[ENFP] You know you're an ENFP when...

[Moiety]

Feeling that you're capable of excusing any cause from any theoretical position while really holding none.

Very true.

The rest is.... But I'm capable of excusing your behavior so.... Welcome, :crazy:!

 

[Lady_X]

we excuse all kinds of strange behavior don't we? way too empathetic for our own good...this is why as much as i would've liked to be a psychologist...i would've been horrible at it.

 

[Geoff]

we excuse all kinds of strange behavior don't we? way too empathetic for our own good...this is why as much as i would've liked to be a psychologist...i would've been horrible at it.

I think in that way INFP and ENFP are very similar. They make good counsellors because they can be so empathetic. They make bad counsellors for the same reason (they get over involved, or can't leave the subject alone when they walk away).

I have an INFP friend who volunteers as a rape-counsellor. She finds it very hard to stop thinking of the counselling out of hours.

 

[Lady_X]

right...i barely watch the news because i think about the families in the stories long after and wonder about them. i can feel an honest, genuine connection with people i've never met and want to protect them. it's so weird.

 

[Moiety]

we excuse all kinds of strange behavior don't we? way too empathetic for our own good...this is why as much as i would've liked to be a psychologist...i would've been horrible at it.

Yeah, I think I might be a good at figuring people out (and I do like psychology) but to tell them what to do and be responsible for that....it's basically the same reason why I don't like being a leader.

 

[Lady_X]

or a lawyer...as much as doing the right thing and justice is important to me...i can see both sides of the stories too often and have zero ability to see anything in black and white. it's hard not to take into account...the experiences in the persons lives that lead up to the event...so...what do you do with that drive? i guess that's where the advocacy comes in? maybe??

 

[Geoff]

or a lawyer...as much as doing the right thing and justice is important to me...i can see both sides of the stories too often and have zero ability to see anything in black and white. it's hard not to take into account...the experiences in the persons lives that lead up to the event...so...what do you do with that drive? i guess that's where the advocacy comes in? maybe??

As a professional, I find that giving time to something helps with that drive. I'm a tax advisor, and I like to give low or no-cost time to what I see as worthwhile causes.

So I volunteer on a chamber of commerce committee helping provide business tax advice to local businesses, and lobbying the government on issues that would help people and their families. I also provide time to local university start up ideas in the hope they can grow them (eg a recent one was a proposed cure for antibiotic resistant superbugs)

That helps, I find.

 

[Xellotath]

Very true.

The rest is.... But I'm capable of excusing your behavior so.... Welcome, :crazy:!

Oh, good... if you mean that then I really am home.
Thank you.

And erinavery, I'm a psych major, but I doubt I have the emotional stability for psychotherapy (hence, I'm trying to focus on the research aspect). I've always wondered if there is a specific emotional training therapists go through, to teach you how to not let the cases overwhelm the rest of your life and allow you to remain functional.

 

[Moiety]

or a lawyer...as much as doing the right thing and justice is important to me...i can see both sides of the stories too often and have zero ability to see anything in black and white. it's hard not to take into account...the experiences in the persons lives that lead up to the event...so...what do you do with that drive? i guess that's where the advocacy comes in? maybe??

Yes, that's where it's important. As far as advocacy is concerned, I draw a line. While there is excuse for strange behavior (basically "to each their own"), I do think crime should be always punished. Actions are the true judges of character. I pity a criminal who had a rough childhood but that doesn't mean I think he shouldn't be responsible for his actions. Revenge is never justified as far as the law goes. I believe law has to be completely impartial.

If someone murders my entire family I might take matters into my own hands though. But that's outside of law. And I don't want the law to pity me. For the law to work, motivation must be thrown out the window, imo.

 

[Lady_X]

the researching bit sounds fantastic! why didn't i think of that!? seriously...love to do research and with your crazy cool intuition i'm sure you could help tremendously with figuring out what exactly to do to help somebody...honestly...i think that's great! good luck with it!

