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[ENFJ] ENFJ personality type descritpion

SolitaryWalker

Tenured roisterer
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
3,504
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
so/sx
ENFJ Profile.

Disclaimer: The essay below strives to depict only the unconscious predilections of the Extroverted Feeler and not the personalities which are often associated with this type. As I have argued in my Introductory essay to typology, such notions are unwarranted and irrelevant to the essence of type.

Definitions.

Extroversion: The attitude of defining the self by an external agenda, the external focus of this faculty tends to deem interaction with the external world more important than contemplation.
Introversion: Defining the external environment by internal agenda and internal predilections. The internal focus of this faculty tends to deem contemplation more important than interaction with the external world.
Feeling: Decision making faculty on the basis of personal values.
Thinking: Decision making faculty on the basis of logic and impersonal analysis.
Judgment: Conscious assessment of perceived information. Judgments could be made either through an appeal to impersonal analysis or through an appeal to subjective sentiments and personal values.
Perception: Unconscious collection of information. Perception is necessarily unconscious, an example of this matter can be our most simple sensation of hearing, seeing and touching. Or our imagining of a story being told to us. Our mind inevitably and unconsciously collects information when it is forced to interact with the external world, which it always is. As it is impossible to avoid hearing, smelling or touching as it is equally impossible to avoid attempting to imagine ideas that have been presented to us by others.

I.Extroverted Feeling
What we know about the Extroverted Feeling type is that it is a radically Extroverted Type. This is the case because the dominant function is aimed outwards and it is a judging faculty. The judging aspect of the function intensifies the external focus further. Moreover, we notice that Feeling, unlike thinking is defined by the human element as opposed to the impersonal analysis. Whilst an Extroverted Thinker may easily work on his own endeavor to utilize the external agenda to the end of defining his being, the Extroverted Feeler can only manipulate external personal values. Before we go further with this example we should explain what Extroverted Judgment is and how it functions. As we have before stated, Extroversion is the attitude of defining the self based on the external standard. Thus the Judgment of the extrovert is defined by the external standard. In order for us to investigate Extroverted Feeling, it would be prudent to inquire into Extroverted Thinking first, as it is easier to provide an intellectual account of Thinking than Feeling because the Thinking is more objective in the vernacular sense of the word. Or quite simply, the decisions Thinking will make will be based on logical reasoning which could be externally observed, yet the decision of a Feeler will be based on private, subjective sentiments of the person making the decision. Such a process is not as easily observed.


Hence, an Extroverted Thinker will learn logic from a textbook and accept the problem-solving methodologies that he has learned by default, as he will also accept by default the procedures of handling the external world. This is the case because the deciding factor for the Extrovert is contingent upon the external environment. Thus, the decree of the outer world holds primacy over the internal judgment. Hence, for the Extroverted Thinker, the problem is well solved if there is evidence in the external world to confirm this. It could be the textbook example of how a problem is to be solved which lines up with how the Extroverted Thinker has solved it on paper. It could be the opinion of an expert, or it could be the empirical evidence for the solution of the problem the Extroverted Thinker has had in mind. Yet, unless there is an external factor to confirm the thoughts of the Thinker in question, this type will not see any reason to have confidence in the soundness of his work. One may impugn the integrity of such a thought process and assert that such a Thinker lacks autonomy of mind, that he is tied down to the dictates of external protocol like a dog to a chain, as if he does not have thoughts of his own. Such a claim would be altogether false and profoundly depreciatory. The Extroverted Thinker derives the method of problem solving from the outside, yet he is just as much entitled to his private thoughts as the Introverted Thinker. Again, to emphasize further, the Extroverted Thinker will learn logic and procedures of handling the external world from the textbook, but after he has done so, he is free to use the methodology he has acquired to explore any thought he deems desirable to explore. However, because the deciding factor is external for all extroverts, the Extroverted Thinker cannot have confidence in his own reasoning, however sound it may be in itself unless there is a factor outside of him that may confirm his thoughts. Hence, the thoughts in themselves are autonomous, yet the final conclusion is outside of the province of such a thinker, as this requires an appeal to external circumstances. Despite that the Extroverted Thinker is able to freely explore all ideas, whatever is out of tune with the external standard of soundness. However, the essence of Extroversion insists on conformity of one’s inner thoughts to the external essence. In the cases of extreme neurosis, the Extrovert will have his thoughts match entirely with the external object he observes. However, this is not at all to demean the extrovert, as in the case of the introvert something nearly as sinister shall take place. In the case of the said introvert, all of one’s thoughts shall be equated with the introvert’s ego, or his thought experiments will be made to conform to every whim of his.


However, the point to be made in this case is that the Extrovert’s thinking has a distinctly expressed tendency to pantomime the entities outside of him. If the external agents believe logic is to be done in Newtonian ways and not Leibnizian, so shall be the case, if moral values are to be done by Muslim ethic and not Christian, so shall be the fate of the Extrovert. However, it should not at all be concluded that the extroverted attitude is in any way fatalistic, at least not in any lesser degree than the attitude of the introvert. Perhaps the only difference between the two to be observed is that the introvert can more easily adjust his ways because all that he requires for the adjustment is the will of his own contemplation, yet the Extrovert requires the external inspiration. However, at the very essence of the mechanism, the Extrovert requires action for contemplation and the introvert requires solo time.


However, since we do note that the Extroverted Thinker derives his methodology of thought from the convention, analogously to such a model, the Extroverted Feeler derives his methodology of value judgments from the outside as well. Accordingly, the Extroverted Feeler derives his ways of making value judgments from the external world. This of course, does not at all mean that all of his values shall be equivalent to the values of the external environment, however, this shall be the case for Extroverted Feeler who have not learned the proper judgment in their own right. When object is given ascendancy, the Extroverted Feeler will be moved to conform his feelings to what is considered prudent in eyes of value judgment by his contemporaries and his environment by and large, but would truly have nothing to do with the Feeling of the person of the Extroverted Feeling type as an individual in him or herself. “Overextraverted feeling may satisfy aesthetic expectations, but it does not speak to the heart; it appeals merely to the senses or---worse still ---only to reason. It can provide aesthetic padding for a situation, but there it stops, and beyond that its effect is nil. It has become sterile. If this process goes any further, a curiously contradictory dissocation of feeling results: everything becomes an object of feeling valuations, and innumerable relationships are entered into which are all at variance with each other. As this situation would become quite impossible if the subject received anything like due emphasis, even the last vestiges of real personal standpoint are suppressed. The subject becomes so enmeshed in the network of individual processes that to the observer it seems as though there were merely a feeling process and no longer a subject of feeling. Feeling in this state has lost all human warmth; it gives the impression of being put on, fickle, unreliable, and in the worst cases hysterical.” Psychological Types P. 356.


What we have here is quite the peculiar psychology. In the case of the Introverted Feeler, the true depth and sincerity of Feeling derives from contemplation alone, however, in the case of the Extroverted Feeler with whom our inquiry is concerned, Feeling derives from the outside and action. And of course such a feeling is not determined by the person’s sentiments and private feelings, but by the mindset of the environment external to the extroverted Feeler. The problem with such an approach to personal values is that it renders the person devoid of values of his own and at the very core he is but a mirror image of values of other people and society by and large. Such a type will shrink at no absurdity to promote the agenda favored by his social circle, no matter how clear it is to a sober mind that what he stands for is pernicious. Because the Feeling of this type is defined externally, his feelings and the inner mindset in general requires the approval of the external agent. Or in other words, the Extroverted Feeler will have no reason to believe that his values are good and true or his feelings are valid unless somebody else said so, or there is some example in the external world of such values being sound. He does not try to search his heart, but instead asks, what would other people say about this? He does not ask, how do I feel, but instead asks, how do others feel I should feel?


