Sunday, May 11, 2008

The Functions

Judging Functions - Logic - Ethics - Perceiving Functions - Intuition - Sensing


This article will explore the IM elements as they act within the two Ego functions, the person's primary means of observing, analyzing, and interacting with the world.

Judging Functions

Judging types have as their first (primary) function Te/Ti or Fe/Fi, and as their second (creative) function: Ne/Ni or Se/Si. Ti/Te functions are concerned abou1t the right/wrong-ness of systems, while Fi/Fe functions are concerned about the right/wrongness of deeds.

People with Ti/Te or Fi/Fe primary functions are known as judging types since they view the world primarily through eyes of wrong/right. They are also called "rationals" because of this basic value system.

Logic

Ti "System" - TiNe, TiSe
  • A complex system of concrete measurements fit together in a great machine of how things work.

    Ti observes the correlations between measurements, including definitions of terms. Ti holds vast amounts of such information in the mind, and hungrily absorbs it. Then Ti sticks fast to it and will use the collection of relationships and correlations between data to quickly defend his observations of relationships between different data or correlations, quickly judging such correlations for rightness/wrongness based on their observations of the data relationships. Ti is concerned about how all the variables fit together. Ti approaches by observing how the complex system of concrete measurements fit together in this great machine of how things work.
Te "Process" - TeNi, TeSi
  • Certain methods are efficient for the completing a task, i.e. process, in the immediate present.

    Te is intrisinctly involved in observing the actions that are going on at the moment, and how one movement is related to the next one. Strong Te focuses easily and constantly on the process going on at hand. Take cooking, for example. Cooking requires you to constantly monitor one action after another--measuring, pouring, stirring--and the accuracy of these actions. Let your mind wander and your souffle will burst, or egg shell pieces will get lost in your cake.

    Te observes and analyzes the routine activity of actions and analyzes the actions for completeness and thoroughness of covering every base of the task at hand. Based on these conclusions, Te judges on the rightness/wrongness of observed routines. Te is concerned about the task at hand. Te approaches tasks by observing the method of doing it the best. Te immediately observes the practicality, of how to do the current task at hand, or how to set up an actual, concrete task that will be done. Te talks about how the task actually turns out to work in real life.


Ethics

Fi "Relation" - FiNe, FiSe
  • Relations exist between people and things of differing bonds of attraction or repulsion.

    Fi observes personal attraction and repulsion between people and things, the boundaries of relationships created between people, and how those relationships are in relation to other bonds created in a great web of interpersonal relational tactics, rules, limits, etc. Fi analyzes the levels of personal attraction or repulsion that creates these bonds.

    Fi relations are a tactic, a bond, a unification made inside of and in relation to all of the other existing unities between people. Within it there are certain rules and understandings of what is appropriate and not appropriate to do within the realm of ethics. It's not as simple as "oh, don't use dirty words." Its more like 'we are attracted to eachother (as a bond),' and, sometimes, 'we are not attracted to them.'

    For some it is a tactic they can manipulate, for others it is something that 'happens' to them and they benefit from it. For a Fi base individual, it may be just something that happens. They don't choose it so much as it seems like a fact that colors their whole perception vis a vis these interconnecting bonds. Fi creative individuals may or create those bonds. In some ways it may seem like they have a greater control, or atleast more of an active control, over it than Fi-base.

    Fi isnt the same as "friendship," its about position within a realm of understood positions and relations; not just rules that 'limit'...but rules that are there; so the word use 'tactic' is used. Fi is a 'unification' between people. Fi is an ethical understanding. It's emotional; it's a personal understanding.

    Initiation of a Fi relationship can be as simple as coming into the ownership of a pet or the custody of a child; the emotional bond is the culmination of the relationship, but the initiation is essentially Fi. A Fi relationship was established at the moment tactical emotional or ethical interconnections changed between individuals: now one's role is to look apon the other with love and caretaking; the other's role is to look up to the first with love and obedience. Such are the implicitly understood rules of the Fi understanding.
Fe "Motive" - FeNi, FeSi
  • External behavior or cues belie the inner disposition or motive.

