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ILI by Stratiyevskaya
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By
Vera Stratievskaya
, Reference:
Socionics from Stratievskaya
.
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Ego block
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1st Function - Ni Introverted intuition
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The INTp (ILI) lives according to the principle “hurry unhurriedly” and does not like it when other people try to assign him any other pace. One can only envy ILI’s manner to not hurry anywhere and yet rarely be late for anything (even intentionally he cannot make himself be late). Traffic jams on the roads similarly in no way complicate his life: despite everything, he still arrives on time.
This is partially so because in INTp’s life there is rarely anything that is unforeseen – the INTp knows how to foresee everything. This realization of his or her talent for forecasts very early ceases to surprise and excite the ILI. It is as if he was born knowing all the things that will happen with him in the future, and all that which has already happened in the distant past. This, it would seem, enormous advantage turns into a fundamental problem for the INTp: sometimes he feels too bored to live; he foresees everything so well that there remain very few refreshing and exciting surprises in his life.
The INTp does not hurry to share his predictions with everyone; he doesn’t work as a “fortune teller”. The ability to see “through time” for the ILI is all too natural to present this as an “attraction”. He prefers the role of a mentor, adviser, or counselor, who analyzes past mistakes, failings, and omissions and admonishes others about repeating them. The ILI possesses the ability to spot the weakest link in any chain of events and occurrences. He proceeds to analyze concurrently the hidden risks and dangers that are involved and the future difficulties and troubles that may lie ahead. With characteristic for him negativism, the INTp frequently fulfills the role of that enchanted stone from a folktale that tells the hero: “If you go to the right – you will lose your horse, if you go to the left – you will lay down your head…” And seemingly there remain no other options except to turn back.
The INTp does not glorify and “sing odes” to the brave. To the contrary, the ILI considers it to be his responsibility to timely warn others against rash decisions and actions, to counsel them about all the possible deficiencies and dangers, to point out all the unfavorable courses of events. The ILI, as no one another, sees the original hopelessness of many enterprises and the foolishness of poorly timed undertakings. Nevertheless, even with all these expectations of the worst, the ILI, in contrast to some other intuitive types, does not foretell of an imminent end of the world; he is generally against causing public hysteria by means of bleak predictions.
The INTp likes to look at everything that is occurring around him philosophically; therefore he finds “comfort” in sayings of the type: “everything passes”, “we’ll all be there”, “tomorrow is not the end of the world”, “this, too, shall pass”…
The INTp considers that everything will come in time to a person who knows how to wait. And ILI knows how to await. He also knows how to fill this waiting time such that it can last his entire life, and still not have any negative impact on his plans.
The INTp usually knows how to manage and “own” his time, and this enables the INTp to feel independent. He does not subordinate himself to the circumstances, rather he utilizes the circumstances to his benefit. The ILI is not in a habit of holding any flattering delusions concerning himself and is thus capable of realistically estimating his own possibilities under the specific circumstances at some stage in time.
The INTp is able to see the most subtle, hidden, and imperceptible tendencies of the historical development of a society. He is perceptive of the interrelation of events in time and understands how the proceedings of today will influence the future unfolding of history. Whichever event the ILI reflects upon, he sees it simultaneously in the present, the past, and the future. And this for the ILI is nothing more than his natural perception of everything that is happening around him.
Following his perpetual desire to avoid possible errors, the INTp frequently takes on the role of an outside observer. At times this spurs accusations in ILI’s address that he relates to life in a manner that is too passive.
One significant drawback of INTp’s warnings and admonishments is the absence of positive alternatives to accompany them, in consequence of which they frequently have the effect of “freezing” or “stopping” some activity.
With all of ILI’s efforts to prevent all the errors committed in this world, their quantity does not diminish. One reason that this happens is that a rejection of a propose plan or course of action in order to avoid some danger that is associated with its realization, can in itself be another mistake.
2nd Function - Te Extraverted logic
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INTp’s time is filled either with matters and affairs or with deliberations and reflections on how to better conduct them.
The INTp performs best when he is not pressed, influenced, distracted or interfered with, and when there is little chance of any kind of unnecessary fuss, confusion, urgency, ethical sorting out of relations or intrigues in the working group.
Internally, the INTp is deeply independent and strives to free himself from circumstances in any matter. However urgent and pressing the matters at his work may be, this has no effect on him: the ILI will methodically and calmly get through his workday, deliberately and conveniently distribute his strengths, switching up different types of work and the different types of loads.