“Even when it appears to be qualified by a concrete object, it is none the less still under the spell of traditional or generally accepted values of some kind. I may feel moved, for instance, to say that something is “beautiful” or “good”, not because I find it “beautiful” or “good” from my own subjective feeling about it, but because it is fitting and politic to call it so, since a contrary judgment would upset the general feeling situation.” Psychological types P.355


One is tempted to ask whether Extroverted Feeling is pretentious at the very core, or such a functioning requires that the person lies about his true feelings and interests. However, this is not the case, as the Extroverted Feeler naturally conforms his inner mindset to the external object. Or in other words, if everyone feels that the work of Shakespeare is superior to that of Virgil, the Extroverted Feeler will judge this way. He will not do so simply as means to the end of winning the favor of the multitude, but will unconsciously retain such a judgment. It is easy to accuse such individuals of dishonesty and prostitution of opinion, yet such charges strike the Extroverted Feeler as baffling, as to the best of his knowledge the opinion he has voiced is consistent with his true thoughts and feelings. We are led to wonder if such an act of social adjustment even deserves the label of Feeling, since it does not appear to make any value judgments of its own. We should however note that Feeling is a property wholly independent of both Extroversion and Introversion and only in extreme cases of neurosis it is made to conform either to the subject(introversion) or the object (extroversion), but in itself the essence is free. We should also note that Extroverted Feeling conforms to the object only to the extent that Introverted Feeling conforms to the subject. The object could be the authority of renowned individuals in the community and the subject could be the person’s ego. In the case of a problematic Extroverted Feeling, the individual will ignore all value judgments that do not conform to the external agenda and adjust those that could be adjusted to the external agenda. In the healthy case of Extroverted Feeling, the individual will be moved to defend the external standard, but will exercise enough proper judgments to avoid falling slave to such an agenda. Hence, critical analysis of the external agenda will be both possible and desirable for such a type.


Slavery to convention certainly does mar the image of the Extroverted Feeling type, however this hardly gives the Introverted Feeler a break. As has been mentioned in the INTP profile, the Introvert is in danger of shaping the external environment into what his inner vision deems it should be to the point where the introvert is unable to properly collect information about and interact with the external environment. The only advantage that the Introverted Feeler has over his extroverted counterpart is that he can re-examine his values on his own, internal endeavor, whilst the Extroverted Feeler requires external stimuli.


As has been stated many times in this essay, the Extroverted Feeling relies strictly on external factors for decision making, however, we have not yet thoroughly examined the implications of such a mindset. Since the character is compelled to act by the object and not the subject, he is not directly influenced by pure thought or pure motive. But the object is interposed between the person’s thoughts and actions. Or in other words, unlike the Introverted Feeler who could look at a person from a distance and collect the ambience of his mood, the Extroverted Feeler needs a direct cue of action to see how the person feels. Hence, in such a case he would look at the person’s eyebrows, lips, body language and other aspects of physiognomy to determine how the person feels. One shall ask, why does the Extroverted Feeler have such ideas concerning determining the other person’s subjective Feelings. This is because he accepts external entities by default. He has been told that the smiling symbolizes happiness and moves forward to equate such a gesture with happiness every time he sees a smile. This is exactly the same mechanism as that of the Extroverted Thinker accepting ways of handling logic and mathematics by default. We should however note that the Extroverted Judger does indeed have indirect access to ideas as he is able to experience genuine empathy after seeing a smile on one’s face and such a feeling within him is not at all different from that of the Introverted Judger who accesses the idea directly. Individualistic thought is possible for the Extroverted Judger on the account of his reflection upon the subjective mindsets he experiences within and not the external actions that he associates with such mindsets. This, however, is quite difficult as in order for his inner mindsets to be deemed valid, he needs confirmation in the external world. The more individualistic the Extroverted Feeler becomes the less confirmation of the external world he shall need and the more he will rely on his inner subjective mindset. However, the Extroverted Feeler does lack the internal or subjective judgment, which we refer to as Introverted Feeling, hence he is not capable of making such assessments directly. However, he has Introverted perception which could give him confidence in his inner mindset, especially if the Introverted Perception is represented by Introverted Intuition which is decidedly more idea oriented and individualistically oriented than Introverted Sensation. One danger to watch out for the Extroverted Feeler is that if he has not properly developed his introverted side, he shall have no reliable way of establishing sound personal values and maintaining loyalty to them unless he sees direct approval for such a mindset.

A striking example of this phenomenon would be the Extroverted Feeler who simply does not know what he values or what he ought to do unless he sees people supporting him at the given moment, and is unable to retain the values in the face of the change of social climate, which he has held nearly and dearly hitherto. The change in moral attitudes observed in Russian Christian Peasants at the time of Bolshevik Revolution (1917) is the case in point. They have abandoned the Biblical gospels in favor of the Communistic message preached by the Bolsheviks. Accordingly, because such a type lacks all inner conscience all things are permissible for him as long as people are not watching. He will stop at no cruelty or baseness to get his way on the stage devoid of audience.


Also because the final value judgment is made based on comparison of the subjective mindset to the external object and ultimately conformity of the former to the latter, the Extroverted Feeler who has not properly developed his Introverted faculties will retain a black and white view of the world. As he is unable to make assessments for himself, he thinks that the case is either the project either does match what is set as a representation of exemplary work or it does not. Another danger for such a malfunctioning Extrovert is that he will loose his focus on the inner identity and will define himself based on strictly external entities. This is indeed a danger for any extrovert, however one to be much emphasized for the Extroverted judger as this type has an intense focus on the external environment. Also the element of external judgment pressures the individual in possession of such a type to make assessments of the external world directly. This gives the extrovert an impression that he can control the external world, and very strikingly, in the case of the Extroverted Judger he may fall into the trap of believing that what he controls is part of himself, since he has a very strong tendency to base his notion of the self on external entities. Such characters will go as far as needed to acquire and retain power until they are reproached by a greater power, such problems are the result of a lack of inner conscience due to the lack of affinity with the introverted aspect of the psyche.


