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Best type for a Philosopher

What type makes the best Philosopher?

  • ENFP

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ENTJ

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ENFJ

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ISFP

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ISTJ

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ISFJ

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ESTP

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ESFP

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ESTJ

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ESFJ

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    20

RaptorWizard

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A philosopher is a person with an extensive knowledge of philosophy who uses this knowledge in their work, typically to solve philosophical problems. Philosophy is concerned with studying the subject matter of fields such as aesthetics, ethics, epistemology, logic, metaphysics, as well as social philosophy and political philosophy.
 

greenfairy

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1) INTP
2) INXJ
3) ENTP
4) INFP
5) ENTJ

Edit: I voted INFJ even though #1 on my list was INTP simply because I think when INFJ's do philosophy they do it in a way which incorporates more of reality. INTP's are better at the actual process if we are using Western philosophy as the model; if we are using Eastern philosophy, then INFJ for sure.
 

Nicodemus

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Philosophy needs both the INTJ and the INTP to stay alive: one to solve the problems, the other to dismiss all solutions.
 

Polaris

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The worst function for doing philosophy is probably Ne, which, however, is well-suited to astrophysics, biology, and other sciences that involve making inferences about and discovering patterns in the world of contingent phenomena. The best function for doing philosophy is probably Ti, since philosophy must be clear and precise (even when it's being clear and precise about a lack of clarity and precision) in order to qualify as philosophy. To use Ti is to use one particular form of Fe; when a person defines something, they're functioning on a social level. So to say that Ti is the best function for doing philosophy entails saying that Fe is the best function for doing philosophy. As a result, I say that an INFJ or an ENFJ with well-developed Ti is the best type of philosopher.
 

kquirk

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I voted INTP. I think INTJ's in general would have little tolerance, in the long run, with building a life around studying something as nebulous and opinion-based as philosophy. I would also think that an INTJ who decided it was important to study would make an excellent philosopher, but apparently Ayn Rand was an INTJ, so who the hell knows.
 

animenagai

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I have a masters in philosophy. I think Ni and Ne are equally useful in philosophy. Ti however, imo, is much better than Te here. Te gets too impatient with all the logical details inherent in analytic philosophy.
 

INTP

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I think there is no single best type for philosophy. Different types tend to ponder on slightly different things and from different perspectives. Without having different types representing different ways of thinking and looking at things, philosophy as a whole would become poorer and too much focused on particular things from a particular point of focus. All i can really say that S types often arent as philosophical than N types and while F(as a function, not type) can make you focus on important questions/meanings, but T is the one that actually gives it some concrete form or rationale which is required for any outcomes to come from philosophizing. TJs often dont have that drive for thinking about philosophy much(especially ETJs), but some INTJs do(but with them i feel that often there is too little conscious focus on the F side and too much focus on inner images that strengthen their already existing ways of thinking).

I think best types for philosophers are(not in particular order) NTPs, NFJs, NFPs, INTJ and maybe ISFJs.

I voted INTP. I think INTJ's in general would have little tolerance, in the long run, with building a life around studying something as nebulous and opinion-based as philosophy. I would also think that an INTJ who decided it was important to study would make an excellent philosopher, but apparently Ayn Rand was an INTJ, so who the hell knows.

ayn rand is a perfect example on how NiTe shouldnt be integrated to philosophy. but she had her traumatic life and all that which focused her thinking on some half thought out opinions which she screamed at the world cuz the world seemed stupid in her eyes due to too heavy focus on NiTe(which when she does it seems like a half psychotic defense mechanism of a trauma patient than anything else).
 

Standuble

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The worst function for doing philosophy is probably Ne, which, however, is well-suited to astrophysics, biology, and other sciences that involve making inferences about and discovering patterns in the world of contingent phenomena.

Explain your reasoning for suggesting that Ne is the worst function.

As for me I would say INTP followed by ENTP. Whilst I think many types would enjoy studying philosophy and debating it NTPs are the only ones I can see who would actually spend their entire lives building up their very own philosophy as their primary focus in life.
 

animenagai

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Could you elaborate on this?

It's easiest for me to illustrate through an example. Let's take one specific area of philosophy -- theories of knowledge. For the longest time, philosophers believed there were only 3 necessary and together sufficient conditions for knowledge:

S knows that P if and only if:

1. S believes in P
2. P is true
3. S's belief that P is justified

So for example, let's say I'm S, and P is the proposition that evolution is true. I know that evolution is true if and only if

1. I believe in evolution.
2. Evolution is indeed true
3. I came to believe in evolution through reliable means, such as having read about it in respectable journals and encyclopaedias

The justification condition is really important, otherwise we can just label any belief that happened to be true as knowledge. Let's say I randomly guessed what the lottery numbers were this week -- I still wouldn't to call that knowledge, because I'm not justified. I just got lucky. Note that justification doesn't need to be perfect, or 100% reliable, otherwise we would never know anything. Philosophers were really happy with the JTB (or justified true belief) analysis for a long time.