    Fe observes the display of feeling or disposition and analyzes motive, the catalyst of the feeling or disposition. Fe analyzes based on a particular disposition or emotional cues. Finely tuned Fe can be "people-smart" and pay attention to determining who is trustworthy and what to expect from their behavior based on hints of emotional and behavioral expressions.

Perceiving Functions

Perceiving types have as their first (primary) function Ne/Ni or Se/Si, and as their second (Creative) function Te/Ti or Fe/Fi. Ni/Ne functions are concerned with the web of potential developments of events, while Si/Se are concerned with physical potential.

People with Ni/Ne or Si/Se primary functions are known as "perceiving types" since they view the world primarily through possibilities. They are also called "irrationals" because their value system is based on possibility of development, or "flow."

Intuition

Ni "Prophecy" - NiFe, NiTe
  • All events are culminating together in a certain potential event.

    Ni observes and synthesizes developments as building blocks leading to something interesting that could happen, tries to envision how and when it could happen. Ni is about development between patterns of events over time. Ni thinks "learning a language is good to reach because of the places it will bring you to." About the outcome, Ni says "that was bound to develop in that success/failure." Ni will absorb information to add them as building blocks to come to some "essence" of the ideas they're developing. Ni takes a bunch of different instances and synthesizes them together to develop them in one direction of potential development.
Ne "Possibility" - NeFi, NeTi
  • A certain event is spreading in multiplying directions of potential events.

    Ne observes and analyzes developments as static external possibilities that can be immediately acted apon. Ne thinks "learning a language is good in and of itself because it has innate potential." About the outcome, Ne says "well, that could have developed in any of these different ways, so it wasn't really set in stone." Ne absorbs information just because it has potential of development in and of itself. Ne takes an instance and develops it in many different directions of potential development.

Sensing

Si "Comfort" - SiFe, SiTe
  • Relations between physical objects and elements create harmony or disharmony.

    Si is intrisinctly involved in the changes that take place to your internal sense of physical and psychological stability. Strong Si is effervesently and naturally efficient in awareness of these processes. Strong Si focuses constantly on the relationship between the inner sense of wellbeing of different stimulai.

    Si means you're trying to establish stability internally which IS pleasant, but not necessarily pleasantness itself: not the pursuit of pleasure, but the observation of internal statis or 'status quo', being at a functional even keel psychologically and physically.

    Valued Si makes this the primary motivation for activity. The effects of eating a meal and feeling back to status quo of operations afterwards are always within his reach. Viewing a beautiful painting, and hearing beautiful music are all made in an effort to get back to the status quo of inner stability, both psychological and physiological.

    Si observes the harmony, beauty, pleasingness, and satisfaction of relations between things in his environment and analyzes on how harmonious it is in relation to the next thing: these relations include those within his body, his environment, and personal relationships. He may achieve harmony and pleasant sensation by avoiding discomfort or by creating comfort for himself and for others (this may be influenced by whether he is a primarily perceiving or judging type). He may achieve this through physical health, stable finances, pleasing decor, or a variety of other passive or active methods.
Se "Control" - SeTi, SeFi
  • Physical objects, elements, and people can be mobilized to achieve a goal.

    Se is intrisinctly involved in observing the properties of objects in the immediate sense. What precise color is it, how does it taste, what exactly does it smell like? Strong Se focuses easily and constantly on the outer properties of the objects at hand. Take fashion--is the cut of your shirt immaculate? Take martial arts--at what angle is the arc of the fist coming towards your face? How do I mobilize the force of my body to deflect and/or immobilize the threat? The same process with sports. The possibilities are endless.

    Se observes the potential to mobilize people to enact his will dynamically, and based on this observation analyzes what he might use to cause the enforcement of his will.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

This is interesting, in that you communicate a good description of each function. I am not sure if you are working with in the Myers-Briggs system. If you are, you should know that a person cannot be a perceiving type and have an introverted perceiving function. And vice versa, a person cannot be a judging type, and have an extroverted perceiving function. All J's necessarily have an extroverted judging function, and all P's necessarily have an extroverted perceiving function.

Francesco said...

This blog is about socionics, which is a completely different system, despite drawing from the same based, hence MBTI rules do not apply to it.

Maritsa Darmandzhyan said...

I love your descriptions. EII here :)