<p>Hey I was wondering if any current econ majors could give some feedback about the program at Duke. Anything about the quality of the professors, difficulty of classes, differences btw BA/BS requirements, would be great!</p>
<p>From what I’ve gathered there is no difference between BA/BS for econ majors.</p>
<p>^except for maybe the color of the hood and tassel at graduation</p>
<p>Can anyone elaborate on the difference between PHIL 41, PHIL 43S, and PHIL 44S, all called “Intro to Philosophy” on ACES? I’m in the process of vetting courses for my humanities/social sciences elective, and “Intro to Philosophy” is one of the frontrunners. Problem is, the course descriptions for the seminar classes only say “PHIL ___ conducted as a seminar,” and the description for PHIL 41 is equally ambiguous and only one sentence long.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Hey, I also had a somewhat related question about Orgo and Physics. I took AP Chem junior year and got a 5 and took both Physics C this year and am expecting 5’s on both. </p>
<p>If I want to keep premed as an option and also double major (physics might be one of them), would it be better to take Chem 151 right away, or take Phys 143 right away? Would it even be wise to take 143 without the intro sequence? </p>
<p>I’m comfortable with multivariable calc and some linear algebra, and also did an independent study this year on Orgo, so preparation for either shouldn’t be a problem… </p>
<p>As of now, I’m a lot more interested in physics than chem, but I’m just honestly not sure what to do for the sake of long term planning… Any input would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Biner_51: I feel obligated to answer your question as I’m a Philosophy major, but truthfully, I don’t know the answer! Haha. Here’s what I CAN tell you…</p>
<p>First of all, as a major, I didn’t take any of the intro courses and I personally don’t recommend it. I think it’s probably better to just take a Philosophy course in a specific topic that interests you rather than an intro course (even if you’re a non-major). HOWEVER, I have heard some people (majors and non-majors) say how they loved their intro class and that’s what inspired them to take more Phil classes. I have heard others say that their intro class completely turned them off from Philsoophy altogether. So mixed bag. But, in any case, consider taking a course on a specific topic that interests you rather than the intro. Personally, I would recommend Aesthetics (Phil 102) who is with Ben Ward, one of my all-time favorite professors (/persons); Appearance and Reality (Phil 111) who is with a recent PhD and assistant professor, but it’s the kind of “catchy” and “fun” philosophy that might interest a non-major and would be good for a first Phil class; or Aristotle (Phil 123) because I hear Ferejohn is great. There are some other ones, too, but I like those 3 (especially the first 2) for a non-major. Note that Aesthetics is also nice because it gives you ALP credit.</p>
<p>If you WERE to take an intro class, though, I would take Phil 41 because it’s the only one that’s with an actual professor. I’m not saying grad students are all bad, but…Rosenberg is one of the most distinguished professors in Duke’s philosohpy department and he’s a very quirky, interesting guy. Like…Leonore Miller (one of the Phil 44S instructors) is a student of Rosenberg’s…so why would you take a class with the student if you could take it with the student’s teacher?</p>
<p>As far as content, Rosenberg’s (41) says that the emphasis will be on metaphysics and theory of knowledge. This might be slightly different than the 44S classes which are given the EI (Ethical Inquiry) code. That is, you might talk more about philosophical ethics in 44 and more about metaphysics and epistemology in 41, but I would guess there’s going to be a little bit of all those in each of the intro courses (that’s why they’re intro courses…). 43S is coded the same as 41, so I personally just wouldn’t even consider it as I’d rather have Rosenberg than a grad student.</p>
<p>The advantage of 43 and 44 might be that they are coded S, for seminar. So, you might have a smaller class and it will most likely be more discussion oriented whereas 41 will be more lecture. But truthfully, in an intro philosophy course, I think you’ll probably get more out of hearing a tenured professor speak most of the time rather than your classmates led by a grad student. But if you really like discussing, maybe a seminar is for you. However, note that 41, while not a seminar and with a cap of 40, only has 2 people in it right now…so that might end up small as well (which might not make it more discussion oriented, but it would give you more time to ask questions, etc.). I’m not sure how full it usually gets, maybe it will somehow fill up…who knows… (lol, I don’t even know if freshmen have enrolled yet…ignorance!!!)</p>
<p>Let me know if I’ve missed something or you have more questions.</p>
<p>Great, informative post!</p>
