Philosophy 342: Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Philosophy explores the ideas and arguments developed by a group of very influential Western thinkers in the Modern Era. The course focuses on the metaphysical and epistemological views of figures including Rene Descartes, John Locke, Baruch Spinoza and Immanuel Kant. Metaphysical questions concern the nature of reality. What is real? How can we tell the difference between reality and illusion?