Then Edmund Gettier came and fucked things up with some counter-examples. Here's a Gettier-styled example:

I'm staring in the meadows and see what seems to be a sheep. I thus come to believe that there is a sheep in the meadow. However, this isn't really a sheep, it's a dog that's disguised as a sheep, and it's very well done. However, as fate would have it, there really is a sheep in the meadow -- one that's hiding behind a rock that I couldn't see. So...

1. I believe that there is a sheep in the meadow
2. There really is a sheep in the meadow
3. I'm justified in believing a sheep in the meadow (afterall, when I usually seem to see a sheep, there really is a sheep)

According to the JTB, I know that there is a sheep in the meadow. But of course, this is highly unintuitive. I just got lucky. So the JTB analysis has been rejected.

So now we try to patch things up, but let me tell you, for every account that's been put out, there's been counter-examples to it. You're stuck in this infinite loop of hypothesis > counter-example > adjusted hypothesis > counter-example > new hypothesis... and on, and on, and on. All the while the Te user is thinking "does all this shit even matter?", "isn't our initial definition good enough?", "are we just showing what a certain term means in English, rather than uncovering some deeper reality?".

Look, I got into philosophy just because I enjoyed it -- I don't mind if our answers aren't all that practical. Having said that, I get impatient when you have to spend an extended period of time grinding over stuff like this. A lot of philosophy is like this, just to varying degrees. I just think a Ti user would be more comfortable seeking this sort of conceptual consistency. I'm thinking of writing about ethics, just so I can remain motivated and grounded.
 

Polaris

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Standuble said:
Explain your reasoning for suggesting that Ne is the worst function [for philosophy].
Philosophy treats a phenomenon as an illustration of an underlying concept rather than as an item to be linked up with another item. Forging connections between phenomena is something done by cosmology, which is scientific or mythological in nature.
 

The Great One

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Well the most philosophical functions tend to be Ne, Ni, and Ti so I'm saying that the INFJ and INTP would be the best philosophers.
 

animenagai

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Philosophy treats a phenomenon as an illustration of an underlying concept rather than as an item to be linked up with another item. Forging connections between phenomena is something done by cosmology, which is scientific or mythological in nature.

Ne is definitely not the worse function for philosophy. A lot of philosophy is coming up with a hypothesis, and comparing different hypotheses. It's also useful in coming up to potential counter-examples to your own claim -- a key skill in the discipline. Ne is pretty much the hypothesis making function. Furthermore, there are heaps of interesting philosophical issues that have been created through comparing different concepts (the world/time parallel for example). I can tell you right now that Ne is by far the biggest reason I've managed to get an MA Phil. There are heaps of Ne users in philosophy departments too, and we all have strong conceptual skills because of it. I may agree that Ni is better than Ne here, but to say that Ne is the worse? Mate, you just have no idea what you're talking about.
 

kquirk

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[MENTION=4894]animenagai[/MENTION]

That is a wonderful example, and I think it backs up both of our stances, that philosophy is better suited for INTP than INTJ. In your original post, it seemed like you meant that Te gets impatient with logical details, which isn't true. It's just the types of details, no?
 

animenagai

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[MENTION=4894]animenagai[/MENTION]

That is a wonderful example, and I think it backs up both of our stances, that philosophy is better suited for INTP than INTJ. In your original post, it seemed like you meant that Te gets impatient with logical details, which isn't true. It's just the types of details, no?

I think it gets impatient when you just don't see the point of the debate. Some debates are going to mean more to you than others, and that's ok, but a lot of philosophy is really just a mental exercise that a few people care about. There are still quite a few INTJ's in philosophy though. All the INTJ's that come to mind are in philosophy of language/logic or ethics. I guess those are more grounded than metaphysics or epistemology.
 

RaptorWizard

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I like your new shining singularity avatar!

INTP for pure theory that may not be grounded in reality.

Maybe this is pure abstract-minded systems analysis.

ISTP for philosophy that is grounded in reality and has real utility in people's lives.

I guess this could be the philosophy of cosmology, for instance.
 

Polaris

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animenagai said:
Ne is definitely not the worse function for philosophy. A lot of philosophy is coming up with a hypothesis, and comparing different hypotheses. It's also useful in coming up to potential counter-examples to your own claim -- a key skill in the discipline. Ne is pretty much the hypothesis making function. Furthermore, there are heaps of interesting philosophical issues that have been created through comparing different concepts (the world/time parallel for example). I can tell you right now that Ne is by far the biggest reason I've managed to get an MA Phil. There are heaps of Ne users in philosophy departments too, and we all have strong conceptual skills because of it. I may agree that Ni is better than Ne here, but to say that Ne is the worse? Mate, you just have no idea what you're talking about.
I certainly don't want to imply that Ne users aren't equipped to be philosophers, nor do I wish to pat myself on the back for preferring a different form of intuition. Kierkegaard is one of the best philosophers there are, and he was probably an INFP. Part of what made him such a good philosopher was his use of extroverted intuition.
 
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