The INTp pedantically follows assigned requirements and specifications. If a specific sequence or procedure of work has been established, he will strictly follow it through. In situations when he is only responsible for the final result but the sequence of steps is not specified, the ILI prefers to follow his own plan, his own work schedule, and his own rational procedures, if possible.
The INTp is very assiduous. He with pleasure takes on tedious, meticulous work, thoroughly familiarizes himself with all its details. Before turning in work, he attentively checks it, verifying that there are no errors and omissions. It is very important for the ILI that the analysis of mistakes in his work is timely, and, most importantly, constructive.
The ILI constantly worries about his level of qualification. Always grateful for valuable indications and advice regarding his work.
The INTp greatly worries when his work does not earn appreciation – this leads him to thoughts of his own unsuitability for a given profession. Sometimes he comes to the conclusion that he will bring more benefit working as a consultant, instructor, methodologist, or inspector, rather than occupying positions that require executive and implementary activities.
He greatly enjoys when new workers are sent to receive instructions from him. The ILI loves to teach, to advise, to instruct – this is his moment, his hour of triumph, which he impatiently awaits.
One should not tell the INTp in which sequence he should realize his plans, when and how to engage in his matters. Especially, one should not try to teach him what to do and how to do it. The ILI prefers not to deal with people who know “how it should be”: he knows this better than anyone.
A significant point is that the INTp knows whether some matter or task in general is worth taking up. First of all, in his opinion, one should thoroughly think over what this matter or task is, to whom and for what it is necessary, and precisely how he will be instrumental for its realization.
If the INTp is assigned some work but not given a time frame for its fulfillment, the INTp won’t even consider this to be an assignment: he either will forget about it or ignore it. He needs to be argumentatively explained for what it is needed and how soon his contribution is expected. Only then the ILI will approach the assignment with seriousness. Such approach is more easily understood if we consider ILI’s tendency to avoid undertaking any superfluous, pointless actions, and to not engage in something that nobody needs.
For the INTp, as for any representative of the 3rd quadrant, it is very important to have a perception his own usefulness and necessity: the ILI won’t do anything that is not needed by anyone, he wants to be free and available for matters and tasks that are actually necessary. The ILI will take up any work which he considers to be useless only if he has been unemployed and has no money to pay for his livelihood. Later, he will try to find himself a more useful application.
The ILI is one of those people who will “measure off seven times” and think one hundred additional times before deciding to “make the cut”.
The ILI will compulsorily think about the consequences of his participation in anything. He tries not to risk with anything and never subject himself to indeterminate risks. He is not one of those people who join the opposition or dissenting movement, although he can maintain personal relations with individual persons from such groups. This is not needed for him, for the ILI knows how to wait for the right political situation to use it for realization of his plans.
Super-ego block
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3rd Function - Si Introverted sensing
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Balzac tries to do everything necessary to manage and sustain his lifestyle. House of Balzac is not only his fortress, but it is also a spiritual and intellectual “oasis”, where without fail must contain all the things that are dear to him: valuable books, favorite music, treasured portraits and photograph on the walls, prized “memorable gifts”.
Balzac can comfortably accommodate himself in a small room – the main thing is that there would be place for his “dear” armchair and pile of books. Balzac loves comfortable and convenient furniture, it is not important, what style, loves muted, soft illumination. Loves to light up the fireplace in the winter evening, loves to listen to the noise of rain outside the window.
Balzac tries to be prepared “for the rainy day” and make all the necessary provisions. Non-dualized Balzac may purchase everything possible “in two, four, six, eight” exemplars. One of the representatives of this type built in his home a cozy basement, which he stocked with everything necessary “in the case of war”.
Balzac greatly values his own comfort and soulful rest. He tries to create comfortable and convenient medium for his living. With pleasure he surrounds himself with beautiful things. He loves to start small collections of the works of art and other articles, and to contribute “memorable gifts” into these collections.
He feels wonderfully well in a comfortable and pleasant situation. He loves to pay visits to the hospitable and plentiful households (but only if he is sure, that he is indeed welcome there). Willingly accepts invitations to parties and gathering of pleasant and interesting company. He worries beforehand about how to spend advancing holidays. Enjoys receiving a small circle of close friends at his place, entertaining them not only with tasty food, but also by pleasant intellectual conversation about what he has recently learned and analyzed of the latest events and developments in spheres of politics, culture, region. An evening spent without intellectually saturated conversation Balzac considers to be unsuccessful. (Therefore the success of “Balzac’s evenings” in large degree depends on the perceptiveness of his dual Caesar (SEE), to cease taking up the leading position and retreat into the background in timely manner, to not interfere with Balzac’s intellectual initiatives.)