A.Establishment of Personal values
“As a result of upbringing her feeling has developed into an adjusted function subject to conscious control. Except in extreme cases, her feeling has a personal quality, even though she may have repressed the subjective factor to a large extent. Her personality appears adjusted in relation to external conditions. ” Psychological Types, P. 356

As we have established before, Extroversion derives its identity from the outside. Hence, the Extroverted Feeler comes to value honesty or compassion for example not because in his or her own judgment such values are sound or that they appeal to his unconscious mindset but because people around him endorse such values and exhort the Extroverted Feeler to do so as well. All of the subjective factor concerning this type is subjugated to the values and maxims others Feel the Extroverted Feeler ought to value. This is especially the case for Thinking. All of thoughts of this type are subjugated to better fit the feelings this type is most comfortable with entertaining. “Nothing disturbs feeling so much as thinking. It is therefore understandable that in this type thinking will be kept in abeyance as much as possible. This does not mean that the woman does not at all; on the contrary, she may think a great deal and very cleverly, but her thinking is never sui generic---it is an Epimethean appendage to her feeling. What she cannot feel, she cannot consciously think. “But I can’t think what I don’t feel, “ such a type said to me once in indignant tones. So far as her feeling allows, she can think very well, but every conclusion, however logical, that might lead to disturbance of feeling is rejected at the outset. It is simply not thought. Thus everything that fits in with objective values is good, and is loved, and everything else seems to her to exist in a world apart. ” Psychological Types P.357


We know that the Introverted Thinking is integral to the true and inner identity of the ENFJ because it is an introverted faculty. Since the Extroverted Feeling is in full command of the psyche of this type, the inner identity of the type is to be shaped in any way the Extroverted Feeling desires. Accordingly, logical outcomes which are in line with Extroverted Feeling are embraced and those that are not are either rejected at the outset or the logical reasoning of such outcome is twisted to better fit the agenda of Extroverted Feeling.
“But a chance comes over the picture when the importance of the object reaches still a higher level. As already explained, the subject becomes so assimilated to the object that the subject of feeling is completely engulfed. Feeling loses its personal quality, and becomes feeling for its own sake; the personality seems wholly dissolved in the feeling of the moment. But since actual life is a constant succession of situations that evoke different and even contradictory feelings, the personality gets split up into as many different feeling states. At one moment is this, at another something quite different---to all appearances, for in reality such a multiple personality is impossible. ” Psychological Types P. 357

Now we are led to ask the question of what objective values are. At this point in our inquiry it seems very clear that such values of the Extroverted Feeler derive wholly from the outside. This is an act of adjusting the inner thoughts, feelings and hunches to external circumstances. One can think of the inner values of the Extroverted Feeler as an empty vessel to be filled with whatever the external situation requires. Since the Extroverted Feeler has such a very strong tendency to derive identity from without, it is highly likely that he may get confused about what identity to maintain as external situation often tends to fickle. The Extroverted Feeler may incur much confusion about what roles to maintain and how. As before mentioned, such acts of assimilation often tempt observers of this type to question the sincerity of their motives, yet the Extroverted Feeler tends to be baffled by such charges because to the best of his knowledge his motives are in line with what he professes to be. He is often unable to see the contradictions in his behavior because his incessant activity and interaction with the external world prevent him from simply stopping to think and his lack of proper Thinking faculties seduce him into self-deception and faulty reasoning which merely confirm his feelings. Since morality is derived almost entirely from the outside for this type, he can easily fall into the trap that what he is doing is good and right as long as he is doing what he is supposed to, or that his immediate observers approve of his behavior. He may even forget that what he is doing today may please the current crowd he inhabits, yet strongly displease the crowd he was surrounded by yesterday as today’s behavior is irreconcilable with yesterday’s. In pathological cases such types may succumb to borderline personality disorder, which to a great extent is associated with a lack of inner identity, or a multiple personality disorder which again stems from the same root.
 

SolitaryWalker

Tenured roisterer
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
3,504
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
so/sx
Needless to say, excessive reliance on objective values without private, subjective judgment can render the individual almost wholly devoid of true personal conscience. The conscience of such unhealthy individuals is contingent upon the will of external observers, the moment this type ceases to be observed is the moment where they loose all motive to practice what they preach. This is not at all to insinuate a dishonesty or an attempt at conscious manipulation of the observers, but merely to point out that the Extroverted Judger gets in tune with his principles through interaction with the external world, when the interaction is lacking, loosing sight of those principles becomes all too easy.


B. What is valued?
“The valuations resulting from the act of feeling either correspond directly with objective values or accord with traditional and generally accepted standards. This kind of feeling is very largely responsible for the fact that so many people flock to the theatre or to concerts, or go to church, and do so moreover with their feelings correctly adjusted. Fashions, too, owe their whole existence to it, and, what is far more valuable, the positive support of social, philanthropic, and other such cultural institutions. ” P. 355

As has been mentioned before, because this type derives values externally, and assimilates itself to external agenda, it is no surprise that entities of the external world are valued first and foremost. Welfare of society is deemed to be more important than that of the individual and deontology is to be preferred over virtue ethics. Or in other words, a good man, in the eyes of the Extroverted Feeler is one who fulfills the external agenda of behavior. Since such an agenda is external, it cannot inhere within the individual and therefore the individual must be exhorted into abeyance to the agenda. Thus, a good act is to be inspired by duty. Immanuel Kant’s deontology is a classical example of the Extroverted Judger’s natural predilections towards ethics. Kant, however, argues that reason is the most reliable instrument for us to assess our ethical choices, such a mindset is in closer affinity with that of the Extroverted Thinker, the path of the Extroverted Feeler is quite different. Social obligation is the key to understanding such a character’s ethical mindset. Thus, a person is to do what is right because others want him to. He is to become good by imitating the benevolent behaviors of those around him. An Introverted Judger may protest at such a claim on the note that our external actions are but manifestations of our inner mindset. Yet, the Extroverted Feeler shall be baffled at such a thought as he tends to think that our inner being is simply empty without interaction with the external world, or for the very least corrupt and selfish. We tend to have a negative attitude towards our lesser developed functions because using them inadvertently leads to much discomfort. Hence, the Extrovert is naturally negatively biased towards Introverted notions and vice versa. This is the case in point for the Extroverted Feeler reviling the inner motives of the individual.


To rectify this problem the Extroverted Feeler insists that the individual’s corrupt and selfish motives be purged by the more trustworthy and reliable external agenda. Hence, one must have his inner being conform to what society considers to be good and true. Almost invariably, the Extroverted Feeler’s inner mindset shall protest as such external ideas may go radically contrary to his inner thoughts and wishes. And again, this is hardly disturbing to such a type, as Freud often said, ‘the unconscious can do nothing but wish’, and Jung insists that this is indeed very emblematic of how the Extrovert’s unconscious tends to function. In a nutshell, what this shows is that to the radically Extroverted type, the inner mindset is to have very little or no say over how he is to live his life. The object is seen as the most important agent in the ethical mindset of such a type, therefore the external factor is all that could guide the Extroverted Feeler. The closer the adherence to the external factor, the more sound the behavior shall be deemed to be. Such an object is very often the family, the church, the city community or the communist party. Thus, conformity is seen as one of the greatest or the greatest of morale goods because this is the behavior necessary to ensure adherence to the external standard.


