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Woll Smoth

 The dominant function is like breathing. The dominant function in our personality is so intrinsic to us, so deeply ingrained, that it's like breathing. We don't even have to think about it, we just do it naturally and almost effortlessly. It's the part of our personality that's most instinctive to us and the one we're most comfortable with.

The auxiliary function is like walking. While it might not be as effortless or as automatic as breathing, it's still something we do fairly naturally and without much conscious thought. In terms of personality, this function tends to support and balance out our dominant function.

The tertiary function is like jogging. It's something we can do and have some level of conscious access over, but it requires more conscious effort and isn't as natural or comfortable as breathing or walking. We might be good at it, but it's not our go-to skill or way of being. IDRlabs describes it as the puerile function where the individual naively overestimates their sophistication with their Tertiary function and it ends up like a child in a grown ups clothes, in other words can be clever and innovative but not entirely actualizing it's full and actual use. Because it jumps in and out of consciousness (semi-conscious), it's like an event where it has a definite beginning and end before beginning again only to be burnt out later, with the cycle repeating. However, one must not underestimate the charm and influence of the tertiary function.

The inferior function is like a hidden cramp. It's a part of us that we're often not aware of, and when it does show up, it can be painful or uncomfortable. It's the part of our personality that we repress and have no volitional control over. As von Franz has said about the inferior function, "You can never rule or educate it and make it act as you would like, but if you are very clever and are willing to give in a lot, then you may be able to arrange so that it does not throw you.” Despite it being an unpleasant area, it can also be a source of growth if we're willing to confront and work on it.

Woll Smoth

 Some may ask “why so types showcase instances of displaying their parallel dominant function (Ti/Fi, Te/Fe, Ne/Se, Ni/Si) even if it’s not in their stack in IDR?” To answer that the following is an exchange of a former IDRlabs follower and one of the admins:

Dx Req: "Is it me, or do people who have an Inferior function in a certain area start showing some traits from the Introverted/Extroverted version of that function? Because of my Inferior Te function, I find myself showing more of the Ti traits than Te traits such as favouring 'Justice' and 'Integrity' over 'Dominance' and 'Expediency'. And also, people with an Inferior Ni would cycle through several ideas like an Ne user would, and people with an Inferior Ne would have all the persistence with their ideas that you would see in an Ni user."

IDRlabs Admin: "That is a hard question to answer but it does seem that people’s dominant function can sometimes take on some of the modes of the parallel function Ti/Fi, Te/Fe, Ne/Se and so on. This is not described in the literature, just something we have informally noticed. Our best estimation is that since the dominant function is the most well-developed, it can mime its way through some of the same functional roles that are native to its domain (Ji / Je / Pi / Pe) since that is the person’s 'ground zero.' These elements are still foreign, though, and not genuine in the manner that they would be if the person was of the opposite type. A case in point would be how Fi users can sometimes apply a faux Ti standard with regards to third-world problems or oppressed peoples in general. But though IFPs can well don the garbs of Ti rhetoric, and even calculations, the driving force is still a one-way street beneath it all. A good example seems to us to be Portia’s defense speech in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. She appeals to 'justice' to get Antonio off. On the face of it, she is providing an argument for why it is just to let Antonio go, but at the heart of it her partiality and passion are driving the works."

Woll Smoth

 Although ISTPs can sometimes concretely articulate their Ti ideas, Ti is usually harder to spot in ISTPs than in INTPs (although Ti in certain INTP individuals may not be readily apparent either). Coupled by the fact that one's type does not exhaust a individual's entire personality, this is also the result of Se influencing how they approach and validate their internal principles. ISTPs believe that the validity of their principles is tested and proven through real-life situations, thus their principles tend to be more pithy, practical, and untidy. They may think that their principles do not require extensive verbal explanation because they can be observed or proven in practical contexts. They typically prefer to demonstrate their principles rather than explaining them verbally (or even if the principle is not demonstrated through action, then they will at least see those principles as more "self-evident" compared to the INTP, all else being equal). To add on, the following text from IDRlabs very well illustrates how Ti in the ISTP works:

"With regard to the ISTP, however, it has often been remarked how most descriptions of Ti, and of what the two ITP types have in common, seem to pertain more to INTPs than ISTPs. In our estimation, this has been true of Jung, von Franz, and Myers. It has also been true of some of our own articles. This conflation of Ti as it appears with Ne, and Ti as it appears with Se, is a dearth in the scholarship on Jungian typology and has yet to be properly addressed. However, one way to unite the predictions of Jungian theory with the observations made post hoc is to contend that while ISTPs do think in terms of principles, their overriding principle is not academic, but the principle of reality itself. Paraphrasing the German fighter ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel, one might say that according to this principle, reality itself is the sole criterion of what is possible or impossible, good or bad. Concerning the ISTPs of this world, theirs is the practical mode of thinking in principles, and since reality is not at all as neat as the noetic conceptions of N types would have it appear, the principles-based thinking of ISTPs must therefore naturally be more adaptable and deviate more from pure ideation than in the case of the INTP."

To go slightly off topic here, I want to touch upon something regarding the ISTP that I think hasn't been talked about much. Now, this isn't a hard-and-fast rule but for many ISTPs, when they truly understand the undelying mechanics of their interest, it enables them a basis to be able to improvise, and if the individual ISTP is creative, then it enables them to innovate. These principles forms a foundation upon which they can fine-tune and build their own ideas, which may lead them to come up with new practical solutions pertaining to their interests. It's not just about knowing; it's about understanding and then applying that knowledge. To use an analogy (this shouldn't be taken too literally), it is like a musician who first learns the basic scales and chords, once they have a firm understanding of these mechanics, they can start to improvise and, if creative, create their unique sound.

