Abstract

The article analyzes the notions of marginality in socio-psychological and cultural dimensions. Today, two opposing epistemological tendencies have emerged: first, marginality is assessed positively as a synonym for the notion of creative renewal. The second tendency emphasizes the destructive role of marginality for the individual and society. Primarily, these tendencies are formed due to not quite correct approximation, and even identification of two meanings: “liminality” – “marginality”, on the one hand, and “lumpen” – “marginal”, on the other. Therefore, the scope of the concept of “marginal” is so wide, and often includes phenomena with the opposite social function, which causes many researchers to doubt its scientific significance. The intention of the article is philosophical reflection over cognitive attitudes, which has created modern understanding of marginality. The goal is to find semantic constant in equally important but opposite semantic vectors of this concept. The key concept of the meta-language in relation to the theme of marginality is concept’s prehension category, which makes possible to talk about specifics of convergent meanings, and to consider ontological prerequisites underlying their identification. Further, modern understanding of social marginality is analyzed in the context of its original meaning: “marginalia” as a note on page side. This helps to rethink the fundamental metaphor serving as the cognitive guide to the study of marginalization process. The author examines it in the context of P. Bourdieu’s theory of social fields, as well as the philosophy of the Other. The notion of the mythologeme “own/alien”, and “homo sacer” formula in solving the question of semantic constant of “marginality” suggests that marginality is related to the category of social norm, and the norm itself is apophatically determined by the phenomenon of marginality.