The Claim of Reason is one of the great philosophical books of the 20th century and has influenced an entire generation of philosophers. Unusually broad in scope, complex in its arguments, and distinctive in style, Stanley Cavell opens up new avenues to central epistemological, metaphysical, ethical, and aesthetic questions in his magnum opus. In particular, his reading of Wittgenstein and the way he utilizes it for a sophisticated reinterpretation of skepticism has lost none of its originality to this day. The power of skepticism, according to Cavell, cannot be overcome by the pursuit of ultimate truths, but only by the way we continually reclaim the world in a nearly romantic manner. A classic.