対立 and 矛盾: conflicting opinions and inconsistent content
Compare conflict over land use and talks to resolve it with a contradictory explanation and a question about wanting convenience and quiet.
Opinions and representatives in 対立
「土地の利用をめぐって二つの意見が対立した。」 (Two opinions were in conflict over the use of the land.) 対立 (たいりつ) means opposition or conflict. The two opinions were actually in conflict over land use. The focus is their relationship, rather than inconsistency within one explanation.
「長年の対立を解くため代表者が話し合った。」 (Representatives held talks to resolve the long-standing conflict.) Representatives held talks with the purpose of resolving the long-standing conflict. 解くため gives that purpose; the reported talks do not establish that the conflict was resolved.
An explanation and a compatibility question with 矛盾
「彼の説明には前後で矛盾がある。」 (There is a contradiction in his explanation.) 矛盾 (むじゅん) means contradiction. The explanation contains an inconsistency. That does not by itself prove that the speaker deliberately lied.
「便利さと静けさを同時に求めるのは矛盾だろうか。」 (Is it contradictory to want both convenience and quiet?) The sentence asks whether wanting both convenience and quiet is contradictory. Preserve the question in 矛盾だろうか rather than making a definite claim that the two wishes cannot coexist.
Read the relationship and the status of the claim
The 対立 examples concern a conflict between opinions and the conflict the representatives sought to resolve. The 矛盾 examples concern inconsistent content and a question about whether two wishes are compatible.
Separate talks intended to resolve a conflict from a completed resolution. The second 矛盾 example remains a question, leaving the compatibility of convenience and quiet open for consideration.
What is reported by talks to resolve 対立, and what is asked with 矛盾だろうか?
Show the answer and why
The first reports talks intended to resolve the conflict, without a completed resolution. The second asks whether the two wishes are contradictory, without a definite judgment that they are.