C. How to live out our values ?
‘The strongest principle is that everybody, whether they are male or female, should have a leader. Likewise, no one should get into the habit of doing anything at all on his own initiative-either in earnest or in jest. Both in war and during time of peace, he should respect his leader and follow him faithfully. He should look up to his leader and follow his guidance in even the smallest matters. For example, he should get up, move around, wash, and have his meals.. only at such times as he has been ordered to do so. In other words, he should get into the habit, by a long process of training of never dreaming of acting independently, and thus becoming utterly incapable of such action. In this way the life of all is spent in total community. There is no law, and there never will be one, which is above this. It is the most effective way of achieving salvation and victory in war. And in peacetime, and from earliest childhood, this should remain the highest law- the need to rule others and be ruled by others. All trace of independence or anarchistic spirit must be completely eradicated from the life of all men, and even the wild beasts which are kept by these men.”---Plato, Laws


As a result of the attitude of radical collectivism, and the intense extroversion of this type, the Extroverted Feeler is bound to accept his values and ways of life on authority. Such an authority is often the aforementioned church or a powerful personal leader. This notion is without a doubt consistent with what has been propounded by Plato. Plato’s ideal state involves a very strong leader and a well organized social system where all people assiduously fulfill their duty. It starts in early education, typically in pre-school or grade school where children are exhorted to listen to their caretakers and parents as well as diligently fulfill all of their orders. What agrees with the rules of social conduct is right and to be approved of, what does not agree is wrong, and what is not relevant to the rules of social conduct is not important. It is very rare that any item could be irrelevant or not covered by such rules, as the External focus of such judgment is aimed not at the subject, but the object or the world itself. It is also common within such psychic tendencies to control all things. Thus, the judgment of the Extrovert extends to cover as much territory as possible. For this reason such codes of ethic give very comprehensive instructions on how all tasks of life are to be performed, very often such instructions even involve how to go to bed or how to eat a meal. The Holy Texts of Judeo-Christian religions is the case in point for this.


Extroverted Judgment is much more concerned with the concrete aspect of ethic than with the abstract because the Extroversion emphasizes the object, or what is externally observable and devalues the subject which could be accessed only through thought which often tends to be very abstract. Introverted Judgment is most concerned with such abstractions and because it is the shadow of the Extroverted Judger, it is deemed to be anathema to such a type. Accordingly the Extroversion of this type makes him more concerned with action rather than reflection and this in combination with the general concrete attitude of the type encourages the Extroverted Feeler to be more concerned with what must be done, as opposed to what must be thought, felt, or valued.


The Extroverted Feeler, for reasons mentioned earlier in this essay often experiences great temptation to control the external environment. And because Judgment almost inevitably embraces conventional standards for self-assessment, the Extroverted Judger is lead to equate personal integrity with acquisition of status. Or being thought of by others as a person of integrity. For the Extroverted Feeler, Extroversion is analogous to Feeling as fuel to an engine. Hence, ideas are derived wholly from the outside. If they are not qualified by a concrete, or an externally observable entity, they shall hardly fall short of non-existent. Thus, in order for the Extroverted Feeler to attain integrity, he must act out on his values. To have integrity, means to do good. He cannot feel good about himself unless there are external entities which qualify such a feeling. Moreover, it is also of paramount importance for the Extroverted Feeler to exhort others to Feel or Think as they do. Since external entities are representations of the person’s integrity, as is often said by such a type ‘my success and material possessions often speak towards my accomplishments in life’, a disagreement with the actions or values of the Extroverted Feeler is deemed to be a direct attack on his values. The same is not the case for the mindset of the Introverted Feeler whose values inhere within the mind and not action, hence in order to impose the same effect upon the Introverted Feeler one must somehow invade his thoughts or feelings. Yet in the case of the Extroverted Feeler, one must simply do contrary to what the person in question deems fitting and proper. In response to this he will either strenuously attempt to change the behavior of the offender or concede that he lacks integrity. This is the case because Extroverted Feeling envelopes all of external environment in its scope and since the identity derives externally, it is not enough for the Extroverted Feeler himself to do as he pleases, but he must have all share his beliefs, as what he controls is deemed to be part of himself. Rick Warren has preached that to be a Christian one must proselytize or persuade others to Feel and Think as one does himself. The rhetoric his teacher Jesus has employed is also emblematic of such a mindset whereas he insists that those who are not for him are against him. Or in other words, one who does not share his beliefs is his enemy. The earlier mentioned danger of lapsing into black and white thought also underscores such a notion, as in the eyes of such an unhealthy Extroverted Feeler one could be a good man as he has for the most part obeyed the stipulations of the Extroverted Feeler yet on one occasion he may have shown disagreement, and because this renders him not in complete agreement with the Extroverted Feeler he may be easily relegated from saint to rogue. Christian Commonwealth is highly representative of the Extroverted Feeler’s typical notion of Utopia. What we have is one authority figure who is the paragon of all virtue. His virtue is very concrete expressed, understanding it requires very little to no conscious scrutiny, it is very easy for one to thoughtlessly embrace. And how one is to behave is clearly and distinctly expressed. All thoughts concerning subversion or individualism are thoroughly suppressed and anyone who does not agree with the Christian ethic is to be expelled to hellfire. Of course, since individualism has been suppressed the task of finding one’s inner being appears to be almost wholly devalued, as all people become one, or the perfect Christian. The institution of marriage, whereas it is said that the two to be wedded shall become one person is another example very suitable for the Extroverted Feeler’s notion of interpersonal success. Dissolution of one’s inner identity and conformity to the external standard is highly vouched for. This is another striking example of how conformity, in the eyes of the Extroverted Feeler is seen as the moral good. Autonomy or self-seeking is to be sternly reproached, and so was the fate of Lucifer, who in the eyes of the Introverted Feeler John Milton has been expelled from the kingdom of God for his self-seeking ventures. Since Judgment is applied to the External world, the world of personal affairs is very neatly and thoroughly organized. Roles are delegated with great precision in thought concerning social obligations and the leaders who have imposed such roles on the people tend to be quite particular about how those roles are carried out. The case is either the role has been carried out diligently and thoroughly to the very end or not at all.


This again, alludes to the black and white nature of Extroverted Judgment. Plato’s cast system, which Karl Popper (Open Society and its Enemies) has reviled as fascistic is the case in point for such phenomena. Any system of ethics that insists on segregation of people based on their social status such that may be income, race, or group affiliations is doubtlessly the legacy of Extroverted Feeling. For reasons mentioned before, the Extroverted Feeler may be precluded from seeing how pernicious such activities may be and how contrary they go to the values they profess to hold due to lack of reflection which is quenched by the excessive extroversion of the type and the inability to detach from the external context of events and think through for oneself. So long as this type meets social obligations, he deems his affairs to be benevolent. The behaviors which are deemed to be tyrannous and by all accounts pernicious are often cleverly veiled in acts of philanthropy and concern for common welfare. Extroverted Feeler tends to be adept at understanding the political aspect of external social phenomena and how to contribute to such a scenario. Hence, very rarely the Extroverted Feeler finds himself unable to manipulate the social situation to his own advantage. Even though he may lack nuance concerning theoretical aspect of ideas as this requires profound reflection on abstract matters, this type is much in tune with the External world of affairs. He understands the social convention extremely well and how to create the necessary reaction in the external environment. The Extroverted Feeler is very easily adaptable to the external environment, as Jung points out, fashions owe its existence to this type. Even though he may have little or no understanding on how to solve the most basic problems of mathematics or physics, and the nuance of such intellectual enterprises are bound to leave him baffled and intimidated, he knows every last nuance in regards to how attain power in his community and how to win the approbation of the multitude. An example of such a phenomenon would be the character who understands fashion and etiquette so well to the point where he would know exactly how to groom his hair and what to wear in order to produce the intended affect, even what to say and to whom and how, and how to carry himself in order to have the other person respond in the way he wishes him to. When the other person does not respond in such a fashion, the Extroverted Feeler inevitably becomes irate. So he exhorts himself further to impose rules of etiquette on all people he can control, where all inevitably behave exactly the way he needs them to. As earlier mentioned, he likely carries this task out in an ostensible gentle and charismatic fashion, often the people he controls are prompted to thank him for what he has accomplished. The case in point is Vladimir Lenin who promised his peasants who have been plagued by destitution and war ‘peace, bread and land’, only later to boast in a private conversation with Bertrand Russell about how he has inspired the guileless peasants to subvert the tsar and his political adversaries. (Practice and Theory of Bolshevism, Russell.)


