He's not the best teacher I've ever taken, but he kind of grows on you. His two teaching assistants graded all the papers. There's a blue book every week but no midterm paper or final. Overall I would say his class was pretty easy. Your total grade is based on how much you improve throughout the quarter

Wilkins is, and I say this without bias, the worst philosophy teacher at ucsb. He does not lecture, the reading material for this class is mostly his own writings,(they aren't very good) and with his hearing problems he is nearly impossible to carry on a discussion with. He seems like a nice guy and is, but void him at all costs.

While is older and has trouble hearing, he is vibrant and fun. No Final no midterm, awesome around finals

Weekly in-class essay. no final, no paper, no midterm. You have to go to class and should participate as much as you can (but he will tell you to shut up if you talk too much). Better for those more interested in an independent study. He facilitates discussion more than lecture.

Interesting class, and great reading selections, plus Prof. Wilkins is entertaining and certainly memorable, but there just didn't seem to be any way to improve in this course. If you're already good at Phil and writing about it off-the-cuff, this class will be a pinch for you.

This is the best teacher in philosophy one could ever meet. He brings out the best in any student who has an interest in learning. :If a person is willing to grow he can move everyone to a greater understanding. He is a legendary teacher and scholar. Princeton and Harvard should be very proud of this persons.

Very odd class. The reading had little to do with what we talked about in class or what we were tested on for that matter. Comprehension of material is basically up to yourself. Seemed to learn/talk very little about philosophy or law. If you have prior legal knowledge you'll probably get more out of the class. Shouldn't have been a phil class...

Many folks seem to think the man doesn't teach. Seems to me they are unable to learn. Wilkins helped me improve my philosophical thinking and writing. The weekly essay & discussion format allows you to really practice and hone your argumentation skills while grappling with compelling issues.

No final, midterms, or papers. Once a week you write two page response to your weekly reading. Response questions are usually ambiguous, thus a lot of room for you to voice your opinion. Good fit for political science, law & society, and philosophy majors. This is a discussion based class, do the reading to enjoy it. His classes are fun, and in my

every phil major should have to take a class from him. not because he's that great himself but just because it's something different. on the in class papers you get graded for how well you actually argue, not just simply how well you know the material. It really does improve your writing skills.

That comment below me is so true. He doesn't teach anything, and yet gets paid to cross his legs and facilitate discussions between students "Joseph argues over you, what do you have to say now?" LoL. What a joke. And this is not some "cool new way of learning" if you care about your GPA and like the traditional lecture, stay away.

He doesn't actually teach anything, it's more like he facilitates a discussion. He himself isn't too great, but I liked the class because it is something different. No Midterm or final, just a 2 pg in class essay every week. Not an easy class but a good class if you want a change from what your used to.