Woll Smoth

 One might ask me, "Why do you care about IDRlabs' typings?" After all, the typological community is just one big mess of disagreement after disagreement, with not much of a consensus on even some of the baseline fundamental aspects of the theory. As an IDRlabs commentor has stated, "typology is an inherently subjective, constantly changing field where everyone has their own highly variable ideas." In other words, one's conception of a type will generally differ from another person's conception of a type. As IDRlabs themselves has said, "one’s theoretical framework for approaching typology can be likened to the language one speaks. As anyone who speaks more than one language will know, there is not always the possibility of a perfect translation. Yet we all use the same terminology; INFJ, ESTP, Fe, Fi, and so on. What you get when you see an online free-for-all discussion about someone’s type is like 20 people, all shouting at one another because they think they understand what the other party is saying when they hear the letters 'INFJ', but in reality they are all speaking different languages."

However, the system IDRlabs has put forth has made the most sense to me and resonated with me the most (minus their axes theory, I find it a bit too heavy-handed. But I get it, Heracletian yada yada yada). I have never seen a typological system, based on Carl Jung's theory, that had as much sophistication, originality, and rigor as the one IDRlabs has put forth. In my opinion, they are better than most, if not all, of the typology sites I have encountered with regard to their methodology and research. They're clearly very knowledgeable in fields outside of Jungian Typology (such as Psychology and the Social Sciences), and I appreciate their use of scientifically supported theories such as the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) for assessing aspects of personality that lie outside the realm of Jungian Typology, rather than using other typological theories like the Enneagram or Socionics. I also appreciate their minimalist approach to type (i.e., type doesn't exhaust a person's personality), which appeals to me much more than the black-and-white claims that reduce the complexity of a human's entire personality. 

But another aspect that is worth mentioning is their comments section. I get a different vibe from their comment section compared to most other typology forums (though you will still get the odd bad comment here and there). There are valuable insights that show up in the responses to questions posed by some of the readers, as well as well-written arguments and counterarguments, whether it'd be by the admins themselves or the commentors. It's clear that the admins and some of the people who followed IDRlabs are very bright people.

So, while the typological community as a whole can't seem to come to a consensus on anything, we can argue for or against someone's type to IDRlabs using the framework that they themselves have provided, and there are a few individuals that I disagree with regards to IDRlabs typings and that’s why I am here in this site to offer my perspective.

Regarding some of my gripes with them, I already mentioned my slightly negative take on their axes theory. Their axes theory kind of makes sense in a broad and subtle perspective, but it breaks down when considered more important than that. I think the issue, from my standpoint, comes from them (and a number of their followers) overemphasizing and prioritizing certain functions and types over others in regard to how the axes represented types. As for another minor gripe, some of their older articles are admittedly quite weak (like their Christopher Hitchens one), but with the amount of great free articles they have, they more than make up for it in that department.

recent activity

Bostonma voted INFP for Avatar the last airbender (Nick tv show series, cartoon).


Bostonma voted INFP for Makes a judgment based solely on physical appearance .


xenine voted INFJ for Stefan George.


xenine voted INTJ for Ernst Jünger.


xenine voted INFJ for Rudolf Steiner.


Bostonma voted 5w4 for thinks helping people is stupid and dumb.


Bostonma voted 1w9 for thinks helping people is stupid and dumb.


Bostonma voted ESFP for Cancer Cell.


Bostonma voted ISTJ for Thinks Justin Trudeau is French because he speaks French .


Nameless user voted ISTJ for Thinks Justin Trudeau is French because he speaks French .


xenine voted INTP for Friedrich Schelling.


xenine voted INTP for Stefan George.


xenine voted ENFJ for Joseph Haydn.


xenine voted xSFJ for Joseph Haydn.


xenine voted INFJ for Friedrich Nietzsche .


xenine voted ENFJ for Stefan George.


xenine voted xSTP for Miguel Serrano.


xenine voted xNTP for Miguel Serrano.


xenine voted xSTP for .


xenine voted ESTP for .


xenine voted ISTP for .


xenine voted ISTJ for 1w9 "The Sage".


xenine voted INTP for Max Stirner.


xenine voted INTP for Otto Weininger.


xenine voted ENTP for Richard Wagner.


xenine voted ENTx for Richard Wagner.


xenine voted ISTP for John Donne.


xenine voted INTJ for Mircea Eliade.


xenine voted INTJ for Self-Preservation 5.


xenine voted ENTJ for Raymond M. Smullyan.


xenine voted INTP for Skyrim.


xenine voted xNTx for Richard Wagner.


xenine voted INTP for Iannis Xenakis.


xenine voted ISTP for Frithjof Schuon.


xenine voted ISTP for Rudolf Steiner.


xenine voted INFJ for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.


xenine voted INTJ for Julius Evola.


xenine voted sx/so for Novalis.


xenine voted sx/so for Novalis.


xenine voted sx/so for Novalis.


xenine voted INTP for Novalis.


gustyd voted INFJ for Ogino Chihiro / Sen.


gustyd voted LVEF for Jungian Ti type.


gustyd voted LII for Jungian Ti type.


gustyd voted sp/sx for Jungian Ti type.


gustyd voted INTP for Jungian Ti type.


gustyd voted 5w6 for Jungian Ti type.


gustyd voted INTJ for Jungian Ti type.


gustyd voted 4w3 for Sexual 4.


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Davina McCall

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