[Jungian Cognitive Functions] Function Development

[SearchingforPeace]

I have been thinking a lot about function development recently and a recent discussion with another member helped me put some ideas together. I hope it makes a little sense.

Introduction

As we know (or believe we know), we each have 4 functions, each with a direction or aspect. We use two to judge and two to perceive.

By conventional JCF stacking, my type as a ENFJ is Fe Ni Se Ti. Various theorists have also discussed the shadow aspect of each, the inverse.

Now, I do believe the combination is very important, making a ESFJ and a ENFJ different, though both are Fe doms, for example. Fe Si and Fe Ni will arrive at different places with the same experience.

Additionally, functions are on an axis, Fe/Ti, Fi/Te, Ni/Se, Si/Ne, so that there is a relationship between the judging functions and the perceiving functions.

In typical understanding, we develop our dominant than our secondary then our tertiary and the inferior is a place of weakness and growth.

Personality Junkie — INFJ, INTP, INTJ, INFP Types & More talks that instead we actually develop our inferior next after the dominant. The author's point is that the dominant and inferior are tied together(the axis) and there is a battle for control between the two in the late teens and early twenties, before things settle down. The inferior is then subsumed into the dominant.

At The Personality Page they talk about growth for types is often turning judgment to the opposite, i.e., FJs need to look inside themselves and FPs need to extend feeling outward.

There is also talk of an 8 function model, but that is more about acknowledging the shadow and each function exists, with the other direction just hidden in our subconscious.

Naomi Quenk wrote for the official MBTI folks for a long time and had access to a mountain of data. She constructed her theory of in the grip typing, which seems to be a great way to narrow down a type.

My new idea

Ok, enough of the background and theory, where am I going?

What if type development is all that and more? What if trying to focus on the inferior function development is fundementally hopeless? After all, the Fe for a ISTP will remain weak even if fully developed.

So, why not instead look to the shadows of our Dom and Aux functions for growth? If the shadow of our Dominant is just as strong as our Dominant, shouldn't getting a handle on that be more important than trying to work on an Inf that will always be weak and has been largely subsumed into the Dominant?

For the ISTP example, they would try to getting better at Te stuff, fitting in the system and using their internal thinking combined with their Ti.

Likewise, the ENFJ would try to develop shadow Fi (which isn't a separate function, but just turning Fe inward) rather than Ti.

In my own life, I have spent a lot of time sitting with feelings and emotions, trying to focus on myself internally, to find the deep and scary places that INFPs live in all the time.

The experience has been extremely painful but rewarding. My shadow does not feel so terrifying. And it seems clear that the abyss that Fe doms enter while in the grip is a little bit of inferior Ti and a lot of shadow Fe.

A ENFJ will never wield shadow Fi like a INFP, but it can become useful and less terrifying. (a special thanks to my discussion partner for coming up with that point).

Anyway, I would love to see what others think about this idea.

 

[á´…eparted]

I'm not sure I agree with this. I don't go into Fi modes of thinking, or even shadow Fi. I've contrasted myself with that stuff with [MENTION=4945]EJCC[/MENTION] and [MENTION=7254]Wind Up Rex[/MENTION] a few times, and while what they do is "familar" it's still fundementally different. Inferior Fi finds feelings to be confusing. I don't really see them that way. Feelings make sense to me. I get frustrated with them. I'll completely understand where they come from, but often go "ah, nuh uh, that's not logical. Go away feeling, u dumb". A lot of how I approach that sort of stuff is due to being a 1w2; sitting with feelings is just not a natural thing for me, and it feels kinda useless. Granted, I know it's not useless. I also do not see sitting with feelings as terrifying. I find it to be annoying and sort of a waste of time (again, I know it's not a waste of time).

If anything, I try to develop Te and I have spent a long time trying to do so. In a lot of ways it feels "superior" to Fe in a lot of ways because it's so damn efficient and unclouded by emotional clutter. To me developing inferior Ti is really the way I have to go about it. I have to be thoughtful, detailed, and pragmatic about my feelings, instead of trying to force them. Inferior Ti when it's not working well will look at feelings very coldly and not address them correctly, and will come up with all KINDS of crazy rationale for them, thinking that it's the best "approach" for it since it's being "objective" about the feelings. When inferior Ti is working well with feelings, it works with them and considers where the feelings came from, why they are being felt, and figuring out what surrounds them and works with that information and is present with it. It's different from how Fi does stuff. I'd have to ask a Te dom to get a better prospective on that end though.

