3. Third Lecture: Nodes In Time
I must say, this is a truly accessible lecture that I wrote many years ago, at a time when I had far less insight. While the mechanics I explain and the theoretical perspective represented here remain fundamentally valid, this lecture serves primarily as a precursor to moral philosophy. It outlines the landscape, highlighting default turning points and their gravity, but it delves too little into the personal involvement and responsibility inherent in actions. Nevertheless, it is crucial to understand the significance of “nodes”—those moments where the structure of reality can be shattered and rebuilt from chaotic nihilo. Grasping these mechanics provides a solid foundation for more advanced discussions, such as those in my later lectures on Betrayal Trauma and Creative Order.
This lecture explores the fundamental ways people experience reality and examines pivotal events — referred to as "nodes" in time —that alter the trajectory of causality. The purpose of this lecture is to challenge the conventional way of experiencing life, serving as another step in our ongoing project to move beyond the everyday logic of living. First, we will consider the conventional understanding of chains of purpose, followed by an exploration of events that disrupt this chain.
Previously, we discussed Heidegger's distinction between things as ready-to-hand and present-at-hand ("Zuhanden" and "Vorhanden"). To illustrate, consider how a smartphone is typically used as a means to browse the internet without much thought given to its objective material or technological features. In this context, the smartphone is "ready-to-hand" (Zuhanden), seamlessly integrated into a purposeful activity. However, the situation becomes far more complex — psychologically and existentially — when viewed within a broader context of interconnected events and larger purposes.
For instance, imagine a young person taking a driving test shortly after reaching the legal age to drive. Each test question becomes a potential obstacle, particularly if the individual is not confident enough to dominate the test with ease. Failing means being unable to drive independently for the entire summer, as the next opportunity to take the test might be months away. Suppose the individual answers all but three questions confidently and feels significant doubt about the remaining ones. If only one or two mistakes are permissible, the stakes are high. Now imagine that the individual has the opportunity to send a text message to a friend outside the test room who can provide the answers to those uncertain questions. Let us step out of this scenario and analyze it through philosophical, psychoanalytical, and biological lenses.
Heideggerian view
From a Heideggerian perspective, the phone becomes "ready-to-hand" — an essential tool to connect with the friend. As long as it functions as intended, the phone’s technical characteristics as a device (its "present-at-hand" or Vorhanden status) fade into irrelevance. Similarly, the correct answers provided by the friend are reduced to a means to an end. The symbolic meaning of the questions and their reference to real-world traffic situations is stripped away in this process. The pen used to mark answers and the test paper itself become mere tools to complete the task. Submitting the test represents another step in a chain of means-to-an-end relationships, culminating in obtaining a driving license — a physical object imbued with broader symbolic significance, namely, personal freedom.
In this process, each tool or entity morphs into a "means to an end." As Dasein, the individual perceives these tools as "ready-to-hand," and this also extends to the friend replying with the answers. For the individual, acquiring the freedom associated with a driving license becomes a step toward a fuller mode of existence. Passing the test becomes an act of "care" (Sorge), central to Dasein's fundamental structure of relating to the world. Furthermore, the concept of "being-towards-death" (Sein-zum-Tode) becomes relevant here. Dasein's awareness of its finitude — the inevitability of death — underpins its actions. Preparing for the test, passing it, and attaining the freedom that the license represents are ways for Dasein to imbue its finite existence with meaning and purpose. In this moment, the test is not merely about a single summer; it symbolizes the entire youth and, potentially, the individual's life as a whole.
Psychoanalytical Perspective
From a psychoanalytical perspective, the process reveals similar dynamics. Lacan might argue that the smartphone functions as a mediator, facilitating the subject's pursuit of a goal. In Žižekian terms, it could be described as a "vanishing mediator," an intermediary whose importance disappears once its role in the process is fulfilled. Psychologically, the friend providing answers also becomes a mediator—a tool through which the individual strives toward the goal while simultaneously creating a buffer between themselves and the potential failure of the test. This mediation reduces the immediacy of the experience and lessens the emotional weight of the possible outcome.
The entire process of obtaining a driving license can be viewed as a chain of signifiers. Each step — the questions, the test, the license— contributes to shaping the individual's sense of self and their relationship to the world. In Lacanian terms, the "Master-Signifier" governing this process is "freedom," embodied in the successful completion of the test and the acquisition of the license. As the ultimate point of reference, "freedom" organizes meaning and authority within the individual's subjective experience. It shapes not only their self-perception but also their broader engagement with the world.
