The concept of antinomy: terminological boundaries and theological aspects

Abstract

Since Kant's critical philosophy, the concept of antinomy has been firmly established in philosophy. Currently, it is actively used in logic, cultural studies, theology, psychology, sociology, pedagogy, linguistics and other sciences. The article considers examples of unjustified expansion and limitation of the subject area of antinomy. A clear definition of the scope of this concept requires the establishment of its essential features. The essence of antinomy is revealed on the basis of the works priest Pavel Florensky, which give the most radical and at the same time logically complete answer about antinomy and its meaning. According to Florensky, truth is antinomy, Church dogma is necessarily antinomic, otherwise it becomes either a scientific position or a heresy. Antinomy involves maintaining a balance between its thesis and its antithesis. In this way, antinomy can be clearly distinguished from the related concepts of aporia, absurd, nonsense, paralogism, sophism and paradox. The main attention is paid to the comparison of antinomy and paradox as two contradictions, that differ on the basis of intentionality as, respectively, fundamentally unsolvable and fundamentally solvable by the methods of formal logic. The paper emphasizes the importance of strict antinomy, excluding parascientific construction with the antinomies.