INTJ

INTJs’ Inferior Function: Extraverted Sensing (Se)

For those unfamiliar with the powerful influence of the inferior function in personality, as well as common strategies for dealing with it, I strongly encourage you to explore my post, Understanding the Inferior Function.

As is true of other types, INTJs can be easily blinded to the degree to which their inferior function impacts their decisions and behavior. Without sufficient awareness and integration of their inferior, INTJs will continue to feel incomplete and be prone to unwise decision-making in their careers, lifestyle, and relationships. Consequently, INTJs seeking self-knowledge and personal growth must work to understand the ways their inferior function, Extraverted Sensing (Se), manifests itself in their personality.

Disembodiment

Of all types, INTJs (and INFJs) are the most detached and disconnected from their own bodies. Not only is their S function inferior, but INTJs do not have Si in their functional stack (Or, more technically, Si might be considered their last/eighth function), which is the function that contributes an internal sense of one’s body. INTJs commonly report being plagued by the sense that their body is not really a part of them. In his book, Jung’s Four and Some Philosophers, Thomas King writes of the Introverted Intuitive: “his hands are alien to him and his body unfamiliar.”

Because of their detachment from their physicality, INTJs may have nightmares about unexpected declines in their health. One INTJ, for instance, recounted to me his recurrent dreams of his teeth falling out. Another reported her fear that she might develop a disease and be unaware or ignorant of the symptoms until it was too late. Other INTJs report worrying that their obliviousness to physical reality might compromise the safety or well-being of their children. INTJs may forget to eat regularly and appear undernourished, or they may overeat because of lack of attention to how much they are eating. To compensate for this mind-body disconnect, they may subject themselves to overly strict, even obsessive, regimens of diet and exercise. Like other types, when trying deal with inferior-related issues, they are wont to go to extremes.

Sensory Novelty & Material Security

Despite being the most otherworldly and abstract of the types, INTJs have a curious thirst for sensory novelty, material comforts, and physical thrills (Se). They may drive expensive cars, purchase luxurious homes, or arrange for the exclusive accommodations when travelling. While ENPs, whose Sensing function is also inferior, may display some similarities here, ENPs rely on the outside world to stimulate their Intuitive faculties (Ne) more than their senses.

When caught in the grip of their inferior Se, even the most responsible INTJs may lose control. They may turn to drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, extravagant vacations, or food to indulge their Se. Again, to guard against such extremes, INTJs may attempt to impose severe restrictions on their behavior.

Because of their inferior’s concern for all things physical/material, INTJs also tend to struggle with subsistence-related fears. They may worry excessively about losing their jobs, being forced to relocate, or not having enough money. ENPs, in contrast, tend to be more relaxed when it comes to money, potentially even viewing physical displacement as more of an adventure than a threat.

Ideal (Ni) vs. Actual (Se); Perfectionism

Envisioning a more ideal world is inherently bad or unhealthy for INTJs. The fact is that they wouldn’t be INTJs if they didn’t routinely manufacture new visions or novel ideas. The issue is not with their visions per se, but with the degree to which they become attached to or insistent on the perfect materialization (Se) of their dreams. This is where INTJs’ perfectionism comes to the fore.

All dominant Intuitives can be perfectionistic. They are driven to see their N ideals perfectly translated into S reality. Not only do INTJs seek sensory novelty, but also goods of the highest quality. This issue of quality is extremely important to INTJs, which is why they can be so particular about the things they buy and the way things are done. It is worth noting that their perfectionism does not extend to all facets of their lives, but is generally limited to those areas they really care about. Most commonly, it pertains their work with non-human systems.

Some INTJs may be willing to sacrifice everything, even their own health or sanity, to ensure that their vision finds a perfect incarnation; no detail is overlooked. In so doing, they can become restless and obsessive, locked into a narrow mode of existence they cannot readily escape. Any deviation from their ideal can feel like the end of the world, a an irreparable marring of their perfect ideal. It is therefore unsurprising that their perfectionism can be destructive if left unchecked.

Dealing with N-S Discrepancies

In attempt to temper their perfectionism, some INTJs may try to content themselves with being mere producers of ideas without direct involvement in their actualization. In typological terms, they focus on N while downplaying the importance of S. This may be why INTJs are so common among academics, since the academy allows them develop their theories more or less independently of their application. INTJ writers also enjoy the opportunity of expressing their ideals without direct concern for their application.

Other INTJs may opt to involve themselves with actualizing their ideals while trying to be content with something less than perfection. This option, while frustrating to their Ni, may be more enticing to their Se, which pushes for a tangible end result or product. But this introduces a new set of concerns. Namely, once an Se product deviates from the N ideal, at what point is it no longer acceptable? INTJs may face this question in both their work and their relationships. They are forced to grapple with whether the product or relationship is acceptable or whether they should just cut their losses and start over.

The problem with INTJs acting (Se) is it displaces them from their natural role as abstract perceivers (Ni). This, in combination with their relative disembodiment, is why action feels so strange and foreign to INJs. As I discuss in this post, integrating the inferior function is more about enhancing the conditions for functioning authentically according to one’s type than it is about directly developing or “improving” the inferior function. In doing so, many inferior-related issues will take care of themselves; they are resolved indirectly.

It is therefore unlikely that the solution to INTJs’ N-S debacle will entail improving their ability to act or otherwise implement their ideas. Nor is it likely to involve a complete repression of their Se, which will only worsen matters. Rather, the solution is more apt to involve a shift in N perspective. So instead of always seeing the world as flawed, problem-ridden, or in need of modification, INTJs can learn to notice and appreciate what is already good and beautiful about it. This is not to suggest that INTJs will no longer make critical evaluations or produce visions of change, but only that their Ni will be tempered and influenced by an appreciation for what already is. Such a shift in perspective can help INTJs better reconcile the present with the future, as well as the ideal with the actual. It can also serve to satisfy their thirst for Se pleasure in a healthier, more sustainable way.

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The task and challenge for INTJs seeking personal growth involves cultivating conditions that allow the opposing forces of their Ni and Se to co-exist and work together. INTJs looking for further guidance with regard to personal growth and integrating their Se might explore my post, Integrating the Inferior Function.

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