Balzac is always open to experiencing new sensations. With a child’s curiosity he will try new dishes and foods. He listens to new music very attentively. For his tastes, the mixing of various musical styles is not alien: he can record “heavy metal” and “baroque” on the same CD.
However, some of the representatives of this type try not to encumber their ears by music of low quality, which relates to Balzac’s desire to develop his artistic taste and erudition, to create most pleasant conditions for himself: surround himself with things of the highest quality, to dress expensively, neatly, beautifully, to try to be up to date in all artistic novelties – premiers and openings, fashionable exhibitions, concerts of famous artists and performers.
For the same reason Balzac is watchful of his health. As is needed, he looks after his weight, takes up diets, implements preventive measures, tries to eat healthy vegetarian food.
Special attention he devotes to leisure and sleep. Some representatives of this type follow a very idiosyncratic schedule of work and rest. Balzac may not see anything wrong with falling asleep whenever and wherever it occurred to him. Sometimes it is possible to see Balzac sleeping at his work desk or even while carrying out monotonous work, that he continued automatically doing with his hands, during a lesson or a lecture, at a musical premier. Balzac can even comfortably arrange a bed outside, out in nature, and sleep. (Kutuzov, as is known, could fall asleep during the military council.)
Nevertheless sensing of experiences is an area that Balzac tries to develop in himself to the accepted norms. His successes in this is future guarantee of successful dualization: Balzac’s efforts to look well-groomed, to dress neatly and trimly, to approperly organize his household, are rewarded by attention and appreciation of his dual Caesar (SEE), who has a well developed sense of self-respect and astute sensory perception, and who will not suffer next to himself an unsightly and slovenly person. (There are cases of unsuccessful dualization of Balzacs with underdeveloped sensing which did not meet the norms.) Therefore, with his entire unwillingness to force himself into exerting volitional force, Balzac is pressed to invest his time and efforts into his own upkeep, to thoroughly take care of his own appearance, to set up his household with tasteful and impressive items, to go out into the “social light” more often where he has many more chances to meet his dual at home, sitting in his own comfortable chair.
4th Function - Fe Extraverted ethics
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This function manifests as attempts of Balzac to guard himself from strong influences or pressuring, and in his unwillingness to get drawn into strained emotional regime.
Balzac considers it necessary to subordinate his emotions to his reason – this is his firm rule, which he strictly adheres to himself, and constantly suggests to those in his environment.
“Tragic-nervous breakdowns, fainting, tears…” Balzac cannot stand, however, while he attempts to avoid them at any cost, he frequently behaves himself unethically and immorally to a certain extent, such that he involuntarily provokes such episodes himself.
Attempting to be maximally restrained in showing his own feelings, to not reveal in any way his true emotional state, from fear of getting drawn into some personal intrigue, Balzac unconsciously behaves in a most intriguing manner, by manner of which he subjects himself to the risk of the stormiest explications of relations. Assuming a demonstratively dispassionate appearance, he, in reality, frequently creates a falsely meaningful “mask”, which simultaneously intrigues and irritates. In many of his partners this “mask” evokes a desire to tear it away, to reveal his true face. Frequently it happens that the more “mysteriousness” he assumes, the “sharper” and more aggressive are such investigations. (“Pretended indifference” of Balzac is frequently for him a tactic of “ethical reconnaissance” designed to test how invested and interested his partner is in further development of relations.) For emotionally vulnerable, easily hurt, uncertain of his attractiveness Balzac, it is extremely important to know the degree of interest of his partner. Sometimes he uses the following trick”: after addressing his partner about anything of prime importance, he suddenly pauses, as if he is distracted by something minor, and secretly observes the behavior of his partner, waiting for when he will show an interest in the topic that he touched upon. In relations with Caesar (SEE) this is also a method to discipline his inattentive dual, an attempt to catch his attention; and also, what is very important in the process of dualization, the attempt to estimate the significance of his own values with the values of his partner.)