<p>I guess I do have a follow-up question, though. What are your thoughts on PHIL 48, entitled Logic? I’m enrolled in Pratt, but I would very mich like to pursue a double major in mathematics. This would entail some more abstract/proof-based courses, so even limited background in deductive reasoning–which, according to the course description, is the primary focus–would be beneficial. Beyond that, I suppose I just find the topic (i.e. formulating sound arguments, spotting logical fallacies in others’ arguments) interesting. Both sections offered in the Fall appear to be taught by grad students, but Jonathan Sides’ is currently full, leaving only the one led by Nathan Morton. Again, your thoughts?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Eh, I had logic 48 last semester and didn’t like it very much–I wouldn’t recommend it at all, really. Majors have to take it, but if you’re not a major, I wouldn’t take it. I’m comparing the educational value you would get from taking logic 48 with Nathan Morton that of taking aesethics with Ben Ward, and it makes me want to laugh. I would absolutely not take logic with Nathan Morton. He was my TA for logic last semester and he would get confused very easily and we would end up spending the whole lesson on something the professor could have clarified in 2 minutes (he did tutorials on Fridays while the professor lectured Mon, Weds). It would almost be a scam to take that class, lol, that sounds overdramatic but it really would be. I don’t know Sides other than that he is a grad student. I had logic with Iris Einheuser, who is an assistant professor and is really great. Even though I didn’t like the subject and thought it was dull, uninspiring, and largely unhelpful, I could maybe slightly recommend you to take the class if it were taught by her, just because she really knows her stuff. But with Morton? No way. I don’t mean to be overly hard on the guy, he’s nice enough, he’s just not ready to teach that class in my opinion. Robert Brandon is the other prof who does logic, so you could keep an eye out for a course with him if you wanted…I think he does Symbolic Logic in the Spring, which is basically just a harder version of 48 I think, more theory.</p>
<p>Besides avoiding Morton, though, I wouldn’t recommend logic as one of your only philosophy classes. The philosophy department has so much to offer it would be a waste to just take a logic class and say you’ve experienced philosophy. Not to mention the fact that you might take a different class that begins to question the firmness of ground on which something like the field of “logic” stands in the first place. Further, you’re really not going to gain a lot for math or for “spotting logical fallaces is others’ argumets”. The most interesting thing you’re going to get out of a logic class, imo, is some relevant data/interpretations regarding the philosophy of language.</p>
<p>Anyone here a current BME major also doing premed? If so, I was wondering if I could send you a PM with a few questions about my schedule next year.</p>
<p>I was a BME/premed (graduated 2 weeks ago). However you are welcome to send me a PM if you’d like.</p>
<p>Wow, glad I asked. Thanks for all the help, p<em>hp</em>fan!</p>
<p>Hey Biner (and others), on the inspiration of your questions, I posted a kind of reference guide to Duke philosophy on a separate thread. Check it out for course recommendations, other connections, etc.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/duke-university/938742-student-guide-philosophy-duke.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/duke-university/938742-student-guide-philosophy-duke.html</a></p>
<ol>
<li><p>financial aid- Is awarded financial aid earmarked within my account or is it all in one lump sum? For example, what if I spend more than Duke budgeted for dining but less for housing? And then what happens to the remaining balance after all billed expenses are taken care of?</p></li>
<li><p>Dining points- Can be added in $25 increments, but is there any service fee or other hidden charge when you add the points? Do flex points work the same way?</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>It’s a lump sum. They give you what they give you up front and then you are left to pay whatever’s left.</p></li>
<li><p>No service fee. Yes, FLEX is the same. All additions can be made instantly online.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I have a quesiton about the Academic profile under the first year check-list in DukePass. The instructions say that we’re suppose to "Complete steps 1-2 in ACES. But when I enter my ACES there are only the verification page and financial aid page. What am I suppose to complete?
Thanks to anyone who answers.</p>
<p>Why, on ACES, are several Writing 20 topics shown as having people registered for them? If I’m not mistaken, aren’t all sections restricted to first-year students, and they don’t register until mid-July?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The same thing happened last year. My best guess is that the people who have registered are either sophomore transfer students who hadn’t taken a comparable writing class at their previous school or sophomores who for some reason (academic leave of absence, etc) didn’t complete the Writing 20 requirement.</p>
<p>^Do you have to finish completing your academic profile in order to see courses available on ACES?</p>
<p>mermaid123456, I was able to browse the course catalog before I completed my academic profile. However, I don’t think you can put courses in your bookbag (starting on June 21) until you have finished your academic profile.</p>
<p>hey, i was wondering if the bookbagging on june 21st is like a rush to find classes because of enrollment caps on classes or if there are no caps until enrollment starts in july? i am asking because i don’t want to miss out on bookbagging a class because other people have already bookbagged it when i am on vacation. thanks!</p>