The Antinomies of Reason in José Gaos’ Doctrine

Abstract

José Gaos manifests an antinomic character in his doctrine, perhaps as an inheritance of Kantian thought, which can be found in his two main works: On Philosophy and On Man. For Gaos, reason is constitutively antinomic. Rational antinomies are those that, bounded by a mutual contradiction, cannot be solved through reasons, but through non-rational pathways derived from emotional motives. In this paper, I offer an enumeration and critical assessment of the speculative antinomies of Gaos’ doctrine, which can be found within the scope of his phenomenological method. I put forward the idea that Gaos’ antinomic thought is, in the end, a deep metaphysical longing, restrained by his methodological requirements.