“When I met Lenin, I had much less impression of a great man than I had expected; my most vivid impressions were of bigotry and Mongolian cruelty. When I put a question to him about socialism in agriculture, he explained with glee how he had incited the poorer peasants against the richer ones, ‘and they soon hanged them from the nearest tree---ha! Ha! Ha!’ His guffaw at the thought of those massacred made my blood run cold. ” Unpopular Essays, P.186 Extroverted Feeling without the input of the introverted faculties simply reduces all thought to a set of ‘no-brainers’ to be acted out and imposed onto the external environment. Thought simply comes to mirror what is imposed upon the subject. As Lenin himself has asserted that thought is but a reflection of action. Maintaining status quo is highly vouched for by such types as their inability to think through the rapidly changing circumstances leaves them with no choice but to arrest all change.


Many of the problems depicted above could be rectified through cultivation of auxiliary Introverted Perception, in such a case the Extroverted Feeler will limit his personal identity to his inner being and his scope shall be narrowed to only what is important to him as a person. This shall without a doubt diminish the controlling tendencies of this type, this shall also rectify many dilemmas the Extroverted Feeler incurs due to the lack of reflection. Quite clearly it is the case that he can become more reflective by cultivating his Introverted faculties. It should also be noted that Introverted Intuition is very abstract, this shall render the Extroverted Feeler less likely to fall slave to black and white thought. Introverted Intuition also tends to be highly individualistic, this phenomenon requires no further exposition as we have countless examples for individualistic thought and action of individuals with a dominant Introverted Intuitive faculty. Consider Nietzsche, Ayn Rand and Jean-Paul Sartre.


II.Introverted Intuition
Introverted Intuition is the first entity fundamental to the inner being of the ENFJ. Collecting of information is essential to this type as this faculty is the strongest introverted function of the type. The Introverted Intuition, when commanded by Extroverted Judgment merely collects information about the external environment which is to be subjugated to the control of the Extroverted Feeling. However, when it is emancipated from the tyranny of Extroverted Judgment it shall be a path to inner conscience for such an Extrovert. The Extroverted Feeler in command of Introverted Intuition will not simply and thoughtlessly embrace the qualities of character bestowed upon him, but will now assess them based on his own inner agenda. Instead of promoting the agenda because it is orthodox, he will ask ‘is what is currently orthodox good?’ ‘if not, does it require immediate amelioration?’ ‘does it truly make others and myself happy?’, ‘what can I do to change the immediate environment.’
The Extroverted Feeler without access to Introverted faculties will simply line himself up to the roles imposed upon him and shall dare not oppose a single stipulation as to be out of tune with how he ought to feel and what he ought to do means to lack integrity. Moreover, such an unhealthy Extrovert runs the danger of simply prostrating himself for the external agenda to the point of extreme denial of the true needs of the inner being. Cultivation of Introverted Intuition is the immediate and effective solution. As has been stated before, the Extroverted Feeler who has run amuck can be stopped in two fashions. Either put his actions to light in front of his audience, or have him concoct his own values and maxims independent of the wishes of the External agents. The latter is to be decidedly preferred for obvious reasons. Such a type will even be capable of groundbreaking insights in fields concerning human element such as art, foreign languages and literature. Ivan Turgenev’s literary success is a striking case in point for such a phenomenon. In short, the ENFJ with a well developed Introverted Intuition will have a rigorous code of personal ethic and a well developed personal conscience. He shall thoroughly decry the ignominious behaviors of Lenin and will quite justly protest that the above description does not fit a healthy Extroverted Feeling type. Whilst the Extroverted Feeling without a well developed Introverted Intuition shall dismiss all that appears complex at the outset and does not tell him what he ought to and what he ought not to do in very concrete terms, the Extroverted Feeler with a well developed Introverted Intuition shall be fascinated with complexities and exhort himself and others to think outside of the box.


III. Extroverted Sensing
Extroverted Sensation’s affinity with the external world and the concrete by and large tends to reaffirm the image and status conscious ways of Extroverted Feeling. It gives this type the notion that not only are the hearts and minds of other people are for their taking, but also all of the material world. Cultivation of Extroverted Sensation follows that of the Introverted Intuition. At this point the ENFJ should not be shallow and materialistic and the charges above in regards to Extroverted Sensation shall be rendered null and void. Such an ENFJ will demonstrate a philanthropic and genuinely compassionate attitude supported by a vision that is first and foremost concerned with amelioration of society as a whole, but shall never discount the individual. This humanitarian mindset shall insists on amelioration of convention and the social rules by and large.

IV. Introverted Thinking
Our inferior faculties by and large represent all we tend to fear the most. The less used the faculty, the more negative our attitude towards that faculty. Hence, there is nothing that the unsound Extroverted Feeler fears more than independent thought. Very often superstitious beliefs concerning the nature of logic and impersonal occurrences are harbored and since the Introverted Thinking does not require much grounding in the external world, the Extroverted Feeler is free to concoct all sorts of absurd laws concerning the nature of reasoning. Whilst the Introverted Feeler’s Thinking is Extroverted and could easily be subjugated to the convention of logical reasoning, the Extroverted Feeler’s thought shall run amuck. The advantage this type holds over its Introverted counterpart is that he is in closer natural affinity with the essence of thought, as Introverted functions are stronger than Extroverted. Hence, when the Extroverted Feeler is prepared to develop his auxiliary faculty, which tends to be closer to middle age, such skills will be acquired far more naturally than for the Introverted Feeler. At such a point, Introverted Intuition shall likely be developed and the Extroverted Feeler shall no longer fear profound thought but will use the skills of rigorous reasoning to strengthen his vision and make it more applicable to external impersonal world.
 

The Third Rider

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I am going to need a few minutes to go over this.........

:coffee:
 

proteanmix

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Well, geez BW, I don't know what to think about this unless you tell me what to think about it!
 

htb

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However, at the very essence of the mechanism, the Extrovert requires action for contemplation and the introvert requires solo time.
Quite correct. I prefer analysis of properties or events to thought experiments.
 

redacted

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this is great.

a few questions:

- does it make sense to think of the extroversion or introversion of Feeling as a spectrum? or would you just say that the introverted element of the morals of an xxFJ is solely attributable to Ni or Ti? at this point i'm thinking of it as: the morals of the external environment (Fe) are simply louder than inner-motivated morals (Fi), but both are present.

-when an xxFJ is in a new social environment, they seem to mirror their past moral environments and only gradually integrate the new environment in. is this due to the time element of Ni (or Si)? because Fe in and of itself has no means of storage. if they just completely conform to the new standard, does this mean that Fe is purely relying on extroverted perception for information?

