[SolitaryWalker]

This is no doubt a property of introversion. INPs, being the most internally focused, gravitate towards ontological idealism more than other types. Whilst INTP philosophers like Hegel and Spinoza equated logic with metaphysics, believing that every occurence obeys the pre-existing law of logic, INFPs would equate feeling with ultimate reality or metaphysics. INFPs tend to see the world as an environment where not a single action is devoid of personal meaning. For every occurence, in the world of an INFP, there is a personal reason. Thus, contrary to Albert Einstein saying that God does not play dice, as every event is bound by the laws of logic. For the INFP no event is bound by any law, but only by one's personal motives. Here we should allude to the Hegel/Kierkegaard discrepancy, as Kierkegaard argues that Hegel's equation of logic with ultimate reality makes it impossible for one to be a human being.


Unlike the INTP who seeks to understand principles of the real world, the INFP will be more than happy removing their grasp from the external world. Possibly even be content with finding harmony in the world they have created. So long, as of course they have found harmony of some kind. Such a retreat will advance the INFP further towards the position John Milton was in, where they would be longing for the perfect world that has no place in the external reality. Much like Jung noted about the Introverted Thinking type, that the more he retreats into his inner world, the more he rejects ideas that are oriented around empirical evidence. Therefore his thoughts become mythological because they have little grounding in the external world and because of this they will be unintelligible to others. The INTP’s logic may be impeccable, but the problems he solved flawlessly were mythological problems and therefore his solutions can not be accepted as solutions to the problems of the real world. Analogously, the INFP may have retained a high degree of integrity in the inner world, but may have made serious blunders in the external world due to a lack of awareness of the external situation. A poignant example of this would be an INFP who highly values sensitivity, as most tend to, misunderstanding the situation she/he is dealing with and attempting to be as sensitive as possible in accordance to the situation that they are dealing with. Yet, when they come out to deal with the external world, the other person may perceive them as insensitive, despite their earnest effort and sincerity. That is because the person that they tended to was not dealing with the situation that the INFP has envisaged. This is a consequence of an Introverted Judgment eclipsing the INFP’s Extroverted Intuition. Intuition is a perceiving faculty. A function that we collect information with. If this faculty is lacking, we will not be able to solve problems that befall us properly because we will not be aware of what the problems are. We should also note that the Extroverted Intuition of the INFP is often aimed inwards due to the primacy of an Introverted Function-Introverted Feeling. Fi-Introverted Feeling, bends the Extroverted Intuition inwards and therefore creates the effect germane to Introverted Intuition. This leads the INFP, unlike most perceiving types to merely collect information that is fitting with the goals set by Introverted Feeling, instead of collecting all information as their extroverted cousin ENFP would be more likely to. This also leads the INFP to be able to derive profound meaning from complex ideas much like the INFJs do with their Introverted Intuition. This phenomenon is best depicted in Dostoevsky’s Intuitive psychological insights in outstandings novels like Brothers Karamazov , The Idiot, and Notes from Underground. In those writings, it was clear that Dostoevsky discovered those notions not from careful analysis, or even examinations of Feelings, but rather purely intuitively. As he made connections that he did swiftly and projected them onto a variety of other entities, and his ability to do this with hardly any hesitation seems to suggest that this was not a conscious process for him. The INFPs also have this gift, they in fact may be better than the INFJ in deriving profound meaning in complex ideas. INFJ, as a dominant Introverted Intuiting type, is likely the most Intuitive type. However, one does not need as much Intuitive power in order to derive profound insights. INFJs often have more intuitions than they can consciously process. INFPs, on the other hand, are often able to consciously process-or apply feeling-oriented judgments to nearly all of their Intuitions. Their raw intuitions in themselves may not link them to direct insights as they would with the INFJs, but this certainly happens after they have applied Introverted Judgment to the contemplated idea.



Thus, despite the Intuitions lacking depth (Extroverted Intuition, and not Introverted, auxiliary and not primary), INFPs are able to derive more depth than the INFJs due to the profundity of their conscious assessment. (Introverted Feeling). Thus, whilst INFJs examine all of their Intuitions with a less than profound apparatus (Extroverted Feeling), INFPs examine only small portions of their Intuitions, but examine them thoroughly. So hence, we notice that Dostoevksy, an INFJ, had a variety of insights on a myriad of topics. Yet, as a critic of his work, one can argue that they were not as profound as the insights of Shakespeare and Kierkegaard, both of whom were INFPs. As Walter Kaufman once noted, it seems like moving from Kierkegaard to Dostoevsky is much like being blown out of a tiny room on a sailboat into a seemingly boundless ocean. This is a striking picture of the discrepancy between a Judging function and an Intuitive, and INPs who have made a conscious effort to cultivate their auxiliary Extroverted Intuition could likely attest to having experiences that they’d depict as such. It almost seems like Dostoevsky’s work was concocted to the strict end of ridiculing Kierkegaard’s. Such a remark of course seems to miss the notion that the works of Kierkegaard and Shakespeare emphasized the few explored topics in great depth. Whilst Dostoevsky’s work, asides from several profound insights, seemed to have lacked focus and profundity by comparison. As we notice that Kierkegaard was intensely focused on the phenomenon of becoming and living a Christian, yet Dostoevsky did not have one clear-cut theme to underlie all of his thought experiments, they seemed to be scattered through a myriad of subjects. It appeared to be the case that whilst Kierkegaard had a clearly defined internal focus, Dostoevsky was aimlessly exploring ideas, only hoping to be able to show that they at least tangentially relate to one another.


