INTJ: A Jungian Cognitive

Function Analysis
Por Bharadwaj Srigiriraju em Segunda, 18 de julho de 2011 s 03:35
Taken from here: http://www.personalitynation.com/intj/3480-
intj-jungian-cognitive-function-analysis.html

INTJ: A Jungian Cognitive Function Analysis

by simulatedworld a.k.a. Gage Brown
www.personalitynation.com

INTJ, or Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judger, is a label

borrowed from MBTI nomenclature and now applied to the
Jungian Cognitive Function set {Ni, Te, Fi, Se}.

Dominant: Introverted iNtuition (Ni)

"I feel like most people skip too many steps. They're locked into
frameworks of meaning that I neither identify with nor see as
necessary or useful in the process of developing
understanding. Of course, the ability to imagine new
interpretations and platforms for understanding is the most
important thing for me, though it's often difficult to convince
others to peel away their own perspectives enough to even
notice the sorts of conceptual leaps that strike me on a near-
constant basis. I like to solve problems by stepping back and
adjusting the building blocks that the whole issue is founded
on: if you're not willing to do this, you're inevitably going to
miss something that might completely change everything. And
where would you be then? When you really understand
something thoroughly, the answers will jump out at you so
clearly that the problem practically solves itself. If that hasn't
happened yet, then you're still missing something or looking at
the problem the wrong way."

As Ni dominants, INTJs are neither strictly "idea" people nor

strictly "process" people: while ideas and processes both factor
heavily into what they do, it's the synthesis between the two
that really characterizes their unique brand of insight. Like their
Si dominant cousins, Ni dominants are most preoccupied with
the way their own cognition personalizes information and
condenses it into internalized "maps" of past experience. The
difference is that while Si uses more precise and specific
sensory data to formulate these maps (and thus builds more
absolute completion over time), Ni would rather intuit the
skeletal framework of the map based on past experience with
other ideas or symbols that are merely conceptually related.
This is both an advantage and a disadvantage, in that Ni can
often predict what one's personal conceptual imprint for an
unfamiliar experience will feel like and thus explore uncharted
perceptual territory purely in one's own mind, but is limited in
the level of sensory precision it can internalize and must often
start over and "re-map" the finer details of familiar experiences
using the same form of conceptual pattern-jumping that it used
to arrive there in the first place.

In other words, INTJs find themselves able to see "around

corners" in terms of conceptual limitations of languages and
systems of symbols and their associated meanings. They can
often "predict" meanings and interpretations which may not yet
exist in the current system of available symbols, but they don't
do this by adding more information or complexity. On the
contrary: Ni works by simplifying complex problems into their
component parts and slowly turning each one over to see how
it looks from a different angle. Sometimes, if you look for it long
enough and thoroughly enough, there's an angle nobody else
has thought to look at or make use of yet.

INTJs may turn up with ideas and suggestions which seem to

utterly turn accepted convention on its head--although that is
not really their intention; they simply recognize a problem that
needs to be solved and then adjust their individual perceptions
of it until they see a way around it. Sometimes this results in a
very typical and conventional solution; other times it doesn't.
As long as it completes the desired task, it doesn't really
matter. INTJs never feel like they can really get a sense of the
real scope of a problem until they are able to stop making the
same unnecessary/misleading assumptions that everyone else
makes without even realizing it.

"Back to basics" (or some variation thereof) is a phrase I hear

often when requesting the advice of an INTJ, particularly in
regards to problems I'm having trouble solving. Perpetually
aware of the problem of interpretation, the more an INTJ
explores the many facets of a given idea, the more he
discovers there is to know about it and the less prepared he
feels to react competently without spending the necessary time
to break down every newly discovered piece into smaller, more
digestible pieces. The more INTJs consciously practice this
"break it down into simpler parts" process, the more they find
themselves able to instantaneously visualize the all-
encompassing solution they're after. Often that solution is far
simpler than anyone expects: while everyone else is busy
looking for more ways to jam a circular object into a triangular
space, the INTJ is trying to conceptualize a triangular object
which may not yet exist. The only reason the INTJ "knows" it
exists is that the existence of a triangular space implies
conceptually that it should be possible--even if it's not on the
map most people are using right now.

