Discussion with those who are not like-minded with you increases perspective. Increasing perspective increases objectivity (as defined in gathering clear-cut information). More clear-cut, objective information makes it easier to gain true understanding.
Exactly.
We can only approach objectivity through an intra-subjective process. That's the basic law of modern phenomenology.
---
Anyway. I'm not a
Fi user, and thus, I looked at this thread as an opportunity to learn, to read what real
Fi users would have to say about this function with their own words, their own experiences.
I was here to gather datas, to observe and analyze.
But it seems the whole thread was invaded by people who pretended to knew more what
Fi was than real
Fi users. They were here to judge, to explain how vastly superior they were compared to any of those "Feeling lunatics". They never listened.
This is what I call a severe lack of curiosity, and maturity.
This close-minded and arrogant attitude will lead them to nowhere.
To be objective, you have to listen as much opinions and advices as you can and hence, try to developp a "broader [contextual] view". The more you listen, the more you'll be able to "suspend your own judgment", to reach the
Epoche (ἐποχή).
---
However, as a
Ti user, I must confess I have my own biases. But at least, I try to be aware of them, again, if I want to be as effective as possible.
For instance, I think that everything can ultimately be rationalized, including Feelings. This is my great sticking point with Bluewing, as I tend to think that there's no such a thing as "
pure irrationality", even within "odd" functions like
Fi or
Ni. Every reactions we see have a purpose, a cause and an
history; and this is why I found Fineline's post to be so interesting because it was both empirical and grounded into Time, past experiences.
Nothing comes out of nowhere, and eventually, I think even
Fi reactions could be modeled and predicted. But of course, the main difficulty here is that there are as much different "core values" as there are personal histories, and that is what makes
Fi look so complex. And this is why we ought to especially pay attention to what any real
Fi user has to say about his/her own history, his/her own perception, and respect any words they have the generosity to share with us.
---
Again, I thank people like Fineline or Geoff and many others who tried to instil some substance into this thread.