-this is pretty much the same as the above question: i've seen plenty of ENFJs that seem to completely disregard their present moral environment in favor of their own long-standing moral rules (they'll even be quite rude about it). is this just due to strongly developed introverted functions? because their rules must've been externally validated as some point to even have any value. (i'm pretty sure i already know the answer to this, but whatever)

-all my questions seem to have overlap, but: i'm somewhat confused about the work of introverted intuition here. even if we think of it as a hierarchy of concepts, there still has to be work of a judgment function to integrate new abstract information into the concept web. since introverted intuition is internally motivated, does that mean it will automatically reject information that does not fit and automatically integrate information that does? or do we need a thinking function to do this work? if a thinking function is necessary, then that pretty much means any healthy NFJ must have well developed Ni AND Ti.
 

heart

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As before mentioned, such acts of assimilation often tempt observers of this type to question the sincerity of their motives, yet the Extroverted Feeler tends to be baffled by such charges because to the best of his knowledge his motives are in line with what he professes to be.

He is often unable to see the contradictions in his behavior because his incessant activity and interaction with the external world prevent him from simply stopping to think and his lack of proper Thinking faculties seduce him into self-deception and faulty reasoning which merely confirm his feelings. Since morality is derived almost entirely from the outside for this type, he can easily fall into the trap that what he is doing is good and right as long as he is doing what he is supposed to, or that his immediate observers approve of his behavior.

He may even forget that what he is doing today may please the current crowd he inhabits, yet strongly displease the crowd he was surrounded by yesterday as today’s behavior is irreconcilable with yesterday’s. In pathological cases such types may succumb to borderline personality disorder, which to a great extent is associated with a lack of inner identity, or a multiple personality disorder which again stems from the same root.

That's a fascinating perspective.

Or in other words, a good man, in the eyes of the Extroverted Feeler is one who fulfills the external agenda of behavior. Since such an agenda is external, it cannot inhere within the individual and therefore the individual must be exhorted into abeyance to the agenda. Thus, a good act is to be inspired by duty. Immanuel Kant’s deontology is a classical example of the Extroverted Judger’s natural predilections towards ethics. Kant, however, argues that reason is the most reliable instrument for us to assess our ethical choices, such a mindset is in closer affinity with that of the Extroverted Thinker, the path of the Extroverted Feeler is quite different. Social obligation is the key to understanding such a character’s ethical mindset. Thus, a person is to do what is right because others want him to. He is to become good by imitating the benevolent behaviors of those around him. An Introverted Judger may protest at such a claim on the note that our external actions are but manifestations of our inner mindset.

Yet, the Extroverted Feeler shall be baffled at such a thought as he tends to think that our inner being is simply empty without interaction with the external world, or for the very least corrupt and selfish. We tend to have a negative attitude towards our lesser developed functions because using them inadvertently leads to much discomfort. Hence, the Extrovert is naturally negatively biased towards Introverted notions and vice versa. This is the case in point for the Extroverted Feeler reviling the inner motives of the individual.

This is a very helpful in trying to understand my conflicts with extroverted feeling types, the distrust that they often seem to develop for me and how my attempts to soothe them often end up creating stronger distrust. Maybe if I think on this over time I can create some better coping techiniques for this.

This is because he accepts external entities by default. He has been told that the smiling symbolizes happiness and moves forward to equate such a gesture with happiness every time he sees a smile. This is exactly the same mechanism as that of the Extroverted Thinker accepting ways of handling logic and mathematics by default. We should however note that the Extroverted Judger does indeed have indirect access to ideas as he is able to experience genuine empathy after seeing a smile on one’s face and such a feeling within him is not at all different from that of the Introverted Judger who accesses the idea directly. Individualistic thought is possible for the Extroverted Judger on the account of his reflection upon the subjective mindsets he experiences within and not the external actions that he associates with such mindsets. This, however, is quite difficult as in order for his inner mindsets to be deemed valid, he needs confirmation in the external world.


This has always been a difficult part of dealing with Fe in the workplace or school, if one is not a habitual smiler, one can be seen as purposely subversive by some it seems. It feels so "fake" to wear a smile in the abscence of joy or true mirth but some people are disturbed by its abscence to the point one feels forced to present a smile for them, for their sake but it can be draining to have to do so.

All interesting points as always.
 

Domino

ENFJ In Chains
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Good heavens. o_O I'll need to print this out tomorrow, me thinks, in order to read it thoroughly.
 

SolitaryWalker

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Well, geez BW, I don't know what to think about this unless you tell me what to think about it!

"Depending on the degree of dissociation between the ego and the momentary state of feeling, signs of disunity will become clearly apparent, because the originality compensatory attitude of the unconscious has turned into open opposition. This shows itself first of all in extravagant displays of feeling, gushing talk, loud expostulations, etc., which ring hollow "The lady doth protest too much." Psychological Types P. 358
 

proteanmix

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"Depending on the degree of dissociation between the ego and the momentary state of feeling, signs of disunity will become clearly apparent, because the originality compensatory attitude of the unconscious has turned into open opposition. This shows itself first of all in extravagant displays of feeling, gushing talk, loud expostulations, etc., which ring hollow "The lady doth protest too much." Psychological Types P. 358

I've missed you so much! :hug:
 

sriv

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Wow, a professional on MBTI. I would think that this forum would have more, but one (surprisingly) is good enough.
 

proteanmix

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BW, I don't even know where to start with this. This is my fourth time reading it in order to provide feedback. I know you're smart and that you've taken a lot of time thinking about this and putting it into words, but you're so completely off base that it's a sad. One thing you did get right; I can't even figure out where to start.

The major criticism that I have is you act as if Fe is completely empty and vacuous and has no merit on it's own. It's implicit in your writing that you view extroversion and Fe as dysfunctional. I actually just reread the INFP profile for context and comparison and your tone and language is completely different than from the ENFJ one (less critical, more complimentary). I shudder to think what you would say on an ESFJ profile, if you even think it's worth writing. I wouldn't so much mind you explaining the negative aspects of Fe (which there are plenty of) if you were more evenhanded in the distribution of criticism to ALL types. But it's obvious which functions you've place on a pedestal and which ones you completely devalue.

Just as examples:
Unlike the Extroverted Feeler who may need ritual-like consistent reassurance of being appreciated, the INFP merely needs to know that they are appreciated.

Introverted Feeling requires more authenticity than Extroverted, due to the factor of introversion which demands more depth...their feeling preferrence is stronger than that of other types.

That is because the unconscious mind is the true essence of mind, the conscious is merely an external manifestation of the unconscious. Therefore the deeper the person is in his thought, the closer he is to the unconscious...INPs are least influenced by the external environment, thus they are most closely in tune with their inner being. The search for higher purpose is without a doubt at the primacy of the agenda of an INP.

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)

Wrong, wrong, and more wrong. You're literally interpreting the distance is shorter between introversion and unconscious because it's in? Feeling is on a spectrum to more sincere and authentic (introverted) to contrived and manipulative (extroverted)? Introverts have no better access to their unconscious mind than extroverts. Introversion does not equal introspection, or self-reflection, or depth, or profundity, or any positive qualities that a healthy and functioning human being should have. I've suggested several books and essays to you about this topic...have you read them? Do they conflict with what you've already convinced yourself is right? How can you be taken seriously when you're obviously so biased?

