Helms made it very understandable and easy to relate to. This is a difficult subject and she made it bearable.

As an engineer, I can appreciate a genuine and sophisticated lecturer such as Dr. Helms. She can engage at any level of intellect, drawing philosophical amateurs such as myself to even consider doing a philosophy minor. As much as I am biased against GE's, I can confidently say that my college education is much more complete because I've taken this class.

If you're taking this class, I would recommend going to office hours at least a few times throughout the quarter. I had class conflicts during her office hours and therefore couldn't go, and it definitely hurt me.

By far the best professor I have had at Cal Poly. I was dreading taking philosophy and almost took it online at a community college over the summer because I was sure I was going to hate it. Helms is so great at explaining the concepts and making them interesting that I love philosophy now! Its not a hard class either, do the reading and write down everything she says in class and you'll get an A. I highly recommend taking Helms for philosophy.

I took this class because of her great polyratings, but it was an awful choice. The class is based off of her talking more than the powerpoints she gived so you need to try and deeply understand what she says rather than her powerpoints. I tried really hard to understand what she was talking about and even went to her office hours but her 50pt multiple choice tests were too hard for me to understand. Many people took this class credit no credit which i should have done. I noticed many engineers got an A.. this class is just another way of thinking that many other people can't comprehend. The class is basically just exams and she drops one so there isnt really a final. I would take Phil 231 instead.

Helms is a great professor for this course. I had her big lecture class so there was minimal writing which was nice. The material was usually interesting, and the readings were not too bad, normally less than 15 pages per class. She gives you a study guide before the tests which accurately reflected the material on the test. If you do the reading, go to class, and make sure you know most the material on the study guide, the tests are not bad at all. Helms had 4 tests for the class including the final, but she dropped the lowest one which was really nice. If you do well on the first three tests, you can get an A without taking the final. Helms is a great lecturer, and she always answered questions very thoughtfully. Very nice, knowledgeable professor.

Dr. Helms is so knowledge in her field. I came into this class kind of scared since I was never interested in philosophy and felt it could be very difficult. It did turn out to be difficult to comprehend, but Dr. Helms was very willing to helps students with that. The class was mostly about learning and memorizing what famous philosophers believe not how well you can think. So if you have good memory and are good at history that kind of stuff, this class can be pretty easy. We had two midterms, one final, though all exams (including the final) are separate and unrelated, the final is basically another exam covering the last topic. There were also assignments and responses we post on polylearn. Participation in class or office hours also help a ton in the final grade. I didn't do well on the exams, got one A and two C's, but because I went to office hours for help, not only did I get help, I also got full participation points! The assignments are also fairly simple, just don't do them past due! Even though I didn't do well on the tests, because of participation and homework, I actually ended up with a B+! Not bad for something I was so scared of! Would totally recommend her.

Philosophy isn't the most interesting subject but honestly Helms makes it so much better than it could be. She tests off of her lectures, so you do have to go to class but as long as you pay attention and try to understand the philosophers' points, you'll do fine. She tells you everything you have to know, and she talks about her kids sometimes which is cute. And there's hardly any homework and no projects so for a GE it's pretty nice

Helms was an extremely helpful professor. She presented the material in a very interesting way. If you ever get lost, don't be afraid to raise your hand and ask! She's always willing to further explain something, especially in office hours. The first exam I did not take seriously, and got a C. If you do the study guides and understand what they're asking, you're set! To get a A/B in this class, you need to attend all the lectures, take attentive notes, ask clarifying questions.. A week before each exam, start reviewing the study guide so you can make a list of questions to ask her. Go in a few days beforehand and you should have no problem. The homework reflections she gives aren't difficult as long as you don't wait too last minute.. I honestly did mine (with a clear understanding of the material) a few hours before each due date and got a 19/20 on them. Just make sure to pay attention!! She adds on so much to the powerpoint so you WILL fail unless you go to class!! I rented the books but didn't end up reading them.. you can get by without the reading but it definitely gives a clearer understanding, you can always find them online though.

Dr. Helms was a humbling but profound teacher. Despite going in with a bad attitude toward philosophy, Dr. Helms unpacked some of the great thinkers of the past with a modern and approachable way. She gives plenty of examples,especially about her kids, that really helps one understand the complex topics covered in this class. I really enjoyed taking this class. I have always hated the idea of taking a philosophy class,being a math major, because most philosophers like to generalize what mathematics is, to a degree (only referring to the pure side). Despite this, I really actually enjoyed learning the material in the class but I wish it focus more on the modern philosophers as to the early philosophers.

