representational inquiry regarding meaning » value » the good (in itself) / the intrinsically valuable
Following the representational logic of the I-phase, the T-node symbol combines a cone pointing down (experiencer) with the color green (dynamic), indicating experiencer as dynamic.
When applied to the A-phase dealing with value, the logic of T gets interpreted according to actual, practical (self/world) engagement over time, with the past below, the future above, and the present stretched out before us. Since we understand who we are in terms of the possibilities we project for ourselves, the cones pointing down (T, S, and Y) get reinterpreted as cones opening up. Their apexes are in the present, and they're opening up to the possibilities we project for ourselves into the future. These are our "oughts." We ought to engage in our world in a certain way because we ought to be a certain way that we aren't already. That which allows us to become who we are—to become our own (a futural notion)—is valuable. Modes of engagement are valuable insofar as they help us realize our possibilities of becoming who we truly are. So the cones are not so much a being-thrown-under as they are in the J-node, or points of view as they are in the O-phase; here they are being-thrown-forth, pro-jecting possibilities.
The cone opening up thus means valuable, and together with the color green, the T-node symbol means valuable (for itself). In other words, the T-node symbol represents that which is good (in itself).
The letter T is used to represent this node primarily given the relation of its traditional numerical value (400) to the other A-phase nodes as arranged in a magic square. See letter A for an explanation.
The letter T originally meant mark. Perhaps this meant owner's mark, but we could also think of this mark as a point toward which we take aim, like a bullseye. This is a T as in telos—or end—toward which a movement is occurring. A movement is aimed at its completion, and this completion may not be a cessasion but a perfection of the movement—perfection in harmony, consistency, rhythm, and so on.