It stands to reason, Balzac even for himself cannot explain the true reason for his “imperturbability” (he generally does not see any mysteriousness in himself and never admits to intentionally creating such - he is a logical type after all). Most frequently he behaves in this manner from desire to shield himself from psychological discomfort, which he experiences in emotionally oversaturated atmosphere. For this very reason, as he considers, the only possible way to safeguard himself is to keep up impassive appearance. Since this is also done in ethical situations, Balzac’s partners frequently feel themselves insulted by this feigned indifference. Thus, it turns out that farsighted Balzac becomes the first victim of his own hedging.
Situation may get even worse when Balzac tries “to equalize” the emotional state of his partner, encouraging him by look or words. In itself, this is probably a good gesture, but in a complex ethical situation this kind of behavior is usually received not only as “moral support”, but also as an appeasement, which leads to the subsequent sorting out of relations with all emerging emotional consequences.
His own emotional displays also do not pass without complications. Due to the eternal fear of being incorrectly understood during their natural manifestation, or with intentional concealment, Balzac is often in state of confusion when the matter concerns the expression of his own feelings. Here he runs into many problems simultaneously: sometimes he simply cannot tell them apart - his feeling seem either contradictory or insufficiently differentiated and developed. Furthermore, he doesn’t always find a suitable form for their expression, and won’t allow just anyone to aid him in self-expression. Often he is afraid of saying something excessive, to not encourage someone and then inadvertently let them down. His own emotional capabilities to him seem obscure and insufficiently studied. He can display his feelings in such an “odd” form as concerning about the fate of his partner, warning him against associating with himself, the “unworthy”. He can say many unpleasant things about himself, subjecting to judgement “what kind of roses were prepared for us by Hymen”. Moreover, since all this is said in a confident and reasonable tone, almost no one will suspect that underneath this pile of contradictory reasons hides an elementary uncertainty in himself.
Unfortunately, to free Balzac from this uncertainty and lack of confidence in himself is a long, arduous, and often thankless labor. The only one who can manage this task successfully is his dual partner Caesar (SEE). Without troubling himself with reflections about the discrepancies and contradictions of Balzac’s ethics, he naturally draws him into his naive, guileless, and sincerely compassionate relational game. Practice shows that even the closest ethical type of the same quadra, Dreiser (ESI), cannot successfully manage and resolve Balzac’s “ethical puzzles”.
Balzac is always frightened and irritated by inadequately expressed emotions, regardless of the fact, whether they are positive or negative. One immoderate or inappropriate exclamation is sufficient for his mood to drop. Therefore, Balzac painfully endures conversations conducted in a raised tone. Irrespective of whether this is a business conversation or sorting out of relations, he feels himself badly within a continuous flow of saturated emotions. Balzac dislikes irritated tone, but he is doomed to encounter it for his entire life: in the childhood he suffers from the irritation of parents and teachers, in adult years he irritates his bosses and colleagues. This irritation can be caused by anything: sluggishness or awkwardness of movements, monotony of voice, gentle or frightened appearance, old-fashioned manners – the matter is not so much in himself, as in the inconvenient and uncomfortable relations into which he constantly falls (as, however, happens with each one of us).
What is there to say about hysterics with tears and reproaches, about scandals with beating of dishes, tears and exclamations, with “valerian pills” and “emergency medical services” … This for Balzac is simply a punishment of the powers above – it is only incomprehensible for what sins. Finding himself in the whirlpool of hysterics, on top of that accompanied by pressuring, Balzac experiences panicky horror – the state, from which he does not know how to get out. Therefore, in that moment, he is capable of committing the wildest, the most unexpected act. (For example, similar to Pierre Bezukhov, swing a marble table at his wife.)
In any awkward ethical situation, Balzac feels himself very restless. Sometimes in the searches for an exit he aggravates the existing tension, no longer thinking, whether he is right or wrong, desperately trying to “extinguish” the situation whatever it costs him. In such minutes, he is capable of an act, about which he will then possibly regret, but for the moment this is of no importance for him: his reason is completely subordinated to the whirlpool of emotions, before which he is helpless, and therefore he is not in control of himself.
Being blinded by emotions for Balzac is equivalent to madness. The same he thinks about others. Therefore, he fears and hates the manifestation of socio-political hysteria in any shape or form. As soon as there appears the next maniacal political leader or latter-day prophet , Balzac “departs” to his well-organized basement and wait there until the better times or escapes somewhere “overseas”.