Auxiliary: Extroverted Thinking (Te)

<p>"All credibility, all good conscience, all evidence of truth

come only from the senses."</p> --Friedrich Nietzsche, INTJ

The problem, however, with relying exclusively on Ni, is that it

grants the INTJ all the perceptual depth in the world, but no
breadth of applicability by which to connect his ideas to any
measurable or useful external context. Enter Te: it's vital for Pi
dominants (IxxJ) to develop fluency in an objectively verifiable
language by which they can structure, predict, and evaluate the
way the world around them behaves (or, at the very least,
however it seems to behave according to collective human
understanding.) INTJs realize that, ultimately, all "objectivity" in
the truest sense is impossible; however, since our perceptions
are all we have to go on, we may as well agree on some
standards for quantifying and measuring external phenomena
so that we at least have some sort of common ground on which
to move toward meaningful goals. This is why so many INTJs
find work and enjoyment in the sciences: the scientific
method provides as objective a measurement of any given
phenomenon as can be realistically achieved, and it's widely
credited and supported by virtually all of the people most INTJs
consider intelligent and worth listening to. It works consistently
for everybody in all sorts of different contexts, and the experts
all agree it's the most efficient method = Te dream.

When it comes to logical structure, Te firmly believes in

agreeing upon a consistent standard of measurement: We need
a yardstick that can prove quantitatively and empirically what
the experts all agree makes logical sense in terms of
categorical organization. For INTJs, depth of analysis is best
served through iNtuition in the form of Ni--trying to apply depth
to the process of structured organization is a fruitless effort
because logic's fundamental purpose is to apply to the widest
possible range of different contexts in the same standardized,
consistently predictable way. Thus, from a Te standpoint,
individualized or subjective "logic" is neither useful nor
consistent with the purpose of logic itself.

As the INTJ develops Te further, she finds herself increasingly

able to delegate tasks and render her prodigious visions into
real projects and processes that generate measurable progress
on a realistic timetable. She learns to coordinate the various
different disciplines and processes required to accomplish her
goals, and she finds herself naturally talented at breaking down
larger processes into small enough tasks that the entire project
becomes a manageable reality. This vital objective factors into
Te's continuing love affair with the concepts of personal
independence, responsibility, and accountability. TJs want to
show that they are capable of managing resources intelligently
and efficiently, and that they can stand on their own two feet
and say honestly that they depend only on themselves for
sustenance and support. Society is, to Te, a large system of
interrelated logical relationships, and the system won't function
properly unless each member is ultimately responsible for
himself. TJs hate being dependent upon or subservient to
others, and they pride themselves on their ability to generate
more resources than they consume.

It is of paramount importance to Te to consider the limitations

upon available resources and ensure that they are distributed
in the most efficient manner possible. INTJs often excel in
management positions where they are free to envision
optimally efficient working conditions and design, improve, or
adjust real-world processes and methodologies accordingly.
When they commit themselves to a project--which they will not
do unless they either truly consider it worthwhile, or need the
money--they will push themselves to fulfill their agreements to
the greatest extent possible within the restraints of the
resources allocated. They hold themselves to high standards in
this regard, for if they do not uphold the collective standards by
which Te governs the structural relationships between external
world entities (i.e., laws, procedures, rules, measurements,
quantitative standards), they are all too aware that they will
have no recourse when the parties they work with fail to hold
up their own ends of the bargain. If nothing else, INTJs can be
counted on to reliably complete the tasks they've agreed to.
This is a matter of not only personal pride but also of practical
utility--if one establishes a reputation for disregarding the
accepted Te methodology among the people he seeks to work
with, he may very well find others unwilling to work with him in
the future.

Tertiary: Introverted Feeling (Fi)

It's often difficult for other types to understand why INTJs can
appear so cold and uncaring, so utterly disinterested in
interpersonal matters and disconnected from the needs and
feelings of others. Indeed, this poses a substantial problem for
INTJs when it comes to one of their characteristic weak points:
social interaction. The cause of this can be attributed to some
combination of Te ("Engaging in small talk and pampering the
feelings of people I dislike is not a productive use of anyone's
time, and time is a valuable resource") and Fi ("If I don't
actually like or empathize with this person, I don't see any
reason I should have to connect emotionally with him when I
don't want to.")

