Journal of Hikmat-e-Islami

Journal of Hikmat-e-Islami

Assessing the Claim that the Problem of the “Temporal Beginning of the World” is an Antinomy

Document Type : Original Article

Author
PhD Candidate in Comparative Philosophy, Shahid Motahari University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
According to Kant, the emergence of antinomies stems from the very nature of theoretical reason’s engagement with metaphysical questions and thus unavoidable. That is to say, theoretical reason naturally and inevitably carries such illusions within itself, and there is no possible resolution to them. Accordingly, if the arguments of both sides (or even one side) of an alleged antinomy can be refuted, this would mean that the intellect has resolved the contradiction, thereby proving that the claim of the inherent, natural, and unavoidable nature of this contradiction is mistaken. This article examines the first of Kant’s four antinomies, specifically, the first part of the first antinomy, namely, the question of the temporal beginning of the world. This would determine whether it is truly an antinomy in which both sides are equally well-founded. To refute the antinomic status of the problem, it suffices to show that one side lacks the necessary soundness. However, the present study’s examination of both sides reveals that neither argument possesses the required rigor; thus, no genuine “two-sided” standoff is established, and the problem cannot properly be regarded as an antinomy.
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Volume 12, Issue 46
Autumn 2025
Pages 111-124

  • Receive Date 23 February 2023
  • Revise Date 10 April 2023
  • Accept Date 30 April 2023