I have been finding that focusing on inferior Ti has been useful to me. What I've realized is that I've been just doing it wrong. Ti isn't just this cold heartless thing, even if I want it to be. Approaching it like it is creates all kind of illogical processes. I have to and have been doing a lot of reworking of those views.

Ultimately, I think that types just use their four functions, and don't really do much with their shadow functions. It muddles the theories if those are included.

 

[Forever]

Why go to your shadow functions? Most people aren't even masters of their dominant and auxiliary functions. It's only an energy drain to get my inner enfp out. Yes I use Ne, Fi, Te, and Si but they're rarer. I'm just trying to do with what I can with Ni and Fe. Once I feel like I can bond disparate groups. I'll feel like Ti and Se can have much greater focus but until then. It's rather absurd going about functions that you do not psychologically prefer.

simply if you can't master what you're good at normally WHY go farther? Seems like a grand waste of time.

I wish I could use Si and Te for school, really I do. In this phase of my life, they're extremely useful. However Ni is a ruthless picky function. It will not spend time it does not seem important. I hate it. However we can always manipulate our environment to get the most out of our assignments tasks or errands we need to accomplish.

Get creative is my advice. Don't look where the soil is dead.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

Why go to your shadow functions? Most people aren't even masters of their dominant and auxiliary functions. It's only an energy drain to get my inner enfp out. Yes I use Ne, Fi, Te, and Si but they're rarer. I'm just trying to do with what I can with Ni and Fe. Once I feel like I can bond disparate groups. I'll feel like Ti and Se can have much greater focus but until then. It's rather absurd going about functions that you do not psychologically prefer.

simply if you can't master what you're good at normally WHY go farther? Seems like a grand waste of time.

I wish I could use Si and Te for school, really I do. In this phase of my life, they're extremely useful. However Ni is a ruthless picky function. It will not spend time it does not seem important. I hate it. However we can always manipulate our environment to get the most out of our assignments tasks or errands we need to accomplish.

Get creative is my advice. Don't look where the soil is dead.

Again, it was advice I first encountered at personalitypage.com.

I have very developed Fe Ni.

My Se is reasonably well developed, but it will never be on par with those. I can definitely choose to strongly use Se at times, but in normal course it is far weaker. I will never have the innate sense for physical action that SPs seem to embody.

The stuff on inferior function at personalityjunkie.com is worth delving into. His arguments seem well reasoned.

I was directed to sit with my inner feelings as a path for growth by astute people here. By doing so, it seems to be strongly improved my sense of self.

So, while I often believe my logic is sound, I firmly realize that Ti is a trap for me and the more I think internally (instead of feel internally) the more problems developed.

I spent 30+ years trying to make myself an unemotional logical machine. It was never me. Ti is just part of Fe and that works well enough.

So, turning Fe inward, sitting with my feelings, vastly improved my life.

But I am older than many here. I am at a different stage of development.

But by this theory, ENTJs would be better off working on Ti than Fi. It makes some sense, as feeling will likely remain awkward to many ENTJs because it is such a different experience.

 

[Forever]

Again, it was advice I first encountered at personalitypage.com.

I have very developed Fe Ni.

My Se is reasonably well developed, but it will never be on par with those. I can definitely choose to strongly use Se at times, but in normal course it is far weaker. I will never have the innate sense for physical action that SPs seem to embody.

The stuff on inferior function at personalityjunkie.com is worth delving into. His arguments seem well reasoned.

Theoretically, according to Jung all functions when mastered become on an equal level. I don't think he'd recommend leveling out of all your functions until you're at the ripe old age. Have retirement and all familial problems in check. I haven't updated myself in your blog (if you so state) to know.

I was directed to sit with my inner feelings as a path for growth by astute people here. By doing so, it seems to be strongly improved my sense of self.

So, while I often believe my logic is sound, I firmly realize that Ti is a trap for me and the more I think internally (instead of feel internally) the more problems developed.

