Cousin Philosophy and MBTI

[Pseudo]

Was reading Fredrick Copleston's A history of philospohy and came across this when he was describing the electic philosoher Cousin:

"Accourding to Cousin, reflection on the history of philosophy reveals that there are four basic types of system, which are 'the fundamental elements of all philospohy'. In the first place there is sensualism, the philospohy 'which relies exclusively on the senes'. Then there is Idealism, which finds reality in the realm of thought. Thirdly there is the philospohy of common sense. And in the fourth place there is mysticism, which turns its back on the senses and takes refuge in interiority. Each of these systems or types of systems contains some truth, but no one of them contains the whole truth or is uniquely true. For example, the philospohy of sensation must obviously express some truth, as sensibility is a real aspect of man. It is not however the whole of man. In regard therefore to the basic kinds of system we have to be careful 'not to reject any one, and not to be the dupe of any of them."

Sounds suspiciously MBTI right?!

 

[Chiharu]

*Sounds suspiciously like Kiersey.
The temperament SP/SJ/NF/NT system is his, as far as I know. It is associated with MBTI, but it can be controversial.

But I do see the connection

 

[Fluffywolf]

It is not unthinkable that two people can come up with similar ideas.

 

[Thalassa]

If you read Please Understand Me II, Keirsey lists out all the philosophies back to the Greeks and Romans which talks about the four humors, different personalities, etc.

There's nothing suspicious about it.

Jung created this, but he created it from studying world mythology, and tying together the ideas that all cultures have underlying mythologies, and there's 16 types of people (though he only identified the first and final function). Then Myers-Briggs developed their own system, and Keirsey his.

No one is stealing anything. There are even Jungian analysts like Beebe, etc.

 

[Pseudo]

It is not unthinkable that two people can come up with similar ideas.

I wasnt trying to imply that anyone stole for anyone. It was just interesting that some one has made similar observations. So the use of 'suspicious' was .... not a joke..... But meant to be light hearted. Hence the double quotation marks (I don't play fast and loose with punctuation). Based on this and other posts I guess I can conclude that my attempts at humor don't translate.

 

[Pseudo]

It is not unthinkable that two people can come up with similar ideas.

I wasnt trying to imply that anyone stole for anyone. It was just interesting that some one has made similar observations. So the use of 'suspicious' was .... not a joke..... But meant to be light hearted. Hence the double quotation marks (I don't play fast and loose with punctuation). Based on this and other posts I guess I can conclude that my attempts at humor don't translate.

 

[UniqueMixture]

Was reading Fredrick Copleston's A history of philospohy and came across this when he was describing the electic philosoher Cousin:

"Accourding to Cousin, reflection on the history of philosophy reveals that there are four basic types of system, which are 'the fundamental elements of all philospohy'. In the first place there is sensualism, the philospohy 'which relies exclusively on the senes'. Then there is Idealism, which finds reality in the realm of thought. Thirdly there is the philospohy of common sense. And in the fourth place there is mysticism, which turns its back on the senses and takes refuge in interiority. Each of these systems or types of systems contains some truth, but no one of them contains the whole truth or is uniquely true. For example, the philospohy of sensation must obviously express some truth, as sensibility is a real aspect of man. It is not however the whole of man. In regard therefore to the basic kinds of system we have to be careful 'not to reject any one, and not to be the dupe of any of them."

Sounds suspiciously MBTI right?!

What about the philosophy that one should alternate between the philosophies so one does not get stuck in one?

 

[Pseudo]

What about the philosophy that one should alternate between the philosophies so one does not get stuck in one?

Development of you cognitive functions?

 

[UniqueMixture]

Development of you cognitive functions?

I think of it more as developing tools that help you cope and later thrive under stimuli that previously was stressful. Don't think about cognitive functions too much. They can be confused with your identity and lead to isolation from non-harmful and in fact positive life experiences because "I am not good in that sort of situation/with that sort of thing." You're pretty bright though so I don't see you having this problem Just remember, fear can often point to desires that you have that you're unaware of. It's a sign that you're pushing your personal boundaries and are stepping into the unknown. While it can be overwhelming, in moderate amounts it is quite healthy and is the impetus for growth.

 

[Pseudo]

I think of it more as developing tools that help you cope and later thrive under stimuli that previously was stressful. Don't think about cognitive functions too much. They can be confused with your identity and lead to isolation from non-harmful and in fact positive life experiences because "I am not good in that sort of situation/with that sort of thing." You're pretty bright though so I don't see you having this problem Just remember, fear can often point to desires that you have that you're unaware of. It's a sign that you're pushing your personal boundaries and are stepping into the unknown. While it can be overwhelming, in moderate amounts it is quite healthy and is the impetus for growth.

I agree with you. That's very good advice. When i said 'development of cognitive functions' I was including the ones that aren't used by my type.

 

[UniqueMixture]

Mhmm.. I meant I think there are more cognitive functions than the cognitive functions proposed within mbti

 

[Little_Sticks]

What about the philosophy that one should alternate between the philosophies so one does not get stuck in one?

Thing is, some philosophies are at odds with each other. Because of this, alternating between them is probably a little insane. Jung's functions have these aspects to them, making true willful alternation somewhat questionable because it wouldn't provide the mind with much coherency.

That said, I think there's a merit to these types being a representation of a mold that is sculpted slowly over time. Only with enough pain and loss would someone be willing to mold their mind into a philosophy that is completely different from who they previously were.

I believe the transition is a painful one and the use of the types was intended to help us understand each other in order that we could avoid that having to occur. But sure, some types could also be argued to be very similar and not in opposition, making alternation coherent.

/2 cents

 

[KDude]

Besides the Greeks, I think this electicism was indirectly touched on in the east too. The Buddha's early investigation into finding meaning in his life was one of extremes..life through sensuality, then complete austerity and mysticism, etc.. His moment of enlightenment, why he was called "buddha" was when he balanced the two (I think the popular view is that Buddha's austerity was the "enlightened" stage, but it wasn't. It was when he got back involved in life). So in a way, these ideas are universal, just spoken of in different ways.

 

[Pseudo]

Mhmm.. I meant I think there are more cognitive functions than the cognitive functions proposed within mbti

Ahhhhhh. Yes, mbti is not the end all be all.