Yes this one is still for both audiences, sorry but it just is the case that although everyone, including the tutor, might want the tutor to be the font of all knowledge, we all have our weaker areas. Also remember that examining a problem in understanding something can lead to more than just rejecting an idea because you don't understand it, perhaps the confusion is in the idea itself not in you.
The first thing to establish is what is it that you don't understand, a minor wrinkle in the argument or the whole thing. Trying to pin down an answer to that question will help and you might discover that you did understand it after all.
Check your notes and those of one or more of your peers, there is no shame in asking for help it often is the beginning of a very useful discussion from which everyone benefits.
Do use dictionaries of philosophy, encyclopaedias of philosophy such as available at http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/ and introductory texts such as the Past Master series. Don't think that learning positions or definitions by heart will replace critical thinking, but if you haven't grasped what it is you are supposed to be thinking critically about you can't expect to be come to any reasoned judgements about it.
If the seminar comes round and there remains a huge gap in your understanding, be honest rather than trying to bluff your way through. BUT, rather than just saying 'I can't make any sense of X', see if you could do something like explain where the problem lies, e.g., 'I don't understand X because if it means Y then Z would follow whereas if it means B, C would follow and both Z and C don't fit with: experience, or what she says elsewhere, or the dictionary definition of X' and so on. Try to express what the problem is not just that you have a problem, then everyone is in a better position to help you out or they might even come round to your analysis of the situation and see that there is a problem with X that they hadn't seen.
Never be afraid of asking a naïve question, these are often the best way of getting a discussion underway. Being brave and doing this also helps others to feel that they can have an input into the discussion.
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