I spent 30+ years trying to make myself an unemotional logical machine. It was never me. Ti is just part of Fe and that works well enough.

Logic is only helpful once you know what to do. Logic is never a one all be all method. Psychopaths can't function as well due to that.

So, turning Fe inward, sitting with my feelings, vastly improved my life.

But I am older than many here. I am at a different stage of development.

But by this theory, ENTJs would be better off working on Ti than Fi. It makes some sense, as feeling will likely remain awkward to many ENTJs because it is such a different experience.

Well from what I infer, you are much older than I am. This is true that going all with your preferred decision making orientation than the opposite when in shadows.

If this is for those who are on the home stretch for being on the path of an individuated individual, then I am fine with it.

 

[Verona]

That is an interesting theory. I have only recently been able to pinpoint which functions I use because they are so natural to me and also because I am older and have already developed functions outside of the normal order. Se is a function that I find impossible to develop in a strong way no matter how hard I try so I think there might be something there about inferior functions being very limited. Ne is a bit foreign to me but it does seem more attainable. I am curious to hear more about how your development of Fi goes.

 

[KitchenFly]

You have some eclectic ideas [MENTION=25377]SearchingforPeace[/MENTION] , that's one of the interesting things about mind and the eight functions is that there are grey areas were things can happen that are not perhaps spoken about or thought about.

It gets me thinking could there be a four in to four dynamic like there is an Three into three dynamic. At that level the four would be full I and E in the sense that the four would be simply S N T F as full lenses that may lay together producing various perspectives perhaps powerful perspectives that if active with in unisons with Presence may correlate as being connected with action that may be deemed miraculous.

An interesting thing about four into four is that it produces twelve and if we need think about three into three and the miraculous then how could we think of four into four as being linked with three into three and the miraculous or the inner working of the living enneagram?

One simple way is one "Ten's and Two units.

Three triads one triangle. Four parts. Meet as one mechanism within a diverse mechanism with a working multiplicity of part.

I would tend to think of "Ten being linked to zero and nine at point nine and the two units as the juster positions of each of the two end points of the multiplicity between points three and six.

But any way there are many interesting thoughts. And the mind can operate in miraculous ways and in reality in its static manner of operation as we know it it still is miraculous the proof is all the proactive achievements we achieve via our working synergies.

I think one of the most powerful focuses is when INFJ and INFP work as a unison via Ni & Ne & Fe & Fi as a base lens. I say this because I believe that this the the primary setting for self to connect with other others sub conches at its active operating level wile the other is actively engaged in the focus of manifesting persona via egoic minds operation. Now I would suggest that that is the "Ten's" component of the making of the law of three within and the Two units component is the utilisation of the multiplicity as an active multiplicity an extension of will a logic directive of free will selfs own will via the workings of the law of three having been manifested and exercised.

I could shear some action I have achieved but I simply need only to remind you that all minds are connected doth near and far and these MBTI function action you have touched upon may play a real role within the working mechanism of the phenomenon of the extraordinary mind is capable of.

I know there are patterns between the wings and core and integration and stress points that work together as lens or operations of minds will. But these action utilise the four letter eight functions Si Se Fi Fe Ne Ni Te Ti.

 

[Ribonuke]

Being that our shadow functions pack some of the greatest punch, but the ones over which I believe we have weakest control, I believe this is an idea equivalent to lion-taming.

Try at your own risk, but the payoff will be great.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

That is an interesting theory. I have only recently been able to pinpoint which functions I use because they are so natural to me and also because I am older and have already developed functions outside of the normal order. Se is a function that I find impossible to develop in a strong way no matter how hard I try so I think there might be something there about inferior functions being very limited. Ne is a bit foreign to me but it does seem more attainable. I am curious to hear more about how your development of Fi goes.

I have noticed a huge difference in my life from a year ago. It used to be that if I focused on my inner feelings at all, I was torn apart by pain so incredibly worse than my worst physical pain I had ever experienced. Turning Fe inward can be an extremely difficult thing. But coming to terms with it, even to a small extent has been amazingly freeing.

I struggle to give justice to the experience, but some of it appears to be accepting part of myself and understanding that I had long rejected part of myself.

