INJs and Introverted Intuition

[Martian Manifesto]

The following are excerpts from a book I am reading. It has given me food for thought and I would like to know what other INJs observe, think, feel and intuit on the subject. Let's have some deep thought now! Or not

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Introverted Intuition

"Most types rely on Introverted Intuition to contend with ambiguities of meaning and perception - that is, to see that a situation can be interpreted in more than one way...It may seem peculiar, therefore, to depend on this function for one's primary understanding of reality...It should be emphasized that INJs are very much ENPs in this respect. Where Extroverted Intuitives see many behavioral options, INJs acknowledge many conceptual standpoints. They experience no need to declare one inherently better than another. Indeed these types have the disconcerting habit of solving a problem by shifting their perspective and defining the situation some other way."

"[There is a] framework of beliefs and expectations that we maintain. Some are dictated by society; otherss are a matter of subjective experience - our gender, our name, our history, our vocation, our background. Knowledge is facilitated, limited and directed by boundary conditions.
INJs have an unusual awareness of how such conditions determine our conceptual vocabulary, and their Intuition leads them to discern aspects of reality that aren't being acknowledged. Thus, many INJs choose professions that allow them to work with questions of language and terminology - as editors, mathematicians, psychologists, theologians, poets and programmers. Any field that involves conceptual signs and categories is likely to interest these types. The difficulty, of course, is that an INJ's Intuition often takes the type beyond the reachof existing vocabulary....INJs are often frustrated by the limits of the language they are using to test the freight of their Intuitions - whether their means of expression involves the written word, mathematics, musical or scientific notation, metapsychology, or art. As they shift vantage points, they're obliged to invent new terms, reinterpret old ones or use words like "post-modern" to avail themselves of the categories their Intuitions are pointing beyond."


"Because INJs can't develope their primary skils without analyzing the way things are generally described and understood, these types are likely to experience themselves as different from others. Constituting only two percent of the population, young INJs can feel isolated, unable to fit in even when they want to. Before their skills are well-developed, it's difficult for these types to justify the questions that occur to them. After all, Introverted Intuitions are not really ideas. They're like trains at the edge of articulated knowledge. You can't clain them or advocate them. You put on a hat, grab hold of a boxcar door, and see where they go"

"INFJs in particular, who need others' encouragement and approval to establish a positive self-image, struggle with feelings of alienation, and they often develope an ironic sense of humor that protects them from self-revelation and assures them of positive relationships. INTJs do this also, but they're not as reluctant to ask questions ans summarily reject the answers."


"INJs have no choice but to cup Intution's small flame against the hard wind of others' beliefs and opinions...Once INJs learn to do this, they have to learn to STOP doing it. Such types are never satisfied with what they know, and it takes a real effort for them to set limits and make use of the knowledge they already have. In fact, an INJ who feels well-informed is likely to have so much information that imposing order on it and sharing it with others is almost impossible."

...

"[contrasting Ni & Ne]...ENPs are most visible in the first blush of discovery, when they're excited and optimistic. They aggressively seek feedback from the people around them, and they welcome others' involvement in formulating their Intuitions and carrying out their plans.
INJs are least accessible in the discovery process. Like the prince in the story of "Cinderella", they're solitary, sometimes obsessive, fitting Intuition to expressible terms like the glass slipper to potential brides. Until they've managed a good enough fit between their inner reality and an outward vocabulary, INJs may not even know what they're after, and they won't involve others in formulating their plans."

...

"The left-brain INJs understand context as a mental phenomenon, something that people bring to the outer world from within. Thus, they don't see "wholeness" as an integrated endpoint. Wholeness, for INJs, is the chaotic beginning - raw sensory (Ni) input without meaning...One might also suggest that the Internet is a pretty decent reflection of the way INJs think. Information is constantly proliferating in all different directions. One click of the mouse and your entire perspective shifts. You give away one idea and in return you get access to more data than you'll ever be able to look at."

[Uytuun]

Very interesting...excellent description. Thanks for posting this.

I identify *a lot* with it. Especially with the hitting limits thing as of late and with the lack of them in considering information.

[wolfmaiden14]

O____O

all I can say is "YES."

[Haphazard]

Sounds familiar.

[Martian Manifesto]

Originally Posted by Uytuun

Very interesting...excellent description. Thanks for posting this.

I identify *a lot* with it. Especially with the hitting limits thing as of late and with the lack of them in considering information.

My pleasure. I am working on another one that will go in a different post. It is also geared towards INJs but it focuses on when they are "in the grip" of their inferior Se. Thought one post on how our best function works and one on our worst would be a good one-two. The inferior manifestation stuff is from a different book.

[Peguy]

Thanks for posting this. I'll save this for later reading when my mind is in better shape to comprehend this shit.

[Martian Manifesto]

Originally Posted by Peguy

Thanks for posting this. I'll save this for later reading when my mind is in better shape to comprehend this shit.

I understand

[helen]

Oh wow. That sounds like me. Especially the quoted bit below. Thanks for sharing.

Constituting only two percent of the population, young INJs can feel isolated, unable to fit in even when they want to. Before their skills are well-developed, it's difficult for these types to justify the questions that occur to them. After all, Introverted Intuitions are not really ideas. They're like trains at the edge of articulated knowledge. You can't clain them or advocate them. You put on a hat, grab hold of a boxcar door, and see where they go"

[01011010]

Yes. Very interesting.

[01011010]

Originally Posted by Martian Manifesto

The following are excerpts from a book I am reading. It has given me food for thought and I would like to know what other INJs observe, think, feel and intuit on the subject. Let's have some deep thought now! Or not

What book is this from?