 

[Geoff]

If someone murders my entire family I might take matters into my own hands though. But that's outside of law. And I don't want the law to pity me. For the law to work, motivation must be thrown out the window, imo.

Interesting, motivation is bound up in some key parts of criminal law. There has to be both the actual crime, and the knowledge/intent to commit (mens rea).

Motivation... it's difficult to unwind from criminal awareness of the act.

 

[Lady_X]

Yes, that's where it's important. As far as advocacy is concerned, I draw a line. While there is excuse for strange behavior (basically "to each their own"), I do think crime should be always punished. Actions are the true judges of character. I pity a criminal who had a rough childhood but that doesn't mean I think he shouldn't be responsible for his actions. Revenge is never justified as far as the law goes. I believe law has to be completely impartial.

If someone murders my entire family I might take matters into my own hands though. But that's outside of law. And I don't want the law to pity me. For the law to work, motivation must be thrown out the window, imo.

oh...i agree. i do believe people should be accountable but it's why i don't believe in capital punishment...because...i do think sometimes criminals were the victims of a despicable upbringing...and although they may not fit in in society...they can and should still have a life...in prison...to hopefully grow into a better person...that's my opinion anyway...and probably a horrible idea to bring up such a controversial topic...eeek.

 

[Geoff]

oh...i agree. i do believe people should be accountable but it's why i don't believe in capital punishment...because...i do think sometimes criminals were the victims of a despicable upbringing...and although they may not fit in in society...they can and should still have a life...in prison...to hopefully grow into a better person...that's my opinion anyway...and probably a horrible idea to bring up such a controversial topic...eeek.

Really, the only true appeal of capital punishment would be sparing the cost of looking after some truly unpleasant murderous lowlife in a prison. As it happens, it costs more to put someone on deathrow, so there is little left to appeal (for me, at least).

 

[Xellotath]

I'm a determinist in philosophy. [ I'm aware of the fallacies of my worldview, calm down T's. ]
In other words, I think of people more or less like plants. To me every decision they make is caused, every motivation is an indication of something else.

Which makes impossible for me to say someone is responsible for anything.

Can you see how I can fall deeply and genuinely in love with the "villains"? They are not bad, they've just been thrown into horrible circumstances... they are angels, really! <3

 

[Lady_X]

Really, the only true appeal of capital punishment would be sparing the cost of looking after some truly unpleasant murderous lowlife in a prison. As it happens, it costs more to put someone on deathrow, so there is little left to appeal (for me, at least).

i know...i'm aware of that reasoning for some...i just don't like the idea of a life having a price like that...but i understand people have their own reasons for believing the way they do.

 

[Geoff]

I'm a determinist in philosophy. [ I'm aware of the fallacies of my worldview, calm down T's. ]
In other words, I think of people more or less like plants. To me every decision they make is caused, every motivation is an indication of something else.

Which makes impossible for me to say someone is responsible for anything.

Can you see how I can fall deeply and genuinely in love with the "villains"? They are not bad, they've just been thrown into horrible circumstances... they are angels, really! <3

Can you expand on the comparison with plants? Do you mean they grow in an environment they have no choice about?

 

[Xellotath]

Can you expand on the comparison with plants? Do you mean they grow in an environment they have no choice about?

Correct.
I don't believe in the concept of free choice at all. Of course it "feels" like we have it. You can "chose" to type in this message board or not. But I like to think that there always reasons for your behavior even minute things.

We are like plants. We never chose what soil we land on. After that we are exposed to lots of stimuli, depending how we adapt to them..and to genetics...we turn out the way we do.

[ Hehe, so many tangents. I -am- home.]

 

[Lady_X]

that's the enfp seeing profound meaning and purpose in everything...yep. i do the same thing...it's an interesting thing, isn't it?

 

[Wild horses]

And also a pain in the ass erina... i have based major life decisions on the shape of clouds in the sky

 

[Lady_X]

for real a pain in the ass...especially when you're made painfully aware that no one else gives a damn.