If you're looking for a class where the professor is genuinely interested in his students learning something beyond getting a grade, wants to make lectures the most interesting part of your day and appears to connect with his students and reality: enroll in Phil 7.
On the first day of class Greenberg asked the students what they were thinking about and what they hoped to learn. One student said something about how they were interested in how the brain works. Another student started talking about how the world may be a simulation and how he wants to know the truth. This class allows you to take something away from the class no matter which student you may be.
Professor Greenberg was an awesome professor and a really cool guy. He knows that a lot of people are there to take a GE that interests them and he sets up his class so that you'll actually gain something from it. There is no textbook you have to purchase, all of the readings are online. The point of the class was never to memorize useless information, it was to have students look at how they currently view the world and how it works and question it all.
The hardest, and only, assignments are the papers which "test" your understanding of certain concepts by explaining why you believe in them or not. While these essays do take time, they can be interesting to write and very self-reflective.
Lectures are not mandatory to attend but your understanding of some concepts relies on you being in class. Greenberg creates funny examples including big stars such as Missy Elliott, Justin Bieber, Shakira on the Voice, and a Taco Hungry Robot.
This is a class I would recommend everyone takes at some point in their time at UCLA.

Best class, best professor. Seriously couldn't be more grateful I took this GE. It's sooo interesting and makes you think about your mind in a whole different way! Professor Greenberg is hands down amazing- he shows so much care for his students and has super engaging lectures with mostly visuals on his slides. He's also really funny and goes at just the right pace. The readings can be pretty challenging, but you don't have to take notes and you just have to skim them to do well on the reading quizzes (which are super general and easy). In lecture, Greenberg will explain all the readings much more clearly and everything will make sense. You don't have to memorize anything because there are no tests, so you really can just focus on enjoying the material. I went to every single one of Greenberg's office hours and looked forward to them every week. In OH, we all just go around in a circle asking philosophical questions and bouncing ideas off each other, so it turns into a philosophical discussion that always left me feeling like I gained a new way of seeing the world. Loved this class so much- would recommend to anyone!!

First off, this class is incredibly interesting. I'm rarely interested in stuff I learn about via academics (even if I find it interesting before, usually classes lower my enthusiasm), but I found it impossible to be disinterested in this subject. It's just cool. I would actually talk to my friends about how crazy this class was, and I'm not the sort of person who normally does that.
That being said, it isn't particularly easy... but by no means would I call it hard. There are mini 2-question quizzes before each class that comprise 10% of your grade that you shouldn't worry about at all because they're insanely easy, and are basically just there to make sure you get the most basic takeaways from the readings the professor assigns. The readings he gives out can be difficult, but he acknowledges that and basically summarizes them the next day in lecture if you can't understand them (they also aren't long, its pretty much all killer no filler). Discussion participation also makes up another 10% I believe. The main coursework is made up of 4 papers (the first 2 are short and easy, while the last two are longer and more difficult). The cool thing is the professor gives you a detailed rubric for each paper that lets you know exactly what he wants, paragraph by paragraph, so you don't have to think too much. To do well on the papers you basically need to follow his provided outline, have a solid understanding of the material, and be clear and concise (also consult your TA from time to time). He also provides you with a highly detailed note sheet from each lecture that provides you with more than enough material to write your papers. There's also no memorization aspect of this class at all.

Greenberg is an excellent professor and lecturer, and manages to use a very casual vernacular and a chill tone and still make lectures very interesting and engaging. I think that this subject is just naturally sort of difficult to understand at first and he makes it as easy as possible (my TA even said that he was "over-simplifying" some of the content, but everything ended up fine). He's very approachable and his office hours are helpful.

I highly recommend this class. I came into it with zero background knowledge and found it throughouly interesting. It's basically (some of) the kind of stuff you would think about when you're high (are the mind and the brain separate things, how do I describe consciousness, how do I know my friend next to me is actually conscious and not an evil robot). Whatever I'm not doing it justice but you should take this class because I think it's extremely hard to not enjoy it.

Professor G is an absolute G. His lectures were extremely engaging, and the content was very interesting. As a philosophy major, I am so glad that my first philosophy class at UCLA was with him. He was very fair about making arguments for dualism as well as for physicalism. As a dualist, I was concerned coming into the class that it would only be about physicalism. However, he did a great job arguing for both sides and playing devils advocate. I really appreciated his fairness, although I do wish he talked about a more current view of interactionist dualism. He only really talked about Descartes outdated view which was a bit of a bummer. But overall, his class has made me so much more excited for my next 4 years of philosophy classes.

The class is based on 4 essays: 5%, 15%, 30%, and 30%. The first two essays are great for practice and learning what your TA wants to see. Then you use that to make sure you do well on the two finals essays that are worth more of your grade. The TA is what can make this class really hard or not depending on how hard they grade. However, the lectures are amazing and the readings that are required for lectures are fascinating. The quizzes on the readings are very easy, and are an easy 10% of your grade. The final 10% of your grade is just based on participation in discussions. He also gives a 1% grade boost at the end if you fill out the teacher evaluation, which comes in handy.

Professor Greenberg is a fantastic lecturer; he is engaging and funny enough. I stay attentive for most of the lectures. He loves discussing concepts with students and is very approachable. The class content is also very interesting.