After all shake-ups experienced by him in the real life, an easy emotional discharge in the form of a scary story or a horror movie for Balzac is no more than children’s amusement. Favorite genre - comic necrotriller (of type “Adams Family”).
Humor of Balzac - is a kind of tactic of intellectual-emotional “retribution”. Sometimes, it is expressed as reaction to the perceived by him psychological discomfort:
“Celebrating ahead of time,
he started delineating in his soul
the caricatures of all the guests.”
Sometimes Balzac’s humor is expressed in the form of very successful epigrams. Sometimes, this is the simply thin irony, painted in darker tones. Balzac’s “black humor” is characterized by unique necro-orientation. Perhaps Balzacs, in contrast to Hamlets, do not philosophize over the skulls of their friends, but fairly often they joke on this theme. From an early childhood Balzac forms a philosophically-ironic relation to the question of death. (Children Balzacs frequently entertain themselves by drawing skeletons and reading “horror stories”.)
Super-id block
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5th Function - Se Extraverted sensing
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The INTp respects strong, willful people, who know their goals and who do not cower before difficulties but rather act confidently, actively creating their path ahead. INTp’s dual the ESFp (SEE) possesses precisely such qualities.
The INTp does not attempt to take the lead himself, preferring to remain a figure “number two” – a “shadow” leader and adviser who supports a powerful patron.
Democratic by nature, the INTp does not openly boast of his position and influential connections. Knowing perfectly well that “everything passes”, the ILI is not one of those people who will trade his life and his health for an outstanding career. Even at the very peak of authority, he is, first of all, a person, who will not hide his weaknesses, preferences, and habits.
Nevertheless, the ILI has a deep sense of his own personal value. He also knows how to value the merit of another, and he knows how to demand respect for himself.
Although making demands is precisely what is difficult for the INTp. He is a kind of person for whom it is difficult “to pull his will into his fist”. The ILI doesn’t know how to and doesn’t like to subordinate someone else to his will. Neither will he suffer direct pressure applied to himself. (Willful pressuring of ESFp, realized by ethical manipulations, is not perceived by the INTp as suppression of his own personality. While direct volitional actions – “volitional sensing” of Zhukov (SLE), Maxim (LSI), or Dreiser (ESI), just as the demonstrative energetic nature of Hugo (ESE) – are oppressive for him.)
A typical state of the INTp is one of constant semi-relaxation. He prefers not to make excessive efforts and tries to expend his physical energy very economically. He won’t invest more effort and strengths in anything over what is dictated by objective necessities, not even into the most captivating work. The ILI is not the type of person who will thoroughly apply himself, “wholly put himself out”, solely on basis of enthusiasm. The ILI always seeks respect for his own labor and a worthy payment.
Money for the INTp has an important meaning. (Although some representatives of this type relate to its absence with philosophical calmness: “Money comes and goes.”) Nevertheless, the ILI typically approaches this topic very seriously, for he is acutely and deeply aware of the advantages of money as a real lever of force and authority. Rarely you will meet an INTp who quietly accepts lack of money or a negative balance in the bank. To the contrary, many of people of this type see money not only as means of supporting themselves, but also as a guaranteed possibility to realize the plans that they devised long time ago (“If only I will want - the halls will arise before me…”)
Accumulation of money for the INTp is also a method of “conservation” of the labor he has invested, a possibility to preserve and maintain a reasonable distribution of his own strengths: for the ILI it is the “equivalent of force” saved during young years in order to support himself in the old age.
6th Function - Fi Introverted ethics
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The problem of INTp’s ethics is that it is frequently not in the center of his attention – rather it is a steady passive value for him, and nothing more. The ILI is interested in obtaining of information on this aspect – he is inspired by sincere interest and sympathy expressed in his address. Benevolent, compassionate relations impel him to noble emotional outbursts, which also get expressed by means of concrete help and supportive actions.
Those relationships that the INTp can subordinate to his reason fold comparatively well for him: the ILI is predisposed to be a good and responsive friend, thoughtful family man, who sincerely loves his close ones. He is soft and yielding by nature, able (when he desires so) to be tactful, gentle and self-controlled, having a sense of self-respect, the ILI, it would seem, is safeguarded against “ethical troubles”.
