# contradiction Contradiction could be seen as an antagonistic violation of the [[law of identity]]. While the law of identity states that \\(A = A\\), i.e. a thing is always equal to itself, contradiction could mean a violation of the law of identity such that \\(A = A \land A \neq A\\). For [[Hegel]] and possibly [[Marx]], a contradiction is a key component of [[dialectic]], such that two contradictory ideas or forces sublate one another and are resolved into a new idea, such as the contradiction between being and nothingness, which is resolved in the idea of “becoming.” For [[Hegel]], a contradiction was merely the product of [[reason]].