Episode 4: The Ohio River Octo-Man

We live in an age of Liminality. It's at the roots of the Meaning Crisis of Nihilism and Leftist value structures. Coming from the same Latin word as subliminal (*limin* meaning "threshold") it is a term that has entered the mainstream from its roots in Anthropology with the work of Victor Turner. Victor Turner developed the concept in his work The Ritual Process. In this episode we will be answering the question what is Liminality and we'll be exploring it and its two cousins Marginality and Inferiority and how this trifecta shape the value structure of all society in the interplay between their Communitas/Antistructure with the world of politics economics and law — of status, power and competition — (which Turner calls "Structure"). ____________________📚 Further Reading:- Szakolczai Á (2003) _The Genesis of Modernity_. London: Routledge.- Turner VW (1995) _The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure_. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.________________⭐ Support the channel (thank you!)▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy_________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/_________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Introduction2:10 The 3 Types of Antistructure5:59 Liminality10:27 Liminality: Beyond Ritual14:10 Marginality18:50 Inferiority22:17 Overlapping Groups

The book Crossing Thresholds explores liminality, the crossing of thresholds, and says that "liminal reality can offer people of faith and especially those in leadership positions a hermeneutical key and a pastoral method." But what is this liminal reality, how can it be both dangerous and a place for positive transformation, how does it relate  to the bounded set of church structures, and how can liminality transform the American church? Phil Wyman helps us explore these questions. Phil is former pastor of The Gathering in Salem, and he has years of experience in liminality with Witches, Pagans, festival-goers and others. Read more about Phil here. Support his Wales adventure through Patreon, and sign up for email updates at pkwyman@gmail.com. Take a look at Crossing Thresholds: A Practical Theology of Liminality by Timothy Carson, Rosy Fairhurst, Nigel Rooms, and Lisa R. Withrow.

In The Ritual Process the anthropologist who put Liminality on the map Victor Turner gave a list of contrasts between Liminality and Structure. There is an uncanny resemblance between these values and the values of Leftism. That is what we are going to explore in this episode which in the final episode in our exploration of Victor Turner's work in this field. ____________________📚 Further Reading:- Szakolczai Á (2003) _The Genesis of Modernity_. Routledge studies in social and political thought 36. London ; New York: Routledge.- Turner VW (1995) _The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure_. The Lewis Henry Morgan lectures 1966. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.________________⭐ Support the channel (thank you!)▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy_________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/________________🎼 Media Used:1.  Long Note Three  — Kevin MacLeod2.  Dreams Become Real  — Kevin MacLeod3. Evening Fall Harp — Kevin MacLeod4. Despair and Triumph — Kevin MacLeod5. Permafrost — Scott Buckley6. There’s Probably No Time — Chris Zabriskie7.  Ether Real - Density & Time — The Grey RoomSubscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusicSubscribe to Chris Zabriskie https://www.youtube.com/c/chriszabriskieSubscribe to The Grey Room https://www.youtube.com/@TheGreyRoomScott Buckley - https://www.scottbuckley.com.au_________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Introduction01:31 Liminality03:39 Leftism05:09 The Liminal Left - Economic/Political07:10 Authority and Liminality 10:07 The Cultural Left and Liminality13:39 Conclusion

Is Liminality the real root of the crisis of Nihilism? In this episode we are going to explore this question and whether Liminality is a better diagnosis of the Meaning Crisis than Nietzsche's Death of God. When looking at Turner's qualities of Liminality the relations between it and Nihilism are striking; if nothing else if provides us an alternative angle on the crisis — a different perspective from which to behold the quagmire we find ourselves in. What is particularly appealing about the Liminality-centred explanation is that it can explain Nihilism AND the value system of the Left from Marx to Social Justice — a theme we'll be exploring in a future video. ____________________📚 Further Reading:- Nietzsche FW and Kaufmann WA (1974) _The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs_. 1st ed. New York: Vintage Books.- Turner VW (1995) _The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure_. The Lewis Henry Morgan lectures 1966. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.________________⭐ Support the channel (thank you!)▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy_________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/________________🎼 Media Used:1.   Dreams Become Real  — Kevin MacLeod2.  Fresh Air — Kevin MacLeod3. Long Note Three — Kevin MacLeod4. Despair and Triumph  — Kevin MacLeod5. Lost Frontier  — Kevin MacLeod6. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeodSubscribe to Kevin MacLeod [https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic](https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic)_________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Introduction02:38 What is Liminality?05:36 Nihilism09:28 Liminality and Nihilism12:55 Progressivism and the Dangers of Liminality14:34 Curing the Meaning Crisis