However, at a closer examination, it becomes clear that the INTp has numerous problems in this respect. A simple example: the ILI imperceptibly to himself has a habit of dropping a conversation as soon as it ceases to be interesting and meaningful to him, not worrying about the sense awkwardness his conversation partner will experience after this, and what kind of opinion he will form of ILI’s manners. In such cases, the ILI is directed by the question of expediency of continuing an “empty” conversation and by the dislike of pointlessly wasting time. Let us suppose that such single instance won’t result in any serious ethical repercussions and complications, however, since relationships are built from a sum of many such instances, and in each instance there’s a real danger for the ILI to unconsciously display his unethicalness and personal insensitivity, in the circumstances of unfavorable intertype relations this can be received by the other person as quite conscious and intentful behavior.
Problems already begin at the formative stages of relations: from one side, in view of his exceptional ability for foresight, the INTp sometimes sees from the very beginning the approximate likely course of development of events. This means that he can sufficiently rapidly lose interest in these relations, with which he risks to offend his partner and to provoke unhealthy episodes of sorting out and explications of relations.
Another potential issue is when the ILI in spite of his reason nevertheless yields to his feelings: under unfavorable intertype relations this creates additional emotional stress, as a result of which his contradictory and unethical behavior only aggravates the problems.
In addition, let us not forget the ever present inclination of ILI “to even out” the emotional state of his partner. Preaching the principle “Learn to control yourself” he frequently places himself in a ridiculous and absurd position (especially, if his partner is an ethical type), for which the ILI will later pay by forced isolation and remaining unsettled in the long run.
And these are yet not all of his problems. Subconsciously being oriented at his dual SEE “Caesar” - a bright, strong, positive personality - the ILI is constantly expecting the “crane in the sky”, preferring not to trade it for insignificant “titmice” . Sometimes, relying on his own foresight more than on real observations, he doesn’t even permit himself to take time to examine the next titmouse to see in it his desired crane, later in life repeatedly regretting the opportunities that he has missed.
Note
Editor’s note: This is a reference to a Russian proverb: “It’s better to have a titmouse in your hands than a crane in the sky” - equivalent English version: “Sparrow in the hand is better than a cock on the roof” - which means that it is better to have a small but real benefit over one that seems greater and more lucrative but is unattainable and out of one’s reach.
Furthermore, the INTp frequently does not recognize and admit to the presence of some deficiencies in himself. Practice shows that sometimes, when he finally meets the embodiment of his ideal, i.e. when his partner meets his criteria for both external and internal qualities, even then the ILI managers to write off his own failures and flaws and attribute them to some traits of his partner, which he personally cannot make amends with. (Possibly, the fable of the “Fox and Grapes” was written by “Balzacs” for themselves.)
Irrespectively of his individual qualities, it is precisely the arrangement of his personal life that frequently causes serious difficulties for the INTp. Specifically here all “weak points” of this sociotype “work” against him: the passive relation to personal life, the deep pessimism concerning it, the unwillingness to make an extra effort, the fear of new situations and experiences, the lack of understanding of basic ethical principles, and the overestimation of his own capabilities. The absence of these qualities would substantially facilitate resolution of ILI’s personal problems.
Their own negative experience does not prevent “Balzacs” from working sufficiently successfully in the spheres of ethics and relations. Some representatives of this type are kind, patient, and responsive, and frequently become admired teachers and educators. Some of them find their calling in the field of psychology. And, it goes without saying that they may find success as writers, where they describe some ethical intrigue basing on their own intuitive understanding the ethics of relations and their deep yet subconsious ethical values.
Id block
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7th Function - Ne Extraverted intuition
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An impression is created that the INTp consciously does not wish to see positive tendencies in surrounding events and phenomena - and indeed, this he does not wish for this. Only this happens not intentionally and consciously, but subconsiously for him.
Of all the observable possibilities, the INTp unconsciously notices only those, in which he suspects concealed problems. (In this the ILI sees his main function and destiny.)
In INTp’s understanding, the only positive possibilities and trends are those which promise to bring fewer negatives. In other words: that is best, which is least bad of all. Therefore, ILI’s unconscious observation of potential possibilities - is, first of all, a calculation and analysis of all the “minuses”.
This narrowly pressimistic analysis of his observations is explained by the subconsious orientation of INTp at the exorbitant optimism of his dual, the ESFp “Caesar”, and constitutes a unique kind of protection from him. For this reason, ILI’s pessimism is constantly gathering and gaining in “durability” and “safety margin”: to safeguard the ILI himself, as well as to “cool off” his dual.
(Try to convince an ILI that his fears are pointless - he becomes irritated, and a look of fear immediately appears in his eyes. He indeed feels terribly frightened, and, first of all, for himself.)
