Hello! I've been having a hard time figuring out if I'm INTP or INFP, and I'm hoping you guys can provide me with some insights, maybe point out some things that I'm not seeing. Thus far, most of of my testing has left me with the INTP type, but their are a number of reasons that I've grown skeptical of this conclusion.
1. I don't trust the tests that I've taken. Most of the questions refer to behavior and interests (which I think correspond more with enneagrams (nurture)). In other words, they tend to look at content rather than structure--and I believe structure is what the cognitive functions are about.
2. I majored in philosophy--and I took it pretty seriously. My training in philosophy either developed my Ti to a large extent or conditioned me to mimick the way in which Ti operates. I'm highly-skeptical, and am good at seeing things from a multitude of perspectives. However, I'm also disinclined toward the Ti project (at least, what I keep seeing associated with Ti). That is, the orientation towards building some sort of 'unified theory' (of course, it could be something less ambitious, but theory-oriented nonetheless). I can appreciate appreciate such theories from a aesthetic standpoint, and as interpretations, and as useful tools--but, as it stands, I don't see myself doing that with my life.
3. When I look at the past few years (I recently graduated from college), my life shouts 'INTP'. However, whenever I look at my life as a whole, I seem to be more INFP, and it's just my enneagrams that keep changing. I looked at excerpts from Nurture by Nature, and the INFP childhood description reminds me much more of myself (although I'm not sure how accurate those descriptions are. For those who have read the book or excerpts, did the descriptions of your type's childhood ring true?)
3. Then again, could it be that my formative years were spent in an environment inconducive to my INTP nature? Could it be that the shitty schooling system kept me from realizing how much I loved to learn until I'd finally entered college?
4. In my formative years, I was romantic, idealistic, and self-sacrificing--all of which seem like fitting descriptors for the INFP. I wrote a lot, and in a very romantic way that kind of makes me feel nauseous in retrospect. I crushed hard on the opposite sex and put them on a pedestal. I was obsessed with my goals/dreams, and ignored any evidence that contradicted my beliefs.
5. I don't identify with many of the descriptions of the INFP that I've seen online. They're often described as people highly concerned with 'positive emotion'. They're portrayed as saints, activists, people who are generally bubbling over with compassion and warmth. They're also described as highly irrational types who often put their own feelings over those of others and have little grasp on logic. Most of that is not me. I'm pretty cold and detached around most people, until I get to know them better (and that takes a long time, which, I'm aware, is also an INTP trait). However, in this way, I resemble the Fi that Jung described, particularly when he says, "It is a feeling which apparently depreciates the object; hence it usually becomes noticeable in its negative manifestations...It puts forward negative feeling-judgments or assumes an air of profound indifference, as a measure of self-defence."
I know it looks like I'm leaning toward INFP, but self-knowledge is a tricky thing. It could be that I'm just rebelling against INTP stereotypes that they're unfeeling.
This has run long enough. I'll fill in more information if y'all want me to. Thanks for reading!
1. I don't trust the tests that I've taken. Most of the questions refer to behavior and interests (which I think correspond more with enneagrams (nurture)). In other words, they tend to look at content rather than structure--and I believe structure is what the cognitive functions are about.
2. I majored in philosophy--and I took it pretty seriously. My training in philosophy either developed my Ti to a large extent or conditioned me to mimick the way in which Ti operates. I'm highly-skeptical, and am good at seeing things from a multitude of perspectives. However, I'm also disinclined toward the Ti project (at least, what I keep seeing associated with Ti). That is, the orientation towards building some sort of 'unified theory' (of course, it could be something less ambitious, but theory-oriented nonetheless). I can appreciate appreciate such theories from a aesthetic standpoint, and as interpretations, and as useful tools--but, as it stands, I don't see myself doing that with my life.
3. When I look at the past few years (I recently graduated from college), my life shouts 'INTP'. However, whenever I look at my life as a whole, I seem to be more INFP, and it's just my enneagrams that keep changing. I looked at excerpts from Nurture by Nature, and the INFP childhood description reminds me much more of myself (although I'm not sure how accurate those descriptions are. For those who have read the book or excerpts, did the descriptions of your type's childhood ring true?)
3. Then again, could it be that my formative years were spent in an environment inconducive to my INTP nature? Could it be that the shitty schooling system kept me from realizing how much I loved to learn until I'd finally entered college?
4. In my formative years, I was romantic, idealistic, and self-sacrificing--all of which seem like fitting descriptors for the INFP. I wrote a lot, and in a very romantic way that kind of makes me feel nauseous in retrospect. I crushed hard on the opposite sex and put them on a pedestal. I was obsessed with my goals/dreams, and ignored any evidence that contradicted my beliefs.
5. I don't identify with many of the descriptions of the INFP that I've seen online. They're often described as people highly concerned with 'positive emotion'. They're portrayed as saints, activists, people who are generally bubbling over with compassion and warmth. They're also described as highly irrational types who often put their own feelings over those of others and have little grasp on logic. Most of that is not me. I'm pretty cold and detached around most people, until I get to know them better (and that takes a long time, which, I'm aware, is also an INTP trait). However, in this way, I resemble the Fi that Jung described, particularly when he says, "It is a feeling which apparently depreciates the object; hence it usually becomes noticeable in its negative manifestations...It puts forward negative feeling-judgments or assumes an air of profound indifference, as a measure of self-defence."
I know it looks like I'm leaning toward INFP, but self-knowledge is a tricky thing. It could be that I'm just rebelling against INTP stereotypes that they're unfeeling.
This has run long enough. I'll fill in more information if y'all want me to. Thanks for reading!
