An argument that what is usually dismissed as the "mystical shell" of Hegel's thought--the concept of absolute knowledge--is actually its most "rational kernel." This book sets out from a counterintuitive premise: the "mystical shell" of Hegel's system proves to be its most "rational kernel." Hegel's radicalism is located precisely at the point where his thought seems to regress most. Most current readings try to update Hegel's thought by...