What Is A Symbolic Boundary?

Symbolic boundaries might appear to be merely metaphorical. They aren’t real boundaries. We only treat them as boundaries. 

Presumably, what is meant here by a “real boundary” is a fence, wall, or other artificial or natural obstacle that prevents us from moving from where we are to the far side of the boundary. 

If there’s no physical obstruction, there is no real boundary. That seems a fundamentally materialist position. Human life doesn’t take place in a world of pure matter, but in a world of material objects and other persons who are construed in various ways. Even physical objects are what they are in social life because of the general construal that they are such. 

Many of our boundaries are not such physical boundaries. There is no physical barrier between my property and my neighbor’s. There is typically no wall or fence between a sexual predator and the child on whom he preys. Many holy places are surrounded by walls and monumental doors, guarded by burly priests; but not all. Yet even the unguarded holy spaces are “bounded.” 

Social, symbolic boundaries have inherent moral weight. I treat my neighbor’s invisible property line as a boundary I ought not cross without his permission. I can, very easily, but I ought not. I could even break into his house; the windows look pretty flimsy; but I don’t because I ought not violate the symbolic boundary of private property – which is indeed a violation.

How do symbolic boundaries get set up and how are they maintained? My house is my neighbor’s house; it is, but it is such because he bought the house and acquired a legal deed. Anyone who does not regard his house as his is attacking reality – though it is socially constructed. Social life is constituted by boundaries that we treat-as. It remains his house only so long as he, the law, his neighbors, and society in general treat it as such.

What we treat as a boundary, what we together treat as a boundary, is a boundary, as real as the law, as real as religion.

If we stop treating invisible symbolic boundaries as real boundaries, we are in for it. Property, persons, everything is there for the taking. If we fail to acknowledge the symbolic boundaries as real, we will only be safe behind very high, very thick physical boundaries. Which is to say, unless we observe symbolic boundaries, we have no society at all, only a landscape of forts, a war of all against all.