Class record · PHIL · MCAS

PHIL 5529

Metaphysics · 1 instructor on record · 4 sections

What the course score is made of

89BC evaluations4 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Fall 2025

—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

85thMore challenging than 85% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

96BC — “Intellectually Challenging”4 records · 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

78thMore work than 78% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

60BC — “Workload”4 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.

The course begins with classical modern philosophers. Their problems concern the relation of mind and body, the possibility of objective knowledge, and cause and effect. Their method is that of science, combining both empirical and logical elements. After these modern thinkers, giving our cultural assumptions, we turn to Ancient and Medieval philosophers. Their problems concern the relation of spirit and matter, the analogy of being and truth, and causal explanation. Their method is one of dialogue. With this different set of problems and method, we will be able to evaluate the relative strengths of these different philosophical positions. Satisfies the following distribution requirement(s) for Philosophy: Knowledge & Reality, History of Philosophy, Ancient, Medieval.

The only instructor on record

4 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge
Gary GurtlerPhilosophy	884 records	78th	85th

There is no ranking to read here: Gary Gurtler is the only instructor with evaluation records for PHIL 5529, so the number is a record, not a position.

Also taught by Gary Gurtler

6 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
PHIL 5505The Aristotelian Ethics	24 records	86
PHIL 4423Spanish-American Philosophy	13 records	85
PHIL 4419Friendship	22 records	87
PHIL 7791Aristotle and Plotinus: On the Soul	12 records	95
PHIL 6320Plato’s Theaetetus	11 record	96
PHIL 7240Platonic Cosmology	11 record	100

Other PHIL classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
PHIL 1071Philosophy of the Person II	71247 records	84
PHIL 1070Philosophy of the Person I	65207 records	82
PHIL 1091Perspectives on Western Culture II/Perspectives II	39144 records	87
PHIL 1089Person and Social Responsibility II	20104 records	88
PHIL 1088Person and Social Responsibility I	1969 records	88
PHIL 1090Perspectives on Western Culture I/Perspectives I	3067 records	84

The line

All 13 items · means across 4 records

The Professor4 items

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

9030th pctl

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

9666th pctl

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

9244th pctl

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

8920th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

9573rd pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

9148th pctl

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

9034th pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

9255th pctl

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

9781st pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

9039th pctl

Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings

WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.

6078th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

9685th pctl

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

9783rd 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.

Game log

4 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Gary Gurtler	Fall 2025	01	89	89	60
Gary Gurtler	Fall 2024	01	88	88	—
Gary Gurtler	Fall 2023	01	90	90	—
Gary Gurtler	Fall 2021	01	85	87	60

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.