PHIL 121Moral Issues

89% liked it74% easy74% useful

From 61 ratings and 26 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

• Please DO NOT take this course with Doucet. He is a funny, nice man, but he marks very unfairly for a FIRST YEAR COURSE. Everyone I know in this class is either a 2nd or 3rd year, yet we're being grade 50-mid 60s on our well written essays and argument summaries. All of my grades since first year are in the 90s. I took this course since I heard it was a bird and it IS, but his marking is not worth it. I got a 65% in this class although I participated heavily, never missed a class, completed all 6 argument summaries (even though you only need to do 2), and truly understood the content. He has extremely high expectations for a first year course. This class is my biggest regret since I began…

  Jan 2022 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

• Take it with Brian if you can! He's incredibly smart and you can obviously tell by the way he teaches and speaks. He also tries to learn everyone's names which is nice. Super interesting class that teaches you moral theories and other topics like war theory, digital privacy, etc. It really makes you think. If you go to class, you'll find the lectures very very interesting. I wish I took this earlier, it made me realize I like philosophy courses. Grade breakdown: two 3% one page reflections + 42% midterm + 42% final. Everyone gets full grades for the reflections, midterm and final are writing heavy but superrrrrrr interesting to write and think about.
  TLDR: Lowkey this should be a mandatory…

  Apr 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

• I loved this course, the topics provided, and the way it is built for in class discussion. The framework of this course is perfect for a first year introductory course to university. The marking scheme is a little difficult to understand and sometimes appears subjective based on the TA, but overall is fairly lenient and valid. The topics provided are able to be applied to multiple different streams of learning within university. Overall, my favourite aspect was that there are many opportunities to discuss amongst your classmates and share your thoughts with the class, often times turning into an engaging debate.

  Feb 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

• Coming to class isn't necessary unless there is a discussion, but I would recommend it as it's very enjoyable and interesting. Readings are not necessary.
  Grade breakdown:
  In person discussions and pass/fail essays = 20% (participation marks),
  Two midterms with 3 long answer questions each = 22.5% each
  Final exam with two long answer questions and one essay = 35%

  Jan 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

• PLEASE TAKE THIS COURSE. PHIL 121 is one of the best and easiest courses ever. We learned about Global Inequality, Climate Change, Oppression, Media Ethics, and MAiD this term. Everything was extremely easy to understand, and Professor Doucet often asked us to discuss and share our thoughts with the entire class. Most of it was really just common sense, and the only things we actually needed to memorize were the philosophers and what their stances were. We had to write 4 take-home essays in total, which were all super simple because they were opinion-based. They were also just participation marks, so it didn't matter how good your writing was, you just had to complete it within the word…

  Dec 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this