Functions are usually called "preferences". It is what is most natural. But at some point we need to push aside limits and move forward, growing beyond the easily accessible.

A NFJ will never become a NFP, but the NFJ could become an integrated NF, less controlled by the unconscious.

A few months ago, I had the occassion to respond to tough situation, and did so in a much more integrated fashion rather than my normal Fe efforts. It was an amazing experience and felt so different and much more alive than I could have ever imagined.....

Anything that helps us become free of unconscious control is beneficial.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

Being that our shadow functions pack some of the greatest punch, but the ones over which I believe we have weakest control, I believe this is an idea equivalent to lion-taming.

Try at your own risk, but the payoff will be great.

Yes.

As young children, we have little conscious control of anything. As we mature, we can think and act with more reason and logic and wisdom.

Breaking through unconscious barriers can be extremely empowering.

But the idea that focusing on the shadows of our dom and aux, rather chasing our inferior function, seems a preferred direction for long term development.

 

[meowington]

I may be missing the point, but I personally don't think anyone can consciously tap into or develop shadow functions.
For this reason :

Probably the best way to understand the idea of a “shadow” is to say that it is the part of our personal unconscious that we have the most limited access to. We experience our shadow through our inferior function, which is a part of the unconscious that we can access more easily because it is still on our function stack.

source : What Is A “Shadow” In Myers-Briggs Theory? | Marissa

Anyone ever heard the song "Forty-Six & 2" by progressive metal band Tool ?
I've always thought this song is clearly about Jungian shadow.
Lyrics below :

My shadow's
Shedding skin and
I've been picking
Scabs again.
I'm down
Digging through
My old muscles
Looking for a clue.

I've been crawling on my belly
Clearing out what could've been.
I've been wallowing in my own confused
And insecure delusions
For a piece to cross me over
Or a word to guide me in.
I wanna feel the changes coming down.
I wanna know what I've been hiding in

My shadow.
Change is coming through my shadow.
My shadow's shedding skin
I've been picking
My scabs again.

I've been crawling on my belly
Clearing out what could've been.
I've been wallowing in my own chaotic
And insecure delusions.

I wanna feel the change consume me,
Feel the outside turning in.
I wanna feel the metamorphosis and
Cleansing I've endured within

My shadow
Change is coming.
Now is my time.
Listen to my muscle memory.
Contemplate what I've been clinging to.
Forty-six and two ahead of me.

I choose to live and to
Grow, take and give and to
Move, learn and love and to
Cry, kill and die and to
Be paranoid and to
Lie, hate and fear and to
Do what it takes to move through.

I choose to live and to
Lie, kill and give and to
Die, learn and love and to
Do what it takes to step through.

See my shadow changing,
Stretching up and over me.
Soften this old armor.
Hoping I can clear the way
By stepping through my shadow,
Coming out the other side.
Step into the shadow.
Forty six and two are just ahead of me.

I kind of like the idea of "stepping through" your shadow, or developing it. But don't think it's realistic. It's called the shadow or the unconscious for a reason.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

I may be missing the point, but I personally don't think anyone can consciously tap into or develop shadow functions.
For this reason :


source : What Is A “Shadow” In Myers-Briggs Theory? | Marissa

Anyone ever heard the song "Forty-Six & 2" by progressive metal band Tool ?
I've always thought this song is clearly about Jungian shadow.
Lyrics below :

My shadow's
Shedding skin and
I've been picking
Scabs again.
I'm down
Digging through
My old muscles
Looking for a clue.

I've been crawling on my belly
Clearing out what could've been.
I've been wallowing in my own confused
And insecure delusions
For a piece to cross me over
Or a word to guide me in.
I wanna feel the changes coming down.
I wanna know what I've been hiding in

My shadow.
Change is coming through my shadow.
My shadow's shedding skin
I've been picking
My scabs again.

I've been crawling on my belly
Clearing out what could've been.
I've been wallowing in my own chaotic
And insecure delusions.

I wanna feel the change consume me,
Feel the outside turning in.
I wanna feel the metamorphosis and
Cleansing I've endured within

My shadow
Change is coming.
Now is my time.
Listen to my muscle memory.
Contemplate what I've been clinging to.
Forty-six and two ahead of me.