What bothers me (and this has been said before) is that you sound very intelligent. You're able to sound like you really know what you're talking about and people will believe you. I know you've put in the time and the work, but I think your research is incomplete and it's lead to dangerous conclusions.
 

nozflubber

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This is impressive. I sincerly hope you copyright your stuff or send it off somewhere before posting it here. I'd never post a signifigcant work like this here if it was mine
 

heart

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I actually just reread the INFP profile for context and comparison and your tone and language is completely different than from the ENFJ one (less critical, more complimentary). I shudder to think what you would say on an ESFJ profile, if you even think it's worth writing. I wouldn't so much mind you explaining the negative aspects of Fe (which there are plenty of) if you were more evenhanded in the distribution of criticism to ALL types. But it's obvious which functions you've place on a pedestal and which ones you completely devalue. ...


I will quote the parts from the INFP profile where BlueWing clearly points out the pitfalls of the INFP personality. He didn't really give INFP any special quarter from criticism.

I truly appreciated reading these parts of the INFP profile back when it was posted. It is hardest of all to see the faults in self, to even know where they hide.

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.

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...

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.

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...

Being a serf of Introverted Feeling, first and foremost, as well as Extroverted Intuition—the Introverted Sensing will pinpoint only the facts that the Introverted Feeling deems important, and those that Extroverted Intuition decides are worthy of speculation. Thus, the INFP with a low self-esteem often easily invokes memories that are unfavorable, and with the high, those that are favorable. As we see that the Introverted Sensing is often entirely at the disposal of the Introverted Feeling.

INFPs are unable to do this because they are unable to separate their feelings from their objective perceptions. Due to this inability, and their unconscious use of the Thinking faculty, they often wish to see the world conform to the way they feel it should be. Intellectually, they hear a dim voice from the background of their psyche pointing out the logical essence of their situation, yet it is often overwhelmed by the despotic tone of their superior Introverted Feeling faculty. The master-slave relationship between the Introverted Feeling and Extroverted Thinking is analogous to that of Introverted Feeling and Extroverted Intuition. The Introverted Feeling only accepts logical explanations that are favorable to itself, and those that are not favorable are either disregarded completely or adjusted to whatever extent necessary to satisfy the agenda of Introverted Feeling. Or in other words, here the INFP will befool him/herself into believing that reality is either something they need not take interest in, or it is exactly the way they want for it to be. Thus, after the INFP has become dogmatic in their opinions, Extroverted Thinking, the most servile lackey of Introverted Feeling will be utilized to pass off what the INFP feels to be the truth as a logically sound argument, which they shall impose on others in a very common-place TJ fashion. Until the INFP has gained conscious control of their inferior function, the self-imposed delirium will not cease. When highly stressed their much neglected impersonal thoughts will haunt them in a form of their unconscious impulses that they neither wish to deal with nor understand. Moreover, it should be noted that INFPs, despite their intellectually adaptable mindset (NP) tend to be rigid in explorations of impersonal ideas because Extroverted Thinking is a J-oriented faculty. For this reason, they may experience difficulties in rapidly subject-changing NTP oriented discussions of ideas, and if their impersonal views are to be changed at all, they must be changed gradually, as characteristically of a typical Judging mindset. For this reason also, INFPs prefer structure when dealing with impersonal matters, as unlike the Introverted Thinkers, they are unable to improvise. Many of the problems above can be rectified through conscious use of Extroverted Thinking. At that point the INFP will be able to recognize impersonal ideas for what they truly are, uninfluenced by their feelings and act in accordance to what is most sound. Not in accordance to what they, or anyone else may feel is desirable. Until then, they will have to rely on the Fi-Te axis(going merely by their feelings that 'feel logical'), the unreliable reasoning that they have. Or the Ne-Te axis, which is to be preferred, as when the INFP extroverts, their Intuitions connect them to logic. Or finally, the storage of concrete information having derived from Introverted Sensing. With that procedure, the INFP will merely memorize how impersonal decisions are to be made. As an NP, the INFP finds this one the least desirable of the three.

The most favorable way is likely the second, that of the Ne-Te axis, as this is the most intuitive approach and requires the least conscious attunement with their inferior function. However, the 'Si method' is likely more conducive to the overall growth of the INFP. Introverted Sensing links the INFP to their Inferior function because it is adjacent to it. Thus an INFP who has mastered Introverted Sensing will be more comfortable with their Extroverted Thinking as the two are intimately intertwined. The INFP shall not make a conscious effort to this, but merely will be successful at this as soon as their Introverted Sensing has developed naturally. At that point, they will also feel their Extroverted Thinking enter the sphere of conscious use. Naturally, the INFP will be most comfortable with 'the feels logical' Fi-Te method. However, the most sound approach to the matter would be the Intuitive. First, cultivating Extroverted Intuition, and afterwards the INFP will feel in closer affinity with Extroverted Thinking than with their primary Introverted Feeling.
 
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sciski

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BW, I don't even know where to start with this. This is my fourth time reading it in order to provide feedback. I know you're smart and that you've taken a lot of time thinking about this and putting it into words, but you're so completely off base that it's a sad.

Proteanmix, because I've seen you say that a lot of Fe examples described on these boards do not gel with your experience, and you disagree with BlueWing's interpretation, could you perhaps describe your own experience of Fe? What is it like for you? I have trouble defining it, so would appreciate a personal perspective, to know that what I define as Fe is actually Fe in action. This request goes out to any ExFJ, actually.

(Incidentally, I have the same question about Ni, but that's for another day...)
 

redacted

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i feel like bluewings idea of Fe makes perfect sense. without developing other functions, it would act exactly like that. the thing is, anyone with any sort of maturity will develop strategies to focus on internal standards as well.

as an Fe user, i can definitely see its potential darkside. and i've experienced it to some extent.
 

Littlelostnf

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Proteanmix, because I've seen you say that a lot of Fe examples described on these boards do not gel with your experience, and you disagree with BlueWing's interpretation, could you perhaps describe your own experience of Fe? What is it like for you? I have trouble defining it, so would appreciate a personal perspective, to know that what I define as Fe is actually Fe in action. This request goes out to any ExFJ, actually.

(Incidentally, I have the same question about Ni, but that's for another day...)

Like Proteanmix my experience with Fe does not gel with examples on this board either. I generally experience (from members on this board) people who do not have Fe as a primary function telling me how I experience it. What's interesting is that they are wrong. I suppose if I didn't have other ENFJ's Lookin4, Proteanmix and maybe a few others who understand what I mean I guess (like a total Fe who has NO thoughts of their own but only lives for others:doh:) I'd have to believe it. I would be just a follower put on earth to do what others think is best. (end of rant)

As for the question...how do I (personally) experience Fe. I think that Dissonance said that Bluewings idea of Fe made perfect sense. In a really unbalanced person with primary Fe it would. I have really thought about my childhood and what kind of kid I was. Every experience I had that I can remember was never about trying to fit in or bowing to others wishes. I can remember being a child who loved people....(and when they are not totally stupid I still do even now):yes: I enjoyed being around adults and other children but I was never in their faces...I mostly enjoyed watching them. I can remember always having my nose in a book and if anything wanting to be one of the characters in a book I was reading. Perhaps if anything I was more likely to pattern myself after fictional characters. My parents who have three other children would always hear from others. Well this one is just like you and that one is too, but where did you get her from. I remember loving hearing that. It made me feel special and I wasn't at all upset that people didn't think that I belonged to my family.