Often, the cultural expectations that suggest to INTJs that they

should participate in social rituals strike them as unfair and
arbitrary impositions upon their personal freedom. They are
being offered a courtesy they didn't ask for, and then chastised
when they don't return the favor. "If there's no law, no
empirically standardized logical relationship requiring that I do
this, why should I be judged negatively when I don't?", Te asks.

And unfortunately, this question can't really be answered fully

in Te terms. The Te argument for participating in cultural ritual
tends to point out that if you pretend to indulge meaningless
rituals, you will create more opportunities to get your real goals
completed because people will view you more favorably and
thus be more willing to cooperate with your wishes. And that's
the way many INTJs convince themselves to put up with it.

But in truth, that's only a half-hearted solution that doesn't

even begin to hint at the full spectrum of perspectives available
to a well-balanced INTJ who has learned to command tertiary Fi.
This is a milestone that many INTJs take a long time to learn to
place much value on: Fi allows them to judge and evaluate
subjectively, according to an individual, personalized standard
that won't bend for anyone else's opinions and provides an
absolute moral compass connecting them directly to their true
sense of value and higher purpose. For many INTJs, the ability
to introvert judgment in the form of tertiary Fi provides a much-
needed counterbalance to Te's coldly impersonal and objective
evaluations. It grants a more refined sense of aesthetic taste
and artistic value: Instead of merely measuring by numbers, Fi
leads the INTJ to consider the emotional and moral impact that
art and aesthetics have on him--he learns to empathize with
the soul of the poet, the painter, the writer, the musician. He no
longer simply understands conceptually; he identifies.

Fi grants the INTJ a connection to something greater than

himself, more powerful than his worldly goals and aspirations,
and ultimately more important in principle than the sum of
everything he will ever accomplish in his lifetime. It connects
him to a deeply personal sense of responsibility to uphold that
which is Good and Just, to decide for himself what causes are
worthwhile beyond the scope of his own prerogatives and
benefits. In short, it allows him to set some definite barriers in
terms of right and wrong.

The inability to do this can be a substantial problem for INTJs

who ignore or fail to develop Fi. Since Ni can adjust its
interpretation to anything that serves the goals Te deems
efficient expenditures of resources, a lack of any substantial
introverted judgment function can result in the justification of
virtually any action or position--dominant Ni is all too aware
that as long as you shift vantage points and look at it the right
way, any interpretation can be potentially justified. This poses a
major problem for the INTJ persona--as a case in point, consider
the character Kurtz in the film Apocalypse Now: Obsessed with
winning the Vietnam War at all costs (his objectively defined Te
goal), Kurtz seeks to utterly eliminate any trace of human
compassion from himself, believing that the only effective
method for defeating the Vietcong is to beat them at their own
game by indulging in unrestrained brutality and eliminating any
and all regard for human life in the process.

In short, he tries to Ni the Fi out of his own cognition in order to

fulfill Te's agenda. It ultimately doesn't work: after all the horror
and bloodshed he inflicts upon the native people surrounding
him, he still has a conscience, and he allows Willard to kill him,
knowing that his experiment has failed and that he needs to be
stopped for the sake of the greater good.

When Te is poorly developed, resulting in a so-called "NiFi loop",

the INTJ becomes increasingly threatened by the pressures of
conforming to any sort of externalized expectation or
methodology whatsoever. By accepting or promoting any such
objective information, the NiFi loop INTJ feels he is
compromising the purity of Ni's insight by exposing it to
potentially misleading bias, and he resents the expectations of
others for him to change what he views as his personal moral
identity (Fi.) He will withdraw further and further from all forms
of interaction, convinced that the only way to develop pure and
complete understanding is to block out any and all external
sources of information. Deliberately distancing himself ever
further from any link to objective reality, all manner of bizarre
and irrational impressions are indulged as isolated (and
objectively unsubstantiated) Fi value judgments color Ni's
increasingly elaborate perceptions of the sinister affronts
invariably hiding around every corner. That weird recluse down
the street who wears a tin foil hat 24/7 to stop the government
from penetrating his brain with secret nefarious mind control
signals? Probably an NiFi loop INTJ.
Inferior: Extroverted Sensation (Se)

It's worth noting that introverted perception takes great pains

to limit its perceptual intake to certain specific kinds of
information with which it is comfortable and familiar, because
understanding this concept helps us to see why extroverted
perception (which encourages taking in the greatest possible
quantity of different varieties of new information) generates
such a difficult psychological barrier for the IxxJ types.

