[INTP] Thoughts on my type (INTP)?

[Fluffywolf]

OK. I think you're an INFP. No INTP would use that av or include "fluffy" in their handle.

Helpful? Or inane?

Heard a thousand times, have seriously considered the notion back when I first joined, but have perfectly clear explanations for it now. And the fact I'm enneagram 9 also explains a lot. :>

It was helpful in determining my enneagram.

It was not a deciding factor in anything though, but every little bit counts when it comes to creating a broad sense of understanding. Even the seemingly insignificant ones.

 

[Salomé]

It was a joke for the purpose of illustration...

I don't know you well enough to advise you, and I offer you the courtesy of knowing yourself well enough to choose the type you feel most fits.
I'm not invested either way in your being one type or another, and I cannot understand why other people get so invested in dogmatically declaring the types of people who are strangers to them. It's a bit weird. And further evidence that this whole typology malarkey is highly suspect.

 

[Fluffywolf]

Yeah, that's quite true. I just enjoy helping people trying to type themselves as it is also a good way for me to be able to understand myself better or the concept of typology in general better.

But indeed we weren't created at a factory where some of us were inserted Ti parts and others Fi etc. Cognative functions is not some empyrical science. It's just a (rather vague) tool to try and understand the psyche better so someone can focus on strengthening their weaknesses instead of staying the same unbeknownst that there are other ways you can be or that you can improve on your ways. Typology in particular is good at showing you which parts you can(should) work on in order to best develop yourself without falling into stress or depression.

For example, an INTP not knowing he's an INTP or anything else about typology for that matter, existing in a mainly extraverted and feelery environment, will become seriously stressed out if he tries to focus on improving his extravertedness/mimicking his peers, whilest if he uses his dominate cognative functions to his advantage and focus on relativation and self-confidence, knowing that he is not strange or wrong somehow, just positively different, the effect will be that he will be more accepted in his environment without exposing himself to stress.

In that sense, MBTI can be extremely helpful in some cases.

 

[greenfairy]

because being ethical is very important to me. (Actually not so much anymore, I'm more of a relativist now).

Fi.

Maybe. I think most people NF or not are concerned with ethics, and different types view them differently. I really had to think about this one, and I knew just saying it would point to Fi. So allow me to explain. There is really nothing I believe is ethical which I have not validated against objective reality. This could be Fi+Te, but as I will explain, I am thinking otherwise. I don't see the point in having an ethical principle which is not universal. I used to think more in terms of something good versus something bad, good people believe in this (Democrats) and bad people don't (Republicans), but since high school and early college my thinking has evolved a lot. And this always bothered me about myself, since dualistic thinking was the main criticism I had against Christianity, and I didn't want to be the thing I criticized. Once I encountered more life situations I saw that life is not black and white, there is always an option C, and most of the time a dichotomy simply doesn't apply. I no longer believe in good people and bad people. I avoid making value judgments at all, and I believe they are unnecessary. I have deduced the underlying principles upon which the world works, and I go by that. I looked into Fi and Fe, and it seems that my ethics are based more in Fe than Fi. I believe that attempting to create harmony in a group is important. I believe in the individual, but if that person's feelings motivate them to be destructive to the group, they very well might be in error. Basically my ethics are: be responsible for the consequences of your actions. This is what all ethics comes down to in my opinion. Also people protect the people and things they care about, and I do this. (Don't tell me this is Fi, INFJ is the protector and they use Fe. Everyone does this.) And the main principle I live by and tell others: we live in a balance, and throwing off that balance is usually destructive. So now my sense of ethics appears to be Fe + Ti (external harmony plus underlying principles of reality).

*In fact, there is nothing I would want to believe ever which does not align with ultimate objective reality. Not very Fi imo.

 

[greenfairy]

No, the only reason I would feel embarrassed or upset is that I like to think my conclusions are reliable and that I am good at assessing myself. I'm kind of having an identity crisis right now. I don't like being wrong. But I'll reevaluate my conclusions and thinking and if I am I will have to accept it.

I really do appreciate all the feedback.

 

[greenfairy]

You are not a quintessential INTP or quintessential any other type for that matter, which is pretty clear.

But it seems they base the fact you are an INFP, because your test results are rather random, and that may indicate Fi. Fi strives for integrity and consistency in it's ideals, as a result Fi has a tendency to answer questions on a test conforming those set ideals which can overlap with tendencies of other functions, so that can lead to answering differently.

But I don't really think it's that simple. There are also some things you've said that don't seem INFP to me at all.

It's true your Ti is not pouring out from you, but this is an entirely new subject to you, causing you to have reservations. Makes it very hard for your Ti to come out. So that's perfectly explainable. I'm still behind my latest earlier assumption that you're INTP that uses Te as a shadow function.



I prefer giving you the benefit of the doubt based on your own ability to recognize yourself in the various descriptions. But it's good to keep an open mind and allow for more communication before anyone here, like [MENTION=5143]Salomé[/MENTION] said, can type you effectively. Although, like Salomé insinuates, I don't agree that it is bad for people to share their opinions and observations, wether or not they are right is not the issue, their observations could still share a valuable angle of perception that can lead to useful discoveries. In your case, if they feel you appear Fi, it might just be because you're a bit overwhelmed and aren't really sure what to think, and just need some time to process this all with your Ti and still hold a valuable insight for you. But it might also be because you're Fi. Or that they're plain and simply wrong.

It's up to you to read up and try to understand the various functions and their workings to see which of the two you really are.

Thanks. This is reassuring.

 

[Fluffywolf]

I'm kind of having an identity crisis right now.

