YOUR INFERIOR FUNCTION: vulnerable gateway to wholeness
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2022
- There is a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in. LEONARD COHEN
Jung’s system of typology-our characteristic way of orienting to the world-led to the creation of the widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Jung observed four essential ego functions. Thinking and feeling are rational functions of assigning value and making decisions, and intuition and sensation are non-rational modes of perception and attention. Ordered hierarchically from most to least developed, our inferior function lies closest to the unconscious and tends to manifest through tasks, people and situations that throw us off balance: we feel confused, overloaded, and unable to get a grip. The inferior function pushes in through the cracks in ego’s efforts at supremacy and opens us to what is unknown and unlived. For Jung, however, this seeming weak spot in the personality was also “the treasure hard to attain,” for it is also the source of our aliveness, freedom, and fun.
HERE’S THE DREAM WE ANALYZE:
”I was swimming in the ocean at nighttime. I was surrounded by a school of gigantic, hot-pink jellyfish the size of hot air balloons. They were almost bioluminescent. I looked down and saw a massive sea creature rising from the depths. At first, I thought it was a blue whale. As it got closer, however, I realized it was the size of several blue whales and shaped almost like a man. I was filled with terror and awe and swam away to the shore. On the shore, I was talking urgently with Doctor Who. Suddenly, we were attacked by Daleks (a fictional alien species). As they flew toward us, we ran away toward the ocean. We didn’t go underwater, however, we ran on top of it. As we ran across the sea pursued by the Daleks, the jellyfish and whale man from before rose out of the water, running and flying around us to protect us.”
References:
Lenore Thomson. Personality Type: An Owner’s Manual.
Marie-Louise von Franz, Lectures on Jung’s Typology.
Ann Ulanov. The Danger and the Treasure of the Inferior Function, Psychological Perspectives, 52: 9-53, 2009.
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This episode is so helpful. I have been experiencing strange feelings and reactions lately that make me feel like a stranger to myself or that I have taken steps back in my evolution. I keep getting different results in personality tests but I am concluding that my inferior function is probably Se. It’s hard for me to do things for the sake of doing them unless they serve a larger purpose. I will try to hold myself lightly through this one. Thank you for doing this. You have changed my life.
You are not alone in this experience so I hope you can take some comfort from a stranger on the internet who recognizes it. I have ALWAYS been mostly a stranger to myself and (others) but lately I have become more estranged from my old life and self as long-buried facets of myself have begun to emerge that are in some strange way both alien and old forgotten friends, most recently my anima; she's dark and vampiric in nature but only wants to live and love, and I just want to cuddle her up so she can feel warm and protected. It's a disruptive and confusing process, but I'm trying to have fun with it (yeah, ME having FUN, WOW!) as I learn who they are and what they have to teach me. There's nothing to fear, it's only our own reflection in a dark glass. I'm an INFJ so Se is my inferior function- the inability to do things for the sake of doing them without serving a greater purpose lands right between the eyes for me and points directly to the influence of dominant Ni, so thanks for that well-placed observation. Good luck with your explorations, hope you find your buried treasures and a successful integration.
I just felt a synchronicity seeing this pop up at the top of recommended, hit me hard as I was just coming back to some reflections I had about my own inferior function. Or rather: what I believe it to be.
It’s been a while since I even had the thought, very interesting timing. I can always appreciate the way things “line up” sometimes 🧘✨
Deb's inviting inquiry into exploring "the treasure" -- so beautifully said, as Joseph noted -- this pursuit is what wakes me up in the morning!
53:34 This part gave me goosebumps. Woah!
On the wonderful dream in this episode and as an ENFJ-(T/A) I compare and contrast that my early dreams were observing myself walking the bottom of the ocean which was fairly brightly lit and full of life and sand but when I got pregnant the dream which at times had many snakes depending on my emotional state changed, revealing THE Mother; The Anaconda or sea monster with no beginning and no end in sight...just a deeper UnKnown. - Thank you! -cc
According to what I have read (Von Franz, I think), the inferior function can best be approached by first integrating the tertiary function. Jung, in his book Mysterium Coniunctionis, gives three levels of coniunctio. First is integration with the anima (or animus) and the second is integration of the inferior function leading to achieving the stone. He cites Dorn in this regard.
Thanks for posting this, it gives a bit of confirmation to something I have been experiencing more spontaneously lately. The references might be a helpful guide to facilitation of the process of anima integration.
Wow! Thank you for this episode! I have only a little familiarity with even the more broad subject matter in here and it is immediately clear to me that this one is going to take a couple listens, which is as always an interesting and exciting invitation to adventure! Appreciating this channel more the deeper I get into it :)
Yes thank you for illuminating this area!
I really appreciate this podcast and the examples presented here that illustrate the conceptual framework with real world examples. I will be listening to it many more times for insights into my own attachment trauma and integration process. I only found your channel recently and have not yet exhaustively explored all the content, but would really like to see more indepth content pertaining to the inferior function and its relation with the unconscious functions, especially the specific functions associated with the anima/animus and how it is linked with ego functions. Thanks, this was helpful.
