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[INTP] INTP - The Critic?

Nocapszy

no clinkz 'til brooklyn
Joined
Jun 29, 2007
Messages
4,517
MBTI Type
ENTP
Hmmm....

In my opinion:
Well there's the problem. Typology doesn't employ opinion.

Analysis - Ti (deconstructor). Yeah, the nitpicking function.

Synthesis - Te
Te nitpicks too. Nitpicks for different reasons, but they're still the same mechanism.

In my opinion, INTPs could be better critics than the TJ because of the former's flexible P function which needs to be adaptive in criticizing various forms of art (film, etc.) or system. Not everything should be judged the same.
You're right to point to the perceiving function. Having a good strong idea of what's happening in the _whatever is to be criticized_ gives INTP the upper hand in analysis, hence criticism.

TJs tend to apply a universal objective elaborate guideline to everything.
True. Again though, you're referencing the perceiving function. Their ideal impression of what should be happening is the only criteria they use in criticism.

It's why often E_TJs appear to be less logical, and more arbitrary in their analysis, than even E_TPs despite being logic dominant, and that Te is just as good an analyzer as the introverted version of itself.
 

ThatsWhatHeSaid

Well-known member
Joined
May 11, 2007
Messages
7,263
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w4
I haven't really met too many INTPs, and I'm not sure what I am anymore, although I think XNTP is pretty close. I would totally agree with that you said, and in fact, started a similar thread at INTPc called "Essence of INTP" or something to that effect advocating the same idea.

I'm very critical of myself and of others, which is a quality that tends to come in tandem. The relentless thinking of alternatives combined with a genetic desire for improvement and expansion make me constantly think about what I'm missing, rather than what I have. Working with that voice is exactly where I'm at in my personal "journey."
 

Tallulah

Emerging
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Messages
6,009
MBTI Type
INTP
I'm naturally critical, mostly of myself, and I think it does come from the INTP mentality of trying to look at something from all sides and fix what doesn't work. I think we're natural troubleshooters. I don't know that we make the best critics, though, because being a good critic (in the sense of critiquing something meaningfully in detail) requires much more detail-orientation and putting abstract concepts into accessible language, which I can do, but is not my strong suit. I feel like I can never really explain the intuitive understanding of things that I have inside my head.

I remember having to write critical essays for literature classes in grad school, and it was extremely difficult for me to explain things in sufficient detail. I'd point out the major concept and show the evidence from the text to back it up, and then feel it was so obvious that it didn't need more than a sentence or two to show the connection. I'm much better at detecting than explaining, and I think you need both skills to be a truly effective critic. I think INTPs CAN learn to be good critics, but I wouldn't claim the label as definitive.
 
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