Class record · ADPL · ADV

ADPL 1700

Philosophy of Empathy: What Does it Mean to Know Each Other? · 1 instructor on record · 1 section

What the course score is made of

96BC evaluations1 record · weight ×1.0 · Midterm Spring 2026

—Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute

—RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

That is the class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it. Who taught it, and how each of them scored, is the board below — that is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between.

What the challenge rank is made of

56thMore challenging than 56% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

91BC — “Intellectually Challenging”1 record · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.

What the workload rank is made of

—BC — “Workload”1 record — does not contribute

Boston College's workload question was not reported in these records, so there is nothing to show. That is missing data, not a light class.

This course explores philosophical approaches to the nature of empathy and its fundamental role in the human experience. A number of philosophers have taken up the question of empathy, and when we examine their work we see that asking what empathy is leads us to questions about what it means to be a human person, how we live in and encounter the world around us, and what it means to be in community with other persons. By encountering and analyzing theories on empathy in this course, students will work toward deepening their own understanding and developing their own ideas on empathy, community, and the nature of the human person.

The only instructor on record

1 section · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge
Michaela Sobrak-SeatonAdvancing Studies Provisional	951 record	—	56th

There is no ranking to read here: Michaela Sobrak-Seaton is the only instructor with evaluation records for ADPL 1700, so the number is a record, not a position. It rests on 1 record, which is thin — read it as provisional.

Also taught by Michaela Sobrak-Seaton

2 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
ADPL 1070Philosophy of the Person I	36 records	83
ADPL 3020History of Philosophy II: Modern Contemporary	11 record	80

Other ADPL classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
ADPL 1500Ethics	413 records	89
ADPL 1800World Philosophies	18 records	90
ADPL 2011True Detectives: Investigating the Crimes and Mysteries of Existence	18 records	90
ADPL 1070Philosophy of the Person I	36 records	83
ADPL 1483Philosophy of Human Sexuality	14 records	91
ADPL 1498Philosophy of Cinema	14 records	95

The line

All 13 items · means across 1 record

The Professor4 items

Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.

9561st pctl

Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.

9558th pctl

Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.

9351st pctl

Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.

9557th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

9677th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

9785th pctl

Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.

9783rd pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

9788th pctl

Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.

9147th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

9254th pctl

Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

9156th pctl

Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.

9361st pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one. 1 of 13 questions were not reported and are left out rather than shown as zero.

Game log

1 section · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Michaela Sobrak-Seaton	Midterm Spring 2026	01	95	96	—

How to read this boardInstructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.