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[NF] Fi and Fe: Trying to Understand and Illustrate the Difference (in my head)

VagrantFarce

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Nov 19, 2008
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1,558
OK, so I think the difference is ultimately where personal identity is assumed to emerge from:

Fe-types understand identity in terms of one's position in relation to others. From this standpoint, your identity is in jeopardy unless you accept others into your life - you are defined by the community that you choose to represent and be a part of. Until then, you're just an anonymous John or Jane Doe, that might be able to think, move and talk autonomously enough, but still not have a true sense of self.

[youtube=dnFsjuYuMvg]Fe[/youtube]

Fi-types understand identity as an internal, innate "guiding light" and they take solace in simply "being themselves". They don't do it to spite others like unhealthy Fe types - they're just trying to stay in touch with who they are as individuals. From this standpoint, everyone is unique - everyone has their own light that they must follow, and to betray it for arbitrary external reasons is to betray who you are.

[youtube=cufk6MMwd5o]Fi[/youtube]

Seem right? :)

If so, :nerd:

if not, :sorry:
 

Jaguar

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Beat_Dead_Horse.jpg
 

disregard

mrs
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The Fi and Fe camps are like the Palestinians and the Israelis.
 

BlueScreen

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YMCA
If you want an easier way to understand it, compare Fi to Ti and Fe to Te. The extroverted one is a search for meaning driven by objective judgement of their surroundings, the introverted one is a search for meaning by reasoning beyond their surroundings to try to create or see a perfect system or predictor.

This leads Fi to be similar to Ti and reject judging what they see at face value unless it makes sense in the scheme of some deeper theorised explanation. Fe can judge what is in front of them as what is in front of them and act accordingly.

The problem I had with the initial explanation was with the being yourself part. It makes as much sense as the idea of "the truth" does to a Ti type. There is no one true self and one answer. Just a lot of personal theorising and explanations for the world. Where Ti explores rational systems, Fi explores the essence of what it is to be human. Both are as ever-changing and re-evaluating as the other.
 

toast

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VagrantFarce. That was the best description I've ever heard & really sums up my understanding of Fe vs. Fi. I do agree though with noigmn's point that the identity can't entirely be called 'self created' or found in Fe or Fi because its constantly emergent . Fe/Fi is just where the meaning comes from / is focused that shapes the perspective around identity.
 

sciski

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OK, so I think the difference is ultimately where personal identity is assumed to emerge from:

Fe-types understand identity in terms of one's position in relation to others. From this standpoint, your identity is in jeopardy unless you accept others into your life - you are defined by the community that you choose to represent and be a part of. Until then, you're just an anonymous John or Jane Doe, that might be able to think, move and talk autonomously enough, but still not have a true sense of self.

...

Fi-types understand identity as an internal, innate "guiding light" and they take solace in simply "being themselves". They don't do it to spite others like unhealthy Fe types - they're just trying to stay in touch with who they are as individuals. From this standpoint, everyone is unique - everyone has their own light that they must follow, and to betray it for arbitrary external reasons is to betray who you are.

...

Seem right? :)

If so, :nerd:

if not, :sorry:


:nerd: nod.

That sounds about right.

My fiance and his mother are Fe types, and the way I understand Fe is as a sort of web of connections and interconnections. You can't move anywhere or do anything without pushing or pulling on the web and impacting on someone else. So they are both extremely cautious about their movements, how the movements impact on everybody else and how everybody else will see them. There's a strong sense of give and take in their relationships. Social interaction takes place by following certain 'forms'--though admittedly both link their Fe with Si, so it may be different for Fe-Ni types.

I was trying to think through where Fi would be in this web model. It's probably dancing through the spaces between the threads, so it's never entirely connected (hence why I sometimes feel like I'm 'apart' from everybody), but it's also very freeing.

My fiance has the most amazing friends who will bend over backwards for him, and he'll do the same for them. This is a really positive side of Fe that I wish I could access.. I try but it's hard to sustain. Anyway, I kind of only wanted to point that out because very positive Fe = Fe++, and then we have an iron ion which is extremely cool. :D
 
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