Eleanor Helms is without a doubt one of my favorite professors at Cal Poly. She exudes passion for philosophy (which is quite contagious) and cares dearly about her students. Her lecture style is engaging, challenging the students to come to the critical conclusions their own, while guiding discussions in the right direction. She also lightens the mood with an occasional video clip or story about her children practicing philosophy, which I really do appreciate. This class is about big questions regarding what we really know and can be sure of. It teaches how to weigh the most basic assumptions and how think critically about concepts and the knowledge we possess. I do believe that the ideas from this class will benefit my future in any field whether STEM, Political Service, and even entrepreneurship. I recommend this course, and Professor Helms 10/10!

I took this Fall quarter of this year. I was super worried going into this class because everyone takes philosophy classes at Cal Poly as pass/fail and I decided not to do that. However, I'm glad I didn't, because this class ended up being completely doable to get an A in. The class breakdown was 60% exams (3 multiple choice including noncumulative final), 15% reflection assignments, 10% replies to peers on reflections, and 15% attendance and participation. Exams were very fair multiple choice tests that pulled questions from in class material and powerpoints which she posted on polylearn. I'd highly recommend attending class, because the material taught in class reflects almost entirely the material on the exams, and she explains the reading in a way that helps make confusing material very clear, but also because Helms made the class extremely interesting and relevant when it could have been dry and boring. I learned a lot from this class and would definitely recommend Helms to anyone and will be taking a class with her again for my upper division C elective.

I'm not a philosophy major and all I heard was to take these requirements online, but I took a risk on Helms. I'm so glad I did, very interesting, mainly discussion based. Reading is only somewhat necessary if you pay attention in class, as she lays out all the important information. Extremely kind professor who wants her students to succeed. There is a pretty big attendance portion so kinda important to go to the lectures.

This class is exactly what you'd expect out of a philosophy class, which is to say it's complete BS. Nothing ever makes any sense, you never have any feel for what's going on in the class, and the professor just spends all the lecture time spouting nonsense about whether or not we exist and if consciousness is a real thing. The only reason I got such a high grade in this class is because she curves the overall grade by about 10% at the end of the quarter instead of helping her students understand the material. If you want an easy A or B, take this class. If you want to get anything out of a philosophy class other than a headache, look elsewhere.

Most of the reviews on Phil 230 are pretty polarized; people tend to feel one way or another about this class. I will try to present the information in a logical fashion. Professor Helms as a person is dope. She is smart beyond all comprehension and she is literally an expert on this stuff. In class, however, the lectures often lacked continuity as we jumped from one subject to the next; the way she explained concepts, proofs, and connections between ideas we studied were often very contrived. Helms style of teaching is going to work for a very very specific kind of student. If you are going to take her, ask yourself if you benefit from *purely* lecture and reading. Are you *naturally* good at understanding abstract concepts, and do you have a -very- high information retention ability? Helms lectures are, quite simply, difficult to follow. The concepts are very abstract, the information is presented in a contrived and overly complicated way, the readings could use way way way more addressing in class, and the lecture discussions do not adequately prepare students to *be able to study for exams* OR *approach the concepts in an effective way*. What I mean is that, there is very little that I took away from lecture. I tend to have high retention for lectures and in class discussions. However, what is most difficult to grasp about this class is the connections between philosophers and how to connect examples from the reading with the overarching ideas. It felt that throughout the quarter, things were not explained in either a simple or logical way. Lots of lecture was very round-about. I found myself *almost* being able to grasp the concept, and then before we hit the nail on the head, we move on to something unrelated enough that it feels like there is no continuity. The problem with Helms style of teaching, I believe, is that she is trying to teach us *how to think* instead of teaching us about the texts, philosophers, and ideas we discuss in lecture. By this, I mean that I feel a lot of time was spent in lecture of her trying to convince the class that there is a correct way to approach or "think about" an idea, instead of teaching us what that idea is in the first place and how it applies. Class was fun and everything, but the reason her lecture style is ultimately problematic is because what is on the exams were highly specific to the reading, highly abstract with respect to connecting reading and concepts, and purely conceptual. You must understand the concepts. You must know what the examples the philosophers use are. You must know who said what and why. These things, in my opinion, are not properly addressed during lecture, and the depth of understanding required to succeed on the exams is never granted. Too much focus is placed on her trying to get us to think like her (a highly educated expert in philosophy) instead of getting us to understand and retain the knowledge she is trying to bestow upon us. Overall, I found myself very disappointed in this class. However, I do understand that there are some students who would benefit from her teaching style.

