Descartes and the rise of modern philosophy -- Background to Descartes' meditations -- Descartes' innovations in how philosophy is written -- Lead-in to the first meditation -- The first meditation -- The second meditation -- The third meditation -- The fourth meditation -- The fifth meditation -- The sixth meditation -- A a summary of Cartesian commitments -- Topical highlights from Descartes' correspondence -- Questions about descartes -- Transition to the remainder of the book -- Spinoza -- Overview of Spinozas' philosophy and life -- Ethics part I : on the nature of the universe -- Ethics part II : on the nature and origin of the mind -- Ethics part III : on the nature and origin of actions and passions -- Ethics part IV : on the burdens of human existence and the ways to overcome them -- Ehics part V : on the power of reason to liberate us to live blessedly -- Questions about Spinoza -- Locke -- An overview of Lockes' outlook in the essay -- Essay book I : Lockes' anti-innatist strategy -- Essay book II : perception as the basis for all thinking -- Test case one : thinking about power -- Test case two : thinking about substance -- Test case three : thinking about identity -- Essay book III : expressing thought in language -- Essay book IV : knowledge and opinion -- Questions about Locke -- Leibniz -- Background to Leibnizs' philosophy -- Overview of Leibnizs' philosophy -- How the discourse on metaphysics and the monadology are structured -- Understanding Leibnizs' metaphysics by way of his defense of contingency -- Understanding the debate about what things for Leibniz are substances -- Understanding the debate about Leibnizs' essentialism -- Understanding what it means for the world to be the best possible -- Understanding debates about relations among key Leibnizian theses -- Space and time as relations among phenomena -- Key elements of Leibnizs' epistemology -- Questions about Leibniz -- Berkeley -- Overview of approach to the principles -- Structure of the principles -