 The Wissenschaftslehre set the stage for the subsequent rise of Absolute Idealism, and its key commitments: the centrality of a productive faculty of mind, as well as an embrace of a rationalist methodology and a concomitant rejection of any type of dualism. In this respect, the project of Absolute Idealism owes much to Maimon, who himself had developed just these themes in his various works. But where Fichte — and Schelling and Hegel — stand as optimists about the prospects for this type of philosophical inquiry, Maimon remains much less sanguine about the ability of finite minds to reach a final ‘System’ of philosophy. It is perhaps testament to the force of Maimon’s skepticism that while the Systems of German Idealism have collapsed, the skeptical challenge Maimon poses for accounts of experience remains vital and forceful — if unduly neglected — today. Maimon, that is, anticipates key points of the contemporary debates about the nature of Givenness, and his skeptical position offers and interesting and novel perspective on discussions of the issue.