If you're gonna take this class, take Helms. All you need to do to get an A in this class is show up to class and take notes on the slides/what she says. If you're not super interested in philosophy like I was going in, she understands that and does a good job of making how she presents it very clear and interesting. Lectures can be a bit boring sometimes but its important to show up because all of the tests are from what she says in class. Grade is made up of attendance/participation (showing up and asking a few questions during class or going to office hours) 3 short reflections that you can do online in about 20 minutes even without reading the books, and 3 tests, all multiple choice, about 60 questions each. I recommend going to the study sessions she offers before each test, they give you a good idea of what you need to know.

Helms is a great professor. She presents lecture material in an interesting way, and I feel that if you study your notes well, the exams aren't terribly difficult, either. I actually thought her multiple choice quizzes are actually harder than her exams for this course, which were in-class essays where you get 2 notecards of notes with you. Some of the reading material is very difficult to understand, but honestly trying to get through it and even just skimming it and then coming to class, she explains the concepts much more simply and thoroughly than the text does. Be prepared to work a little bit, but in my opinion the reward for working hard in this class is worth is.

One of the best (philosophy) teachers I have ever had. Was able to present the material in such a clear and easy way to understand, which can be hard in philosophy. The tests are not easy and she is a meticulous grader but if you study and ask her help she is always willing to assist. I would recommend her for any class she is teaching and in fact am taking another one with her because I loved her so much. Word of advice: DO THE READING. She gives reading pop quizzes that can greatly affect your grade even though they seem petty

I am not a Philosophy major, I took this class to fulfill my upper level GE's so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I ended up enjoying this class very much. It was not easy by any means, I can guarantee I would of never gotten a B in the class without the massive amounts of group studying we did as a class. However, Professor Helms is awesome. She is incredibly intelligent and all around an awesome person. She let us study for the final at her house while she made us dinner and homemade cider! I mean, how many professors have done something like that for you? If you want to take a thought provoking class that will broaden your mind and not make you work TOO hard then I highly suggest this class. Two 3 page papers and a midterm and final covering the reading.

The Philosophy of Aesthetics is a really interesting course centered around the ideology of what makes art good. It seemed like it might have been dull, and with any other professor, I'm sure it would have been, but Dr. Helms is an outstanding lecturer that involves the class in every part of the course. If you enjoy being involved in class, discussing and debating art and philosophy, this is the course for you. She could not be more helpful during and outside of lecture. It was a 2 hour lecture, which I normally dread, but not PHIL 350. Being a Biochemistry major, I only took this course to fulfill my GE and to have Dr. Helms again (after having her for PHIL 230).

I took aesthetics because it was the only C4 that fit my schedule this quarter and i wanted as many classes out of the way as possible so i can focus on my senior project. After taking phil 230 with prof. Graziano I was dreading this class. However, Prof Helms is actually an amazing lecturer and i enjoyed the class far more than I thought I would. I still am not that interested in philosophy really, but I wish Professor Helms was a teacher for my major courses. I got a C not because she made the class outrageously difficult but because I did not put the time and effort into the course. Professor Helms is possibly one of the most fair graders I have had.

Dr. Helms was an excellent professor and an engaging lecturer. I am not a Philosophy major but I can say that Aesthetics was probably my favorite class of the quarter. She always presented an interesting perspective on all of the provided readings and brought a lot more out of an in-class discussions. She required reading selections prior to class but it was nothing that was unmanageable. She also had three papers and two midterms as graded assignments for the class and all of them were very straight forward.

Professor Helms is a good lecturer, but she could not save what is probably the dryest material I have ever taken: Aesthetics. Through no one's wrongdoing, this was simply the most painstaking class to attend and/or study for. I would not suggest anyone take this course, unless they are really interested in Aesthetics. When it comes to the class, its pretty much a couple midterms, a quiz here or there, and a couple of papers. It is pretty difficult to get an A in my opinion, as her tests would moderately difficult, but a B is a good expectation going into the class.

What else is there to say? Fine person, nothing interesting. Class was meh... Blah, blah, blah... Fine person.