I choose to live and to
Grow, take and give and to
Move, learn and love and to
Cry, kill and die and to
Be paranoid and to
Lie, hate and fear and to
Do what it takes to move through.

I choose to live and to
Lie, kill and give and to
Die, learn and love and to
Do what it takes to step through.

See my shadow changing,
Stretching up and over me.
Soften this old armor.
Hoping I can clear the way
By stepping through my shadow,
Coming out the other side.
Step into the shadow.
Forty six and two are just ahead of me.

I kind of like the idea of "stepping through" your shadow, or developing it. But don't think it's realistic. It's called the shadow or the unconscious for a reason.

Again, it is about integration. Every function has two aspects, the conscious and unconscious, the preferred and the shadow. The shadow is as strong as its opposite, but out of your control.

Isn't it better to try to gain some conscious control of the shadow rather than overly focus on improving the much weaker inferior?

Plus the inferior will remain a place of psychological misunderstanding. We will overestimate our strength in our tertiary and inferior functions even as we become stronger in them.

Personal growth and integration includes being less controlled by the unconscious and bringing the conscious and unconscious into greater unity. I spent my life ignoring my own inner feelings. It was causing severe anguish. With integration, it has largely declined.

But I went through an extreme midlife crisis to get here and still have very far to go.

I don't believe that it is possible for someone to develop the opposite primary judging function (FPs can't develop Ti, FJs can't develop Te, TJs can't develop Fe, and TPs can't develop Fi). It would seem too fundementally contrary to everything they are.

I have noticed that FPs experience difficulty dealing with Ti, some mentioning severe pain when faced with what they see as Ti. Likewise, I have noticed TJs can't seem to comprehend Fe. My own experience with Te is often a huge struggle and I find myself reacting poorly to expressed Te, as much as I really appreciate the Te doms in my life. And we regularly get threads from TPs exressing confusion about Fi.

So, growth would have us develop our tert and inf as much as we can, but also go to very uncomfortable places in the shadow, so as it minimize the role our unconscious has over our actions.

 

[existence]

So, while I often believe my logic is sound, I firmly realize that Ti is a trap for me and the more I think internally (instead of feel internally) the more problems developed.

I spent 30+ years trying to make myself an unemotional logical machine. It was never me. Ti is just part of Fe and that works well enough.

So, turning Fe inward, sitting with my feelings, vastly improved my life.

Try on ENFP (and ENFp) for a typing, then. You clearly prefer internal personal feelings if what you write here is true.

EDIT: Unless I misunderstand what you refer to with the "feel internally" thing. In that case, disregard this thought.

 

[Pionart]

From what I understand, the inferior does appear early on with the dominant, but it's only after the tertiary has achieved a good level of development that it really becomes usable.

I personally focus on my inferior (Se) for growth. I think using the lower functions causes stress and a huge energy drain (you know how introverts are drained around people? I think that using the tertiary is even more draining) but becomes easier with continued use.

I think it's better to focus on the inferior/tertiary than on the shadows of the dominant/auxiliary because it provides more of a balance to the personality. ENFJ is already good with Feeling, and using Fi still means drawing energy away from the dominant function, so it seems less important. I think developing any function is going to be good though, development is development.

 

[existence]

From what I understand, the inferior does appear early on with the dominant, but it's only after the tertiary has achieved a good level of development that it really becomes usable.

I personally focus on my inferior (Se) for growth. I think using the lower functions causes stress and a huge energy drain (you know how introverts are drained around people? I think that using the tertiary is even more draining) but becomes easier with continued use.

I think it's better to focus on the inferior/tertiary than on the shadows of the dominant/auxiliary because it provides more of a balance to the personality. ENFJ is already good with Feeling, and using Fi still means drawing energy away from the dominant function, so it seems less important. I think developing any function is going to be good though, development is development.

Yeah, I noticed that dynamics between the tertiary and inferior (jungian). Interesting.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

Try on ENFP (and ENFp) for a typing, then. You clearly prefer internal personal feelings if what you write here is true.

EDIT: Unless I misunderstand what you refer to with the "feel internally" thing. In that case, disregard this thought.