From a psychoanalytical standpoint, "freedom" as a Master-Signifier becomes an object elevated to the status of a Thing—an idealized object of desire that structures the individual's motivations and subjectivity. In Žižek's framework, "freedom" could also be seen as a persistent, invisible reminder of unachieved goals, unfulfilled desires, and unresolved questions about self-worth. This "Thing," though not immediately tangible, underscores the limitations of the individual's current reality and subtly influences their worldview—at least for the foreseeable future. At this moment, it becomes symbolic of vanishing youth and the fleeting essence of life itself.
Biological approach
Shifting to the biological and anthropological sphere, we can examine the evolutionary origins of these operational mechanisms. Our ancestors, much like modern humans, perceived their environment as consisting of tools to achieve ends and obstacles to overcome. Anthropologist and evolutionary biologist Lynne Isbell provides valuable insights into these dynamics through her studies of capuchin monkeys.
Imagine a capuchin monkey under a tree, confronted by three venomous snakes—such as pit vipers—approaching it. This scenario mirrors the earlier test example: the snakes represent obstacles blocking the monkey's "freedom," just as unanswered test questions obstruct the individual's progress. The monkey calls for help, exemplifying the species' known prosocial behavior, where individuals perform actions benefiting others without immediate personal gain. A plausible scenario might involve a fellow monkey on a branch throwing a stick to assist the endangered individual.
In this situation, the monkey perceives the stick as a tool, a "ready-to-hand" object in Heideggerian terms, instrumental in resolving the immediate threat. The monkey has developed a cognitive understanding of the snake's behavior, allowing it to predict movements and identify vulnerabilities, such as targeting the snake's head for a fatal blow. By wielding the stick to incapacitate the snakes, the monkey opens a path to safety, allowing it to climb the tree and achieve freedom.
At this moment, the monkey is not concerned with the stick's material properties or objective composition. Instead, it views the stick purely as a means to an end—a way to overcome obstacles and restore safety, joy, and freedom. The parallels with human behavior are striking: both the monkey and the individual taking the test experience the world through tools, threats, and a higher purpose that provides existential meaning.
Understanding Nodes in Life
What can we conclude from this discussion? As primates, we are biologically and cognitively predisposed to experience reality by perceiving things as means to an end or as obstacles to overcome. Philosophically, this perspective aligns with how most people operate in the world, forming the basis of what we may call "everyday existence." According to our model, individuals construct a "true self" as subjectivity (S1) and take action to fulfill their needs. While one might say, "that is what life is," this statement, though valid from an evolutionary standpoint, overlooks deeper dimensions of existence. Life is not merely about satisfying needs or achieving goals—it is also punctuated by moments that break through the ordinary flow of existence. These moments, or "nodes," lead us to profound insights.
Certain events possess a significance so disruptive that they shatter conventional belief structures, allowing Dasein to confront its potential for authenticity. In Lacanian psychoanalysis, these events can be understood as encounters with the Real. Such encounters strip away the symbolic order and confront the individual with the raw, evolutionary truth of existence at the level of primordial subjectivity (S0). These events often destroy the constructed image of the self (S1), revealing it to be an illusion. As Hegel’s metaphor suggests, "the owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk"—it is only retrospectively that such events can be seen as transformative milestones in the development of consciousness.
From an evolutionary and developmental perspective, the meaning lies not in the metaphorical snake we kill but in the snake that bites us. It is these painful encounters with reality that impart the core of evolutionary truth: survival and growth require breaking free from conventional chains of meaning. Nietzsche aptly observed, "Minds that are prevented from changing their opinions cease to be minds." True transformation occurs only when we confront the profound ruptures in life — these nodes — that challenge our deepest assumptions and illusions. To illustrate this abstract concept, let us return to our earlier test-room scenario.
Imagine that our young, freedom-seeking individual successfully completes the test with "a little help from a friend." This sequence fits neatly into the conventional understanding of life: a chain of actions leading to a desired outcome. However, this version of events does not represent life in its truest, evolutionary sense. Now let us examine a hypothetical sequence that reveals the Real and creates a genuine node.
Our individual is called to receive the test results and learns that they scored perfectly. This news generates pure elation, as the freedom of driving into the sunset seems within reach. However, the individual is then informed that external assistance was detected, the results have been nullified, and cheating on a driver's license test in this jurisdiction is considered a criminal offense (for the sake of this analysis, let us assume this far-fetched hypothesis). Security personnel confiscate the phone, instruct the individual to sit down, and, at that moment, the individual encounters reality in its harshest form. This is the experience of a life-altering node.