Much like the INTPs, INFPs are drawn to complexities, as this factor tends to be common and prominent among Introverted-Intuitive types. INFPs tend to be highly proficient decision-makers in the realm of the human element. This does not merely address the province of interpersonal relationships, but also the field of arts and literature. Literature especially tends to be an area where INFPs tend to excel. In this respect it is analogous to science and philosophy for INTPs, as the most influential literary artists and poets were INFPs. Homer, Shakespeare, Virgil, and Kierkegaard are cases in point. The companionship of Extroverted Intuition with Introverted Feeling makes the INFP gravitate towards experiences that require improvisation. We know that Extroverted Perceiving functions tend to be adept at image manipulation. For this reason, NPs, especially ENPs tend to be the most competent persona builders. An example of this would be Soren Kierkegaard's active use of pseudonyms in expression of his ideas. Though unlike an ENP, he maintained a clear focus on the inner being of his characters and the purpose he pursued in his writings. It often seemed like the essence that underlied such characters was the same, though utilized differently for the sake of different purpose. Whilst an ENP may have tried to be a different person altogether, had they carried out a task germane to Kierkegaard's, yet Kierkegaard was able to see the distinction between persona and essence of the individual and used personas as means to the end of expressing the essence of one individual that he had in mind. INFPs, are able to understand the subjective thought processes (feelings) of others due to their Fi factor of empathy. Extroverted Intuition accommodates in this regard as it allows for them to see the situation clearly from the perspective of another person. As Bertrand Russell once made a remark that bears a semblance on how an INTP’s mind shall see the world in the best case scenario.

‘The free intellect will see as God might see, without here and now, without hopes and fears, without the trammels of customary beliefs and traditional prejudices, calmly, dispassionately, in the sole and exclusive desire of knowledge—knowledge as impersonal, as purely contemplative, as it is possible for man to attain.’



One could say that since INFPs first need to harmonize before they could understand, their understanding is undermined. As their feelings would cloud their judgments. Yet, this is not true as understanding follows as an entailment of harmonizing. Much like Milton harmonized himself with Satan, therefore pacified his passions by coming to terms or harmony with them, and at that point nothing prevented him from gaining as accurate of an understanding into the characters of individuals his inquiry embarked on. Thus, what we have here is the Ti attaining a profound impersonal understanding of phenomena it embarks on and Ne provides the ‘tower view’. The Fi-Ne axis works in a similar way. If the INTP strives to concoct a mathematical equation that maps out the ebb and flow of the entire world, the INFP does the same to understand the true essence of human nature and all of our motivations. INFPs are often able to discern the smallest aspects of the human element and understand them thoroughly, as well as INTPs are often able to understand the smallest aspects of complex, impersonal theories. Accordingly, INFPs tend to construct a worldview based on their personal values through careful thought as analogously to how INTPs tend to construct their world-view based on dispassionate reasoning. Thus, the INTP may have a view of the impersonal laws of nature in a fashion much akin to how God may see them, the INFP would have the same relationship to the person-centered situations. Attaining a profound understanding of the inner motives of individuals and human nature by and large, as well as avoiding being ‘stuck in a rut’ and hence having the ability to have a view that is as extensive as it is profound. Though we should take note that because of the INTP’s objective approach to ideas, they wish to understand the world no matter what. However, an INFP must first attain harmony with the external environment in order to attempt to understand it. For this reason, the INFP often tends to focus more on the people and atmospheres that they are most closely in tune with.


This is especially pertinent to the people they tend to deal with, as they invest most of their energy in those they have bonded close with and seek to attain as much understanding of them as possible. They tend to devote little energy to those that they have not reconciled to on as profound of a level. Needless to say that INFPs, due to their person-centered approach to life find it most important to come to a point of emotional reconciliation with others before they could go further. This is analogous to the INTP attaining as objective and impartial of an attitude as possible before further inquiry takes place. In regards to John Milton’s quest for paradise, it should be noted that it was more than a mere attempt to harmonize. It does well to symbolize the search for a higher purpose on behalf of the Introverted Judgers. Such a quest is pertinent in the mindset of an INFP. The search for paradise represents the highest possible person-centered (Feeling) objective one can attain, which shall keep the INFP centered. The notion ‘higher’ implies one that does not relate to goals of this world (Extroverted Judgment) but goals that are to be set internally and transcend this world through one’s inner consciousness. In Spinoza’s philosophy we find a rather portentous doctrine of Intellectual Love of God. God, for Spinoza, is equated with the infinite essence, so we need not assume anthropomorphic entailments to this term. What he means by the term of intellectual love of God is attunement with the highest possible and infinite essence through depth of thought, or the intellect. This shall transform us from within and the vision of this higher purpose will be a perennial guiding light. Similar mindset tends to befall INFPs as well. Unlike through the depth of Thought do they wish to attain authenticity, but rather through the depth of Feeling. Schopenhauer’s philosophy can vouch for the notion of salvation through depth of Feeling.