Not at all. ENFP does not have the same stacking (NFTS) and the shadow of the ENFJ is a INFP.

I have no desire for less Fe. But for growth, being less controlled by unconscious Fi is a very good thing.

 

[existence]

Not at all. ENFP does not have the same stacking (NFTS) and the shadow of the ENFJ is a INFP.

I have no desire for less Fe. But for growth, being less controlled by unconscious Fi is a very good thing.

If that Fi thing just means things like "I have spent a lot of time sitting with feelings and emotions, trying to focus on myself internally, to find the deep and scary places that INFPs live in all the time. The experience has been extremely painful but rewarding. My shadow does not feel so terrifying", I don't think it's necessarily Fi. It could be a mix of Ni/Fe/Ti stuff. Also, this is something that everyone who goes to therapy has to go through if they want to actually come out of the therapy with actual results, with real growth. So that's not so type related. Oh and the shadow thingy makes me think of psychoanalytical approaches that also have nothing to do with type.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

If that Fi thing just means things like "I have spent a lot of time sitting with feelings and emotions, trying to focus on myself internally, to find the deep and scary places that INFPs live in all the time. The experience has been extremely painful but rewarding. My shadow does not feel so terrifying", I don't think it's necessarily Fi. It could be a mix of Ni/Fe/Ti stuff. Also, this is something that everyone who goes to therapy has to go through if they want to actually come out of the therapy with actual results, with real growth. So that's not so type related. Oh and the shadow thingy makes me think of psychoanalytical approaches that also have nothing to do with type.

I have discussed the topic of Fi extensively with FPs and even TJs. I am comfortable with the idea of the shadow of our preferred function and how they impact us personally.

But I am a person in my mid 40s who completely avoided my personal feelings my entire life and why focused on the external environment. Coming to terms with my inner feelings was a fierce struggle. But it is part of the established pattern for NFJ growth by practitioners.

Many people take months and months if not years of therapy to even begin to find themselves. Trauma distorts self. While this is similar, the typical middle aged INFP has deeply explored their inner feelings and developed a deep awareness of their feelings scape and Fi space. Growth for them is turning Fi towards Fe space.

 

[Pionart]

I have discussed the topic of Fi extensively with FPs and even TJs. I am comfortable with the idea of the shadow of our preferred function and how they impact us personally.

But I am a person in my mid 40s who completely avoided my personal feelings my entire life and why focused on the external environment. Coming to terms with my inner feelings was a fierce struggle. But it is part of the established pattern for NFJ growth by practitioners.

Many people take months and months if not years of therapy to even begin to find themselves. Trauma distorts self. While this is similar, the typical middle aged INFP has deeply explored their inner feelings and developed a deep awareness of their feelings scape and Fi space. Growth for them is turning Fi towards Fe space.

Since you're in your 40s, your Se and Ti would already have developed (and would be further integrating with the predominant functions) so Fi is likely what would develop next - the imbalance in the personality now is a lack of introverted judgement.

However, it should also be noted that the functions don't develop in quite a sequential fashion like that - they are all developing to some degree at all stages of life, however tend to predominate at different stages of development in terms of level of development relative to usual. So, the Fi hasn't just appeared but rather has not been yet made the primary focus over a prolonged period of time.

 

[existence]

I have discussed the topic of Fi extensively with FPs and even TJs. I am comfortable with the idea of the shadow of our preferred function and how they impact us personally.

But I am a person in my mid 40s who completely avoided my personal feelings my entire life and why focused on the external environment. Coming to terms with my inner feelings was a fierce struggle. But it is part of the established pattern for NFJ growth by practitioners.

Is it typically easier for TJs incl. ISTJs? (This coming to terms with inner feelings etc.)

Many people take months and months if not years of therapy to even begin to find themselves. Trauma distorts self. While this is similar, the typical middle aged INFP has deeply explored their inner feelings and developed a deep awareness of their feelings scape and Fi space. Growth for them is turning Fi towards Fe space.

I see your idea, I just think it's easily possible that the JCF function model doesn't explain nuances like these you bring up. So I'm not sure if the idea of generalizing it to every type's shadow would work.

But let's see some more examples. How would ISTJ benefit turning towards Se space?