Hardly, you are just exposed to a lot of information at once, being overwhelmed, and need to some time to process all the new information. Maybe take a step back and ponder about all this for a while.

 

[greenfairy]

It's hard to explain what Ne picks up. I'll just say you lack Ti, it's the absence of that which is most glaring.

Oh please, [MENTION=3]MacGuffin[/MENTION]. I have spent almost a full year obsessively researching MBTI and cognitive functions, applying them to my every action, and analyzing everything in the minutest detail. Because if I can't put myself into my own internal framework and into a category I spaz out. Rather Ti. You see? It might not be apparent in my posts, because it's an internal process; but I assure you it's there.

I think you are only focusing on what jumps out at you from your Ne, filtering it through your Ti, and then spitting out Fi --> INFP. Which I can't blame you for, but I don't think you are thinking critically about this and you are ignoring a lot of details which might suggest contrary to your conclusions. I asked for observations, impressions, and opinions, so I appreciate your feedback; I just can't help but feel a little insulted that you would say I completely lack the function.

But thanks for saying you like me and that my posts are interesting.

 

[Fluffywolf]

Hmm.

You've spent a year learning about MBTI from an objective point of view and never before tried to really figure out where you fit in all of it? Or did you just come to an early conclusion about your type and went with it for a year until you realized some things didn't make sense? Or are you over-reacting?

The first two possibilities, I mean it's a behaviour that lasted a year after all, are pretty much void of Ne.

 

[greenfairy]

Hmm.

You've spent a year learning about MBTI from an objective point of view and never before tried to really figure out where you fit in all of it? Or did you just come to an early conclusion about your type and went with it for a year until you realized some things didn't make sense? Or are you over-reacting?

The first two possibilities, I mean it's a behaviour that lasted a year after all, are pretty much void of Ne.

No; I tested as INTJ in high school, and didn't think much about it. In early college I had the opportunity to get involved in activism and refine my ethical beliefs, and so took it again out of curiosity and tested as INFP. That was fine with me. The description was accurate for me at the time. I didn't really read about other types. Then a year ago, I read INFP again and it seemed a little outdated. It seemed that the negative characteristics which looked like the type were things I had worked on and overcome, and didn't apply anymore. I read about INTP, and I was like, "I want to be that! That sounds like me." So I began the process, and found explanations for most of my INFP characteristics being attributable to other factors and consistent within the context of INTP. The process continued, with me focusing on the differences between INFP and INTP, and I concluded I am more INTP. To think that all of this is in error is to say the least a little bothersome.

 

[Fluffywolf]

That's quite a bit different than obsessively studying typology for a year.

 

[greenfairy]

"Introverted Thinking: Analyzing; categorizing; evaluating according to principles and whether something fits the framework or model; figuring out the principles on which something works; checking for inconsistencies; clarifying definitions to get more precision."

This has pretty much been me the past year and in this thread in a nutshell.

 

[greenfairy]

That's quite a bit different than obsessively studying typology for a year.

I guess. I mean, I had to understand the system and how it works in order to properly apply it...

 

[Salomé]

I think you're trying too hard to fit something you find attractive.

That way self-delusion, not enlightenment, lies.

 

[SoraMayhem]

"Introverted Thinking: Analyzing; categorizing; evaluating according to principles and whether something fits the framework or model; figuring out the principles on which something works; checking for inconsistencies; clarifying definitions to get more precision."

This has pretty much been me the past year and in this thread in a nutshell.

Fi does the same thing, though.

 

[greenfairy]

But obviously not exactly the same thing, or there wouldn't be a difference in the functions.

Introverted Feeling: Valuing; considering importance and worth; reviewing for incongruity; evaluating something based on the truths on which it is based; clarifying values to achieve accord; deciding if something is of significance and worth standing up for.

What's the difference in you opinion? I definitely do more of the first one.

 

[Fluffywolf]

Fi does the same thing, though.

Fi bases their logic structure mostly based on emotions that make sense to the Fi user but are generally hard to describe or put to words.

Ti based their logic more on cold fact regardless of their emotions and in INTP's with Ne usually have an easy time to say what they want to say in whatever way they feel is appropiate to the situation.

It's not the same thing.

 

[greenfairy]

Another question to the public: would someone Fi dominant have a lot of trouble with emotions, not know how to process them, and generally be unaware of them until they start to become a problem? Would this person prefer to avoid emotions in other people and herself? Would this person emotionally react more to what a situation is telling them than the situation itself or any particular words which were said? Would this person be described as occasionally insensitive and blunt? Would this person feel perfectly comfortable with emotional self disclosure? Would this person not have a clue how to comfort a person who is feeling bad if they are not in an intimate relationship with them? If all this is typical of INFP's, you might have a case. If it is more INTP, I do.

 

[SoraMayhem]

I'm an Fi dom and to me, that first description of Ti sounds a lot like how I use Fi. In fact, introverted judging (in my opinion) in general is mostly about mental frameworks, evaluating on principals, and checking for inconsistency, that's not something that's limited to thinking, or excluded from feeling.

Something I find strange is that, in the two descriptions that you posted, Ti is the one that contains the word 'principles' while Fi has the word 'truths'; normally it's the other way around, where Ti is concerned with objective truths, and Fi is about internal principles. Where did you find those descriptions?

 

[greenfairy]

Fi bases their logic structure mostly based on emotions that make sense to the Fi user but are generally hard to describe or put to words.

Ti based their logic more on cold fact regardless of their emotions and in INTP's with Ne usually have an easy time to say what they want to say in whatever way they feel is appropiate to the situation.

It's not the same thing.

I personally think the second one is more me. My emotions tend to be unreliable and I try to leave them out of things.