He thought that through intense contemplation of art, our egocentric nature shall surrender to the power of compassion and we escape the perennial state of strife that we are embedded in because our minds will be mollified. Inner peace is central to the agenda of an Introverted Judging mindset, and follows as an entailment of acquisition of a higher purpose. We should note that the Introverted Judging mindset is highly individualistic and therefore entails propensities towards self-absorption. A discovery of a higher purpose is the only sound panacea for this problem. INFPs are more likely to succumb to the problem of self-absorption than INTPs because, the former, being detached tend to have their conscious self play a smaller role in their inner world. INFPs, on the other hand can hardly imagine having a flight of fantasy without including themselves in it. INPs have natural tendencies towards the pursuit of a higher purpose. However, they should ensure that they truly have found something greater than themselves, as otherwise they would be mistaken mere self-apotheosis for the higher purpose they seem to have envisaged. If a higher purpose has indeed been found, the INFP will likely devote all of their energy towards being in closer affinity with their vision and likely castigating themselves in dire pangs of conscience in the event of a slight failure.


“So I muddied in the stream of friendship with the filth of lewdness and clouded its clear waters with hell’s black river of lust. And yet, despite such putrid depravity, I was in vain enough to harbor an ambition to succeed in the world. I also fell in love, which was a trap of my own making. My God, God of mercy, how good you were to me, for you mixed much bitterness in that cup of pleasure. My love was returned, and I became chained in the shackles of its consummation. Even in the midst of my joys I was embroiled in tribulation, lashed by the cruel rods of jealousy, suspicion, fear, anger and bitter argument ” St.Augustine


As the last word on the interplay of Introverted Feeling and Extroverted Intuition, the following should be noted in regards to the latter.
Extroverted Intuition is a perceiving function, as aforementioned. Jung seems to have inherited Hegel’s master-slave dialect. Whereas, we notice in our typology that when we have not developed our lesser functions, they merely act as serfs of our dominant functions. Accordingly, an INFP who has not developed the Extroverted Intuition will merely collect information and make Intuitive connections for the sake of satisfying the agenda set by Introverted Feeling. Unlike the INTP who tends to take an impersonal approach to the circumstances and therefore retain objectivity, stands a greater chance of avoiding one-sidedness than the INFP. The INTP could be persuaded through logically rigorous argument, yet the INFP can only be persuaded through the Feeling-oriented aspect. As mentioned before, this is more difficult than in the case of the INTP, as the former’s agenda tends to be easier to understand because it is objective. For this reason, the INTP may be able to avoid being one-sided by obtaining, a theoretical, objective understanding of the idea that has been presented to them. The INFP may be frozen in only their own perspective. This ossification in their prejudices also precludes them from furthering their quest for a higher purpose, as in that case their Intuition, on which they rely for exploration of ideas becomes unavailable. And moreover, their longing for affirmation of their value systems will preclude them from entertaining new ideas for the purposes of emendation of their current value system. In such cases of neurosis, the INFP will not be able to surrender their current value system, even if it be pernicious because their intense sensitivity will compel them to equate rejection of their values with a denigration of their character. Moreover, they likely will be unreceptive to whatever information contraposes with their Feelings, and therefore exhibit unusual truculence towards all notions that they disagree with. As then, not only must the idea that they embrace derive from the inside, as is the case for the Introverted Thinker, but also it must be in tune with their personal sensibilities. This often leads to INFP becoming very dogmatic in their opinions. However this could be rectified if the presenter makes it clear that they do not wish to contravene the Feelings of the INFP, and despite the disagreement, very much supports the INFP’s value system. This, furthermore outlines the notion that the INFP can only be persuaded through attunement with the Feeling element, as analogously to how an INTP must be persuaded through attunement with the Thinking element. I.E, logically sound argument. The problem that both of these types incur in regards to diminution of Extroverted Intuition, is that they will tend to make decisions before they have managed to collect sufficient information. And as before mentioned, will not be able to collect information with a truly open-mind as their thoughts are influenced almost solely by the Introverted Feeling to which Extroverted Intuition is a servile lackey. Development of Extroverted Intuition liquidates the dilemma of potential one-sidedness as the auxiliary function becomes emancipated from the serfdom of the superior. Intuition, by property of itself, processes ideas. Thus, in such an event, the INFP will not be afflicted with the malady of collecting only information that is desired by the Introverted Judgment. INPs, as aforementioned tend to explore subjects in great depth with intense focus, whilst the Intuition oriented thinkers (hence, the Dostoevsky example), explore more ideas, yet with less of an intense of a focus. Extroverted Intuition is the most extensive function of all. An INP who has mastered Extroverted Intuition will be able to concoct a worldview that is almost as broad as it is deep. Aristotle and Shakespeare the case in point. Ivory tower academics are examples of INTPs who have not accomplished this task, and Kierkegaard to whose work we can refer to as being stuck in a dimly lit room, is an example of an INFP who has not accomplished the task.