s philosophical insight and breadth offered me a rare combination of freedom and incisive criticism that was indispensable to the writing of this book from its inception to its last page. Our conversations are the origin of the work on aesthetics and on the philosophy of history which continues to grow from it. My debt to Allen Wood would have been huge even if he had not been my advisor. The influence of his work is patent everywhere in this book, in the very possibility of formulating its end and in its details. I had the benefit of learning an immense amount from him in person, in seminars on Hegel's Philosophy of Right and on Kant's practical philosophy and, most importantly, from his exacting scrutiny of every part of the book. My indebtedness to Stanley Cavell's work is clearly evident in the founding ideas of the book. It was from his inspiring thought on skepticism,