In the INTJ's case, inferior Se is forced out primarily during

highly stressful moments where taking in massive quantities of
new external information and adapting and responding to it in
real time becomes necessary. This is where IJs flounder the
most: they are most at home when Pi is allowed to select the
type of information it wishes to perceive and then focus intently
on absorbing it into the internal template for that type of
experiential input, which Je will then consult in its decision as to
which externally accepted methodology will prove most
effective. When all sorts of different kinds of information are
thrown in her face at once, however, the INTJ must resort to
inferior Se in order to catch them all and have any hope of
responding before the opportunity is gone. She must act purely
on immediate impulse with no time for reflection or
consideration; she is forced to navigate terrain that she not
only lacks a map for, but that she doesn't even have any
related experiential templates to turn to for guidance. She must
improvise.

When this happens to INTJs, the enormous flood of

undifferentiated information accompanied by the feeling of
total loss of control generated by the inability to reflect or
consider the options before responding is extraordinarily
threatening. Left with no other option, inferior Se leads the INTJ
to resort to his most base animal instincts: fight or flight. Even
the normally composed, calm, and reserved INTJ may be prone
to occasional bouts of total indiscretion, resulting in extreme
indulgence in sensual pleasures or outright rage and even
physical violence (or at least overt threats thereof.)
I have also seen, on more than one occasion, an INTJ purchase
expensive status symbols (fancy cars, big houses, etc.) for the
simple purpose of showing off how much his hard work and
perseverance has paid off in an immediately noticeable,
material sense. On some level, INTJs are aware that
ostentatious possessions are the only language some people
will understand--and while they tend to consider this a rather
primitive value system, they're glad to oblige by occasionally
dropping significant money on really nice possessions. This
way, they can simultaneously indulge their unconscious Se
desires while telling themselves they're only doing it as a
private little in-joke with themselves, where Ni can laugh at how
heavily such a trivially shallow display of status and power can
impact the perceptions of the silly little everyday people around
them.

As Ni dominants, INTJs are naturally averse to a focus on literal

surface meaning, because it threatens Ni's insistence on
defining one's identity by the ability to see past the obvious
and intuit the less obvious interpretation, the hidden meaning
beneath the surface. If they ever learn to command Se in a
positive way (which is somewhat rare), INTJs will learn to
discern situations in which there is no underlying meaning, or
at least in which looking for it is neither useful nor productive.
For an Ni dominant, shutting off this desire to see "between the
lines" and focus purely on the immediate sensory content in
from of him is just as threatening as turning off vision, hearing,
touch, taste, and smell would be for an Se dominant. He feels
lost, confused, and woefully subject to the same lowest-
common-denominator surface deception that his entire self-
image prides itself on its natural ability to discern and avoid.

Nonetheless, some INTJs do eventually learn to command Se in

a useful way. It confers some sense of what's popular and
immediately effective on a literal sensory level, which often
partners with Te's desire to be judged as competent and
effective in leading INTJs to take serious pride in their physical
appearances, and to be certain that their clothing, speech, and
aesthetic tastes are up to date and in style (and thus do not
preclude useful business opportunities they might otherwise
have missed.) It provides them with an appreciation for things
as they are instead of constantly looking for ways to reinterpret
them as something else, and for the simple pleasures in life--
good food, art and entertainment, physical intimacy--in a way
that may, in time, strike them as more spiritually pure than the
constant meta-analysis they're accustomed to. In a very well-
balanced INTJ, Se should bolster Fi's sense of aesthetic appeal
and artistic value ("How does this piece of art hide a disguised
meaning that I can analyze?" will give way to, "How does this
piece of art make me immediately feel?"), while allowing
occasional controlled indulgence in pure, unadulterated fun, for
no reason but its own merits.

And that's something, I think, that would make a lot of INTJs

feel a lot better if they could get out of their systems in a
healthy and non-destructive manner. The sooner we get that
out of the way, the sooner we can get back to work.