TL;DR: even philosophy majors say this is their least favorite philosophy class. Do not take.

I read many reviews about how Hsu is hard to follow, how no one attends lecture, how TA's can grade harshly, etc. All of it is true. I did every single reading, yet could not follow Hsu's lectures at all, and would almost always end up falling asleep. Went to every single discussion (which they claim will allow them to boost your grade b/c good participation), went for help on my essays, yet still got a 77 and a 74 on both essays. Ended with a B-, no grade bump. It's ridiculous. The material is honestly not interesting, the lectures suck, discussion is pointless, and all your efforts end for naught. Do not take this class. A GE is supposed to be an interesting grade boost, and this satisfied neither.

The class is difficult. The topics are hard to cover and Hsu is often difficult to understand. A lot of the class was spent answering questions, but overall he did a good job of preparing everyone for the midterm/final. If you're a philosophy major, you have to take it. If you aren't a philosophy major, take another class.

This class was a lot harder than I expected. As a non-philosophy major, I did not know what I was getting myself into. Your grade is entirely determined by the midterm and the final split 50% to 50%. This means in order to get an A you need to get an A on both papers. As I got a B+ on my midterm I knew I couldn't get any higher than an A-. The prompts for the papers are also quite difficult to comprehend and also have to be short and to the point. I ended up working probably 60+ hours on my 2 essays for the final which allowed me to get an A- in the class. Wouldn't recommend the class but I did find the material interesting despite it not being taught well.

I did not like this class. I took this course as a GE and because it seemed interesting. I was bored out of my mind during lecture, he doesn't use the board or slides, he just yaps for the full hour and 15 minutes. I felt bad because you can tell Professor Hsu is super passionate and knowledgeable, but it is really difficult to understand his lectures. I had a personal issue that caused me to miss a week of class right before the midterm, which definitely screwed me because the TAs were super helpful in office hours - would basically give you the answers. The class was structured with 5 assignments randomly assigned throughout the quarter and an in class, closed note, written test. They give you the test questions and you pick which to respond to. My main issue with the course was that everything was graded very nit picky and harshly, I did readings and all the work and still struggled with the wording of assignments/tests. I also did the extra work for extra credit and the course evaluation and was never given extra credit on my final grade.

TAs are very very VERY helpful for this class. Andrew is a nice professor, but he doesn't use slides, and follows a very abstract structure of lecture. He gives a paper material to follow along, which helps. But really, it's easy to fall asleep, but your TA will explain everything to you. Just make sure to go to Office Hours of your TAs and listen during discussion.

If you have absolutely no other choice, this class is alright. Otherwise, I would advise against it. Professor Hsu if a very nice man and it's clear he loves this topic. His lectures aren't as difficult to follow as some people say. But you NEED TO GO TO LECTURE TO PASS! He recorded lectures, but the recordings failed so many times that you couldn't rely on them. The one lecture with most of the answers to the final wasn't recorded and I couldn't make it that day, so I ended up with a B+ on the final and an A- overall. If you go to lectures, you'll be fine. Going to office hours is extremely helpful, whether it be with the TA or Hsu. Overall, it's not as bad as you might think as long as you go to lecture and make sure you understand everything before the two exams.

This class was interesting. Dr. Hsu does not use slideshows or notes or anything like that. He just talks at you for an hour and fifteen minutes. You read about a different philosopher like every week, but you mainly return to Descartes. The grading scheme is 50% midterm and 50% final. The average score on both of these is a B. You also have to do three homework assignments, or you will get an F. It does not count for a part of your grade; you just have to do it.
This class was weird because everyone gave up. No one went to lecture or discussion. So, if you literally did anything for the class, you would get a good grade. They gave the answers to the midterm and final in office hours, but no one went so everyone bombed it.
Dr. Hsu is very sweet though. He always had the biggest smile every single lecture, even though every student was asleep or didn't care. He was super kind, he just talked in 1800's limericks. He spoke in Shakespearean English, which was hard to understand but you get used to it. I actually really liked him as a person though. He is such a kind soul.
Basically, do not give up on the class and attend lecture. You will likely perform better than 90% of the class, and you'll make Dr. Hsu happy. I wouldn't say I recommend the class, because there are easier courses to do, but if you take it, it isn't hard to out-do many of your peers

This was one of my least favorite classes but I think that was because I am not into philosophy. The professor is nice and engaging but hard to understand. Class is not mandatory but it is already hard to follow so going to class helps. I believe discussion sections were mandatory but not challenging.

This was one of the worst classes I've ever take here. The lectures were extremely boring. I got help from my TA and wrote exactly what they told me to write and converted to a new situation only for my TA to tell me I'm wrong when I wasn't when I brought it to the Professor.

Not a great class, but one you can take if you need to! Dude is funny and kind of boring, so watch the lectures on 2x speed. They basically give you all the answers in discussion and in lectures. My TA was chill, and he knew that what we being taught kind of made no sense.

2 essays and 3 writing assignments in the quarter. As long as you try a bit, you will be fine.