What Happens Within the Node
At this node, the individual's primordial subjectivity (S0) witnesses the constructed "true self" (S1) disintegrate. The idealized self-image—of being a successful, intelligent, and ambitious young person—bursts into flames, leaving behind nothing but anxiety and disorientation. The realization dawns that this carefully cultivated image was an illusion. Thoughts of self-worth are replaced by fears of being branded a "stupid criminal." This existential rupture does not stop at the present; it reverberates both backward and forward in time.
The explosion of the self-image radiates into the future. The individual imagines the disapproval of their father, with hopes of a new convertible car evaporating. The prospect of maintaining a position as a straight-A student, potentially graduating magna cum laude, is replaced by the looming fear of expulsion from university. Career ambitions once taken for granted now seem constrained by the stigma of a criminal record. The individual's past is also rewritten, as every prior success and achievement is overshadowed by the weight of this single failure.
Reconceptualizing the Past Through Nodes
When faced with a life-altering node, one must reconceptualize the past. The fantasy of life as an upward and forward progression begins to feel absurd, as the imagined trajectory plunges vertically downward. One realizes that the years spent accumulating knowledge and experiencing what seemed like personal growth were lived within an illusory matrix — detached from the raw truth of existence. This "dreamworld" operated under the false premise that life offers endless chances, akin to a video game, where one can execute reality-defying stunts and escape unscathed. But now, the dream has ended. The past is reframed as a sequence of small illusions culminating in a catastrophic failure that shattered the dreamworld upon collision with real life.
In Lacanian and Žižekian terms, this represents a moderate encounter with the Real. It disrupts the meaning of the Master-Signifier and enables the evolution of consciousness. Heidegger would interpret this as an opportunity for Dasein to become more authentic, while Hegel might frame it as a confrontation with the "Night of the World," a moment of radical negation that allows one to take steps toward the Absolute. This process illustrates the dialectical movement of development: through the negation of the negation, one redefines ideals and advances consciousness.
Nodes as Encounters with Evolutionary Truth
Nodes are moments of profound confrontation with Evolutionary truth. These experiences pierce through the symbolic order, touching the raw, primordial subjectivity (S0). For example, sitting in that chair, caught cheating on a test, and facing the prospect of criminal punishment, one may encounter such a node. Closing one's eyes, one might feel as though sinking into "the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10). In this way, the concept of "hell on earth" is redefined — not as an external punishment but as the internal reality of self-deception, cheating, and living in an illusion. This moment is justice manifest, and the phone becomes a symbol of one's moral reckoning.
At this node, everything changes. Every action takes on a new meaning. This minor node may hold immense future value. It might reshape one's approach to reality, teaching one to see life as a series of opportunities laden with meaning. Each event becomes a chance to connect the past, present, and future, altering one's trajectory. Such a realization might profoundly impact one's children, teaching the value of honesty and integrity. The lessons learned could prevent a child from taking a path toward destruction, such as becoming a drug dealer in an alternate reality.
The Role of Auto-Pilot and Reflection
From a psychological perspective, much of our behavior operates on "auto-pilot." This mode of being—experiencing reality without constant reflection—is not a flaw but a necessity, enabling practical and efficient engagement with the world. However, it becomes problematic when one allows long chains of signifiers to unconsciously dictate life, losing the ability to reflect on the meaning of one’s actions.
Heidegger describes this pre-reflective state as natural for Dasein. In the state of "absorption" or "lostness" (Verlorenheit), Dasein is fully immersed in activity, focused on tasks without conscious awareness of its existence or subjectivity. It is only when an unexpected event — a node — occurs that Dasein is jolted out of this state, compelled to confront its being and the world in a new way.
Žižek similarly emphasizes how unconscious beliefs and assumptions shape our understanding of reality and guide our actions. These assumptions are often rooted in symbolic chains disconnected from the realities they claim to represent. To break free from this unconscious cycle, one must "wake up" from the everydayness of life and adopt a more phenomenological approach. This means questioning one’s behavior and existence, reflecting on the foundations of understanding, and striving to experience life through the lens of primordial subjectivity (S0).
The Potential of Nodes in Every Moment
Every aspect of life, every singular event, holds the potential to be a node. This knowledge should never be dismissed. Life is not what we wish it to be, just as we are not the "true selves" we imagine. Instead, one should appreciate each node, reflecting on its significance while it remains possible. As we age, our connections to those we might influence grow weaker, and opportunities may drift too far apart in time and space. The time to reflect and act is now, while the threads of connection are still within reach.
