Communicating freedom in the bifurcation point: Amanogawa (the Milky Way) as a metaphor for developing the three layers model of genesis

Abstract

To understand new facets of situated freedom, this study explores the socio-cultural process of ‘freedom’ in everyday situations from the trajectory equifinality approach (TEA) perspective. The concept is important for TEA, which describes aspects of ‘free’ choice as constructed through communication between self and society. This study elaborates on and enriches the argument of the situated freedom by considering the authors’ shared experience (bifurcation point; BFP) using the three layers model of genesis (TLMG). Consequently, we depict that freedom is not only located within a situation but also in semiotic communication. Situated freedom for the authors in BFP involves semiotic communication, including imagining the hyper-generalised affective semiotic field for others, represented by the flow of feelings ‘comfort for all’. Amanogawa (the Milky Way), an organic metaphor for the TLMG mountain range, extends this idea. This study demonstrates how freedom-related feelings experienced by the authors emerge in the communication of their socio-cultural context. The Amanogawa metaphor in the TLMG, which bridges the self and society, provides a richer illustration of the semiotic communication between systems in the BFP.