Articulating 'Liminal Theory'

An in-depth explanation of what Liminal Theory is.

In the past, I’ve written and spoken at length about liminal spaces – about what they are, what they’re not, and why they capture the public consciousness. In the introduction to this Substack, I also proposed the idea of Liminal Theory. So, what am I speaking about when I talk about a Liminal Theory? Before I start, an important caveat. I’m still very much in the process of developing this idea – so it will not be fully legible or neatly articulated at this stage. In some ways, this is by design, as I’ll explain.

When I speak of a Liminal Theory, it’s important to first break down what the word ‘Liminal’ means, as it has a number of different definitions and meanings, particularly in current parlance. Liminal, as in a liminal space, refers to a space that is transitory, often a place that you pass through on the way to a destination. Think of a corridor on the way to a room, a rest stop on a trip along a highway or places along those lines. What makes these places noteworthy is this transitory, almost unsettling quality when spending any significant length of time in them. Liminality is the concept of a rite of passage or a transitory phase in terms of life. It is derived from the word limen, which means transition. It is this idea of liminality as being a transitory time period, a phase which is what I wish to explore in terms of a liminal theory.

We live in an age where there are increasingly fewer rites of passages, fewer clear phases of life. Boundaries are being blurred in many facets of our lives – consider, for instance, the blurring of our offline and online selves as our online lives and identities become more ubiquitous. In a similar vein, increasingly our work is becoming an inherent part of ourselves, and the line between our work and personal lives is becoming less clear. This has only intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent adoption of work from home en-masse in white-collar industries. What are the consequences of these boundaries being eroded and the once-clear demarcations of different aspects of our lives being merged into a singular totality? How does this affect us both at the individual and societal level? What are the implications for our institutions, systems and for the public commons? This is what the Liminal Theory Substack seeks to first explore and then provide perspective on. Essentially, I define Liminal Theory as the exploration of living in an age that seems perpetually stuck in transition, where we have clearly moved on from a previous world order and modes of living, yet do not appear to have any clear direction as to where things might go.

In my introductory piece, I mentioned that three topics I wanted to explore were systems, design and economics. These three topics are of particular interest from the Liminal Theory perspective, though I will also talk about other topics from time to time. I believe that much of the forementioned blurring of boundaries and subsequent issues are because of the increasingly complicated and opaque systems that make up the world we live in. Therefore, I’ll also devote part of this Substack to examining these systems, how they’re designed and why, and what the consequences of this are. As I mentioned before, this is an idea that’s still being developed and evolved, and will naturally change in scope over time.