Your TA makes or breaks your grade. There is no midterm or final, just 4 papers; very short but graded relatively harshly. This class is a very doable A but I would not call it easy, especially if you are unfamiliar with philosophical writing. However, I highly recommend it; it really challenges your world perspectives (I know a HUGE shock from a philosophy class).

~THE IMPORTANT STUFF~
Grade Breakdown:

-Twice Weekly Quizzes: 10%
-Participation: 10%
-1st Essay (250 words): 5%
-2nd Essay (500 words): 15%
-3rd Essay (1000 words): 30%
-4th Essay (1000 words) 30%

Extra Credit:
-Course Evals: 1%
-4 bonus quiz points (If no one plagarizes)

Lectures are fun-not mandatory, and the information isn't that hard to understand on your own. However, Gabe does a phenomenal job of explaining everything and he often goes over paper requirements. There are also quizzes (2 questions) due before lecture each week that are based on the readings/ lecture, don't forget those like I did all the time :))

He has handouts every lecture that corresponds to the slides, which he does NOT post online- those little papers will make or break you. Therefore, either get a buddy who will grab you one when you can't make it, sneak in and snatch one, or just go to lecture because its interesting.

Oh, also no books, which is terrific because we're all poor. 10/10 would recommend.

Professor Greenberg was an interesting enough lecturer, and it seemed like he really cared about the topic. Handouts pertaining to each lecture were distributed at the beginning of each class. They were NOT posted online, nor were the lecture slides. The lectures were also not recorded to enforce “mandatory” attendance but there was no other penalty if you didn’t show up. All readings were online on Greenberg’s own website, no textbook necessary. There were 3 written exams, one for each unit, and extra office hours were offered beforehand. I never went to Greenberg’s office hours and relied more on my TA, Seungtaek, who was awesome and explained the concepts very well. I took this class as a major requirement but I would recommend it as a GE as well. Fun time.

This class was extremely interesting, fun and one I think everyone should take at least once at UCLA. The professor and my TA (Will Fraker) did a great job at guiding you through the material, and the main focus of the class is not just on the theories of how the mind works themselves, but in what your opinion is and why you believe in it. I can genuinely feel how my logical thinking has improved because of the underlying philosophical principles you gain from the class.

With all that said, this class is definitely hard because you have to take time to let the concepts sit in your mind and have a precise understanding of the concepts themselves. Do not pay attention to the grade distributions above, this is not an easy A ever since they switched to in-class essays for the midterms/final. But if your focus when taking classes is more on your growth as a person rather than simply just the grade, I wouldn't worry about this- the grade will take care of itself.

You can get away with only skimming the readings and looking for important parts, maybe revisiting them quickly after you had class. You can manage to skip a lecture or two but in general you want to go. Going to OH before exams helped clear up specific details that were a difference between an A and a B. The professor and my TA were also really great, kind people. They are clearly interested in you learning to think for yourself.

I love this class. The class is definitely not an easy A, but the process of learning the materials was very fun and engaging. For the grades, 10 percent comes from section participation, which is not hard, as long as you show up and speak in sections. 10 percent comes from the 2 question quizzes before each lecture, which were extremely easy. The rest 80 percent comes from the two midterms and a final (which is not cumulative), which, to be honest, were not easy. The exams are all in-class hand written essays, usually 6-9 paragraphs in 1hr 10min...pretty tired. However, Professor Greenberg gave us a very comprehensive study guide and questions, which helped me a lot. This class is definitely not an easy A, but if you are interested in the relationship of mind and body/consciousness or if it's your major's prereq, I really recommend you take this class!

This class is NOT AN EASY A OR A LOW EFFORT CLASS (as previous reviews from before 2020 that I was influenced to take this class by claim). The class format was changed from 3 papers to 3 in class essays, one for each unit covered. Not only does Greenberg assign SO MUCH reading, it's also boring and impossible to understand, especially when you don't want to read it and the writings are from 400 years ago by Descartes, so I used chatgpt to summarize all the texts though I retained nothing. You can also use chat to do the 2 question quizzes that he assigns along with the readings. This is a tech-free class (For whatever reason, but I lowk scrolled on my phone every class instead of paying attention) and they pass out a handout with all the notes from the slides from that day, so you don't really have to take your own notes (which is why I didn't pay attention). Maybe that's why I was always so confused about the concepts, but every time I walked into lecture I got hit with a wave of drowsiness and I was fighting to keep my eyes open every day. But anyways I would just lock in the day before the test for like the entire day and go over the handouts and answer the study questions he provides (very helpful, he even provides an AI prompt to help you study). The questions are also similar to the things he asks you to write about on the exams. The TA's grade pretty harshly though, and you have to explain the concepts clearly with an example and make sure you do not write ANY incorrect information or you will be graded down. Overall, Greenberg is a great professor, the class is just not very interesting and the concepts are so abstract that you have to think more than I'm willing to for a GE.

I loved this class. I can not stress it enough, please please take it if you get the chance. This class is so well organized, and even when the topics are tricky professor Greenberg does such a good job at giving you notes already made for you to look back on. The workload was so easy and the exams are not harshly graded. The exams mostly ask for your opinion on the subject and you won't get points taken off if you disagree with the questions the exam is asking. This class contains of 3 exams, the first 2 are just answering simple questions, and the final was an essay. I had no prior knowledge to philosophy beforehand and still managed to do well in this class. I really recommend Prof Greenberg and this class.