About Limina

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Limina is an open-access, peer-reviewed academic journal. Its fundamental purpose and most basic intent is to advance the study of unidentified aerospace phenomena to the next level of serious, rigorous, academic scholarship. Limina takes its name from the two ways of defining the adjective “liminal”, both of which we see as relevant and necessary for understanding the study of the multifaceted UAP phenomenon. The first definition of “liminal” is “a transitional or initial stage of a process”. In our case, this is the process of advancing the study of the UAP phenomenon in the direction of some future science that is capable of accounting for the phenomenon as a whole, to include its many anomalous layers (from the more physical to the more psychical). The second definition of “liminal” is “occupying a position at or both sides of a boundary or threshold”. In our case, this directly relates to what Limina will study: the UAP phenomenon as precisely one existing at the boundary or threshold of what is considered ordinary or normal, or what is considered an acceptable object of serious academic and/or scientific investigation. 

Despite the growing awareness as to the existence of UAP resulting from revelations by the military, government agencies, and legitimate mainstream media, and despite the increased discussions on social media platforms, currently there exists no serious academic journal devoted specifically to the multifaceted UAP phenomenon. Limina is meant to rectify this oversight.  As the world is now beginning to acknowledge the reality of UAP, the study of UAP is entering a new phase, wherein more scientists, other academic researchers, and major academic institutions are engaged in a serious effort to describe, understand, and explain UAP. Just as with the Journal of Consciousness Studies in its inception in the 90s, before there was any agreement as to what a science of consciousness was and ought to be, Limina will be multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, to include for example psychology and the social sciences, as well as the natural sciences and humanities.  Indeed, given the infant status of academic UAP studies, the journal will also entertain submissions on foundational and methodological questions pertaining to what a science investigating this kind of a phenomenon ought to look like, e.g., what phenomena reasonably counts as relevant under the UAP topic and crucial epistemological issues about what ought to count as legitimate evidence to reason about, such as certain kinds of first-person testimony. 

Here are just some examples of the kinds of questions and paper submissions the journal will entertain:

• Technical reports on the latest evidence for and observations of UAP. The idea is to have clear proposals about what the phenomena require and what is amenable to explanation, e.g., the recent reports of various navy pilots and other aviators.
• Submissions exploring, or suggesting proposals for, how UAP travel and move both in interstellar space and inside Earth’s atmosphere. Such submissions could include all areas of natural science such as classical and quantum physics, relevant areas of chemistry and material sciences, etc.
• Submissions speculating on how UAP might or might not suggest specific revisions to our current natural sciences or might bear on current open problems in science such as quantum gravity.
• Submissions on the psychological aspects of UAP, to include clinical, social, cognitive, and neurological aspects, e.g., an examination of the social, political, cultural or religious implications of generally convincing evidence for a non-human intelligence behind UAP observations.
• Submissions exploring the conceptual foundations of a science of UAP, e.g., those proposing what a science of UAP should be, both in terms of methodology and content.
• Submissions exploring the historical and sociological background of UAP, or those examining the issue in light of the history of science, e.g., an examination of UAP in the context of the history of scientific anomalies and revolutions.
• Submissions considering UAP from a more cultural or even anthropological standpoint, where the meaning of the phenomenon for human beings is more of the concern, rather than its specific objective reality.
• Book reviews on relevant and/or significant contemporary works will also be considered for inclusion in issues of Limina. Typically these will be solicited directly by the editors of Limina, but some unsolicited reviews will be considered.
• Finally, we will also entertain commentary on scholarly work already published here and elsewhere, and letters addressing contemporary yet relevant and timely issues of importance for the study of the UAP phenomenon. Both commentary and letters will be considered for publication at the sole discretion of the Editor-In-Chief and the Associate Editor.

Submissions accepted by Limina should fall into one of the following general categories of submission types. (Each type is outlined in more detail on our Submission Types page. Limina recommends that authors consult this page prior to submitting their papers.)

• Research Article
• Essay
• Analysis
• Review
• Phenomenology Report on UAP Incidents
• Perspective
• Correspondence or Letters to the Editor
• Conference or Meeting Reports
• Book Reviews