I have always and still want to do for others. At times I've let that desire to help others and not stiffle them or their growth hurt me. The manipulation that most people on this forum talk about experiencing from ENFJ's is just not my style. Could I do it?....Absolutely...I totally work out entire scenarios, and I know that if I played "the scene" just so things would work out my way. But that's cheating, unfair and mean. When I've used manipulation is where I would assume anyone would. As a teacher I have often manipulated situations so that my student learn to except responsiblity for themselves. I've arranged for parents to see their child as I see them behave each and every day not as they assume their child behaves...if that's manipulation so be it. But as for using it in my relationships. No...am I tempted..yes especially if I truly want something...but I also want the other person or people involved to be who they are (good or bad) and do what they want. Even when I know...and believe me I KNOW I just can't do something that would tip the scales my way if doing it would be manipulating the other person. I am just honest with them about whatever it is and allow them to make their own choice. Making people do what I want is not even close to a power I want...what kind of world would that be...(better perhaps (hehehe *evil laugh) but not real and not healthy

My main goal going thru life is not just others...I try to take care of myself as well. I am absolutely guilty of being the Fe driven person who sometimes loses that boundary between myself and others...taking on their feelings but never has it driven me to coerce them into doing something I think is the better way...more often I'm hurting knowing that soon their decision will hurt them...and in my experiences it has. As I've gotten older I've had to pull away from the caring as it does and has hurt me when people are in conflict or trouble that perhaps I could have headed off but in doing so would have been manipulating a situation...If they don't respond to good old fashion honesty from me..what will be will be.

As for functioning around people that do not have my shared values. I've twice left employment when I couldn't share their values and vision...if I can't influence in a healthy way..I don't campaign to get my way... I'm known at my job as a sort of a "friendly loner" I don't fit in with most of the teachers and while I'm friendly with them all I do not go out of my way to promote harmony with things I don't believe in. My own inner values definately cause me to speak up...am I tactful...absolutely. Everyone at work wants me to speak up...(when they agree with me) and hope I shut up when I don't (which is more often) :smile: I am often picked to lead groups in speaking and advocating (even when I truly don't want to)

I could keep going but I'm already late getting ready for work and I am soooo taking the day off tomorrow. Bluewing...I truly wish your ENFJ profile had taken into consideration that we are not slaves to our primary just like no other healthy type is slave to theirs. I know that just as I have to learn to use and embrace my inferior function of Ti (and am) you must learn to use and embrace your inferior fuction of Fe because if you don't it will continue to cause you to express it in it's most negative form...and to assume that anyone with it as a primary is unbalanced, manipulative, vapid and oh so very boring....(I'm truly sorry your experience with it has been this negative)

edit: wow didn't want this post to be defending ENFJ's but that of course (in my rereading is what it is..hope it explained Fe a bit but it's early morning and only my Fe is awake :p)
 

Athenian200

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Proteanmix: He does have a biased tone because his very nature is opposed to Fe, but he really does try to be objective (though his introversion inevitably leads to a strong subjective overlay that can be difficult to overcome in seeing the outer world clearly). What would you say about these:

As has been mentioned in the INTP profile, the Introvert is in danger of shaping the external environment into what his inner vision deems it should be to the point where the introvert is unable to properly collect information about and interact with the external environment.

We should however note that the Extroverted Judger does indeed have indirect access to ideas as he is able to experience genuine empathy after seeing a smile on one’s face and such a feeling within him is not at all different from that of the Introverted Judger who accesses the idea directly.

I'm just saying... he can't even process his own emotions clearly, and doesn't always see how they impact his writing. Or how some of the Fe traits manifest negatively in himself as well as in the others he examines. So you have to take what he says with that consideration.

I once said this as a joke, but I think it has meaning. All emotion is relative to a chosen frame of reference. That is, you can only understand the feelings of others by inferring what you would have to be feeling in order to act that way. So BlueWing can't understand your motivations in a positive way, because if he were to do the sort of things you do, those would be his motivations. He doesn't quite understand that you could do those things, but have different motivations than he perceives from his own position. You can only see the emotions of others by measuring where they "are" emotionally relative to your own frame of reference.

I can give a good example of why Fe is superior to Fi by using this. Fi only puts you in touch with what you feel yourself, and thus causes you to use yourself as a frame of reference, no matter how distraught or calm you may happen to be (which will interfere with your ability to understand the feelings of others). Fe tries to "calibrate" itself to an average frame of reference inferred from the feelings of those around them, thus correcting for some of the deviations produced by their own mood and allowing them to maintain more equilibrium and consistency in their assessments of the moods of others. It also allows them to be more consistent in their responses to the moods of others, rather than behaving in a way that is totally based on their own moods, desires, and whims.

I don't argue that Fi is deeper, more "authentic" (although the value of that is debatable) and more aware of itself, but Fe is honestly a lot more useful in interacting with others, and assessing their current feelings in a manner that is useful to the person assessing them, because it is accurate enough, and less likely to overwhelm them. It is also useful in giving people a standard code to use in communication, simplifying it greatly. If we all come to a consensus about what, say, a smile should mean, then we'll all interpret it correctly when it is expressed. BlueWing even admitted that having consistent standards in mathematics such as using decimal and standard arithmetic notation is desirable, so why would this be undesirable in terms of dealing with emotions? It's the same principle, establishing standards to ensure clarity in communication.
 

Littlelostnf

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Proteanmix: He does have a biased tone because his very nature is opposed to Fe, but he really does try to be objective (though his introversion inevitably leads to a strong subjective overlay that can be difficult to overcome in seeing the outer world clearly). What would you say about these:





I'm just saying... he can't even process his own emotions clearly, and doesn't always see how they impact his writing. Or how some of the Fe traits manifest negatively in himself as well as in the others he examines. So you have to take what he says with that consideration.

I once said this as a joke, but I think it has meaning. All emotion is relative to a chosen frame of reference. That is, you can only understand the feelings of others by inferring what you would have to be feeling in order to act that way. So BlueWing can't understand your motivations in a positive way, because if he were to do the sort of things you do, those would be his motivations. He doesn't quite understand that you could do those things, but have different motivations than he perceives from his own position. You can only see the emotions of others by measuring where they "are" emotionally relative to your own frame of reference.

I can give a good example of why Fe is superior to Fi by using this. Fi only puts you in touch with what you feel yourself, and thus causes you to use yourself as a frame of reference, no matter how distraught or calm you may happen to be (which will interfere with your ability to understand the feelings of others). Fe tries to "calibrate" itself to an average frame of reference inferred from the feelings of those around them, thus correcting for some of the deviations produced by their own mood and allowing them to maintain more equilibrium and consistency in their assessments of the moods of others. It also allows them to be more consistent in their responses to the moods of others, rather than behaving in a way that is totally based on their own moods, desires, and whims.

I don't argue that Fi is deeper, more "authentic" (although the value of that is debatable) and more aware of itself, but Fe is honestly a lot more useful in interacting with others, and assessing their current feelings in a manner that is useful to the person assessing them, because it is accurate enough, and less likely to overwhelm them. It is also useful in giving people a standard code to use in communication, simplifying it greatly. If we all come to a consensus about what, say, a smile should mean, then we'll all interpret it correctly when it is expressed. BlueWing even admitted that having consistent standards in mathematics such as using decimal and standard arithmetic notation is desirable, so why would this be undesirable in terms of dealing with emotions? It's the same principle, establishing standards to ensure clarity in communication.

Thank you. Well said. :nice:
 
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