The strength of INTp’s intuition - is in its “constructive” pessimism, which allows to take into consideration and make provisions for all possible complications in the realization of his plans (or other people’s plans). ILI’s pessimism makes it possible to subconsiously calculate time needed for completion of work or some plan, while taking into account the inevitability of problems and decreased rates: time needed for preparations, for tiredness and taking breaks, for distracting influences and interferences, for unforeseen complications.
The INTp - is the only type who considers such factors of expenditures of time as a slow pace in the beginning of any undertaking.
In any business, the INTp tries to safeguard himself by a necessary financial and material support - as a “safety factor”, taking into account the initial sluggishness of a business trying to take off. The ILI never counts on rapid success and quick earnings - this he considers to be unforgivable adventurism.
The INTp tries not to go against something “directly” or to “break through” (and he cautions his dual from this), but rather he tries to go around, to take a “roundabout” path. The ILI knows how to find a way out of a complicated situation and can teach others how to do this. With this the ILI prefers to not give any far-reaching advice, instead preferring to show a way out of a concrete difficult situation.
INTp’s insightfulness and foresight can only be envied: he is careful, discerning, levelheaded, and speaks to the point. The ILI advertises nothing in excess - he is intentionally undemonstrative, and gives no promises “in advance”.
The INTp is not inclined to take someone’s sensational ideas on faith, instead tries to figure everything out for himself.
The INTp often expresses regrets about his own missed possibilities - this is an inevitable consequence of his passively observant relation to life.
8th Function - Ti Introverted logic
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In any situation, the INTp tries to appear objective. The quality of his he demonstrates with pleasure.
But acting in interests of “absolute objectivity”, the ILI frequently falls into an awkward position: thinking about the absolute justice and fairness of his actions, he frequently forgets about their ethical aspect - “just and fair with respect to whom?”
In a debate or argument, the INTp often keeps a demonstrative neutrality, trying to not “support” either side too much. His own relations to any action the ILI expresses not as a specific personal opinion, but presents it as a kind of objective and correct evaluation. The ILI likes situating himself in the role of a judge. For him, it is characteristic not to simply voice his opinion or point of view, but namely to “carry out a judgement” or “assessment” for each question (even if he was only invited to discuss the question).
INTp’s arguments are characterized by their accuracy, meticulousness, and a deep insight into the very essence of things. The lightness and simplicity of ILI’s statements are breathtaking and evoke a feeling of admiration. To fall under ILI’s profound disposition of spirit - is an enormous “intellectual enjoyment”. This always forms the richest material for reflections. These are phrases and statements that one wishes to remember and repeat as one’s own. When one listens to ILI’s reasonings, there involuntarily appears a desire to walk after him step-by-step with a notepad and to write down each word.
The INTp prefers not to clutter up his memory by encyclopedic information, although among people of this type one can meet many exclusively erudite people. The ILI impresses primarily by the depth of his knowledge.
The INTp loves and knows how to learn, teaching himself new information consecutively and gradually, so that it wouldn’t extend far beyond the framework of his observations: the ILI is primarily interested in links and information about already studied phenomena.
Learning new information the INTp tries to immediately interconnect it into the already existing system of knowledge in his mind. Any information that contradicts already formed systems and notions, or destroys them, the ILI treats with a lot of criticism.
The INTp is not characterized by blind admiration of authorities. Making a reference to a source, he supports his statement by a precise and appropriate quotation, always clarifying what relevant it has to his discourse.
The INTp frequently supports his reasoning with instructive parables. Sometimes the parable is presented in place of reasons, so that the listener is left to make guesses in relevance to what the ILI said this. In actuality, ILI’s frequently “hide” and “cover” themselves by these parables, especially when they are attempting to discuss something that poorly yields to their understanding, as, for example, the aspect of the ethics of emotion or ethics of relations (Fe and Fi).
The INTp does not see anything wrong with discussing everything simultaneously. He is ready to catch on to any theme in a conversation, freely switching from one topic to another. This occurs not because it is difficult for him to concentrate on something - these are natural dynamics of his intellect, that is subconsiously oriented at weak function with analogous aspect (Ti) of his dual, ESFp “Caesar”, who unnoticeably to himself or herself jumps from one question to another. Balzac each new theme intertwines in the common course of his reasonings so that the entirety of logical connection in this case is not disrupted.