Wow such a great channel
Great podcast, great people, thanks! always helpful and educational.
I think astrology could be very helpful in detecting which function is inferior
Technically, the meyers-briggs personality test directly specifies what your inferior function is. The closest thing to astrology that would determine something like this, would be the Human Design system. It's developer explained how it was sourced from astrology and how the planets effect the various chakras/organ systems. This then would specify strengths and weaknesses. For example I am a manifesting generator, and it hints I am best suited for solitary creation of new systems, which is what i've always done naturally, My weakness points to my lack of charisma / lack of social grace /clumsy. this agrees with INFJ inferior function of extraverted sensing, I can only express my extroverted sensing when ALONE in nature! sorry such a long response to your comment on astrology.
MBTI specifies the functions and their positions in the stack, but I agree that astrology might reveal some worthwhile things about the ways the functions are likely to manifest and issues that are likely to be encountered over the lifetime. I tend to think of astrology more like a clock on the wall - it doesn't make the sun rise but it points to where it is in the day/night cycle. It isn't causal per se but the correlations observed are often accurate (at least twice a day 😉) enough to be intriguing.
Thank you :) How do I identify the inferior function? The 16 personalities website etc gives the 4 letters but not the inferior function…
I had forgotten mine so I googled "INFJ inferior function" and there it was, haha, extroverted sensing. The blog went on to say I was clumsy and couldn't speak on my feet. But I knew that. The thing about it is, I'm way better off not trying to express it. I spent my life trying to be a singer, a speaker, a team leader, and no, it just doesn't work. I need to do lone research and solitary creation. It's why I'm here. to me, the inferior function is a good guide for what to avoid.
@@blissbrainI'm INFJ also (turbulent type) and find it curious that you (and I, in large part) "chose" careers that focus on the inferior Se function (mine has been construction business). The example given of the family environment that invalidates or discourages the natural function preferences rings bells for me- the natural functions either express in less-than-ideal ways or are repressed in favor of more "acceptable" ones that are more difficult to develop fully and therefore limit success and fulfillment. I am only just beginning to rediscover my INFJness (also one of the reasons I'm here) after a lifetime of disconnection from myself and the traumas that caused and stemmed from that estrangement, almost like living life blind and in reverse. Interestingly, the inferior function as well as being the gateway to the unconscious is also known in some schools of thought as the "aspirational" function competing for dominance with the primary function (Ni in INFJ), and this might prove to be of interest and value in your research. Exploration of the unconscious and anima are my other reason for being here, and I'm curious about your observations on both ends of the function stack as another INFJ who has developed "backwards" if you're willing to share them. Best wishes to you and to us all as we attempt to integrate ourselves and become everything we were born to be.😊
I believe with Freud and Adler, it was introversion and extroversion, not feeling vs. thinking, was how Jung compared them.
*probably found somewhere is “Psychological Types” of CW :)
I can’t find the link to the poem! 😢
What is sense8 function?
So, you give examples of a Thinking type being confronted with the inferior function of Feeling-- man who cries when baby is born, etc, but what would be some examples of the opposite? What does it look like when a Feeling type is confronted with the inferior function of Thinking? As a borderline/undecided/unclear/(balanced?) T/F who pushed her way through a PhD program, I think I saw (and maybe experienced myself) plenty of F Types trying desperately to engage with T -- but I want to hear from the analysts how an Inferior T function can manifest so as to better understand my own journey. I always thought of myself as INFP, but recently took a more comprehensive assessment that scored me as ISTP. I also have a hard time understanding the line between intuition and sensation. What if intuition manifests as sensation and/or expresses itself as movement? I'm a dancer and the divide of these functions is not clear to me at all. Is the Sense function related to our ability to orient ourselves in space -to -navigate and not get lost? ----Ahh, OK, minute 50 now we hear about how inferior function thoughts could be experienced by F Types. Verrrrry interesting!
hi , i'm curious to ask what do you guys think Jung's inferior function is , and thanks for the episode !
Jung thought he was an Intuitive Thinking Type. But some think he INFJ rather than INTJ. But interestingly both INTJ and INFJ have inferior extroverted sensing.
And Jung’s crisis with Freud revolved around how they viewed sex-libido. Jung during this feud proposed that the libido was a type of „mental energy“.
IMO only a person with inferior sensation would make that deduction. Freud was a sensation type.
IMO Jung was wrong. But Jung’s idealism and split with Freud produced a whole other set of insights.
@@matthewkopp2391 i thought Jung's primary function was introverted thinking.
@@matthewkopp2391 and i read that freud was a feeling type according to von franz and jung in "Lectures on jung's typology"
@@matthewkopp2391 I heard a youtube video of Jung saying he was INT and INF at different stages of his life, and he said that one could change. It was a rather brief comment but I listened to it a dozen times so he said it. Also I do relate to him saying libido was a type of mental energy. I never related to those who just couldn't resist and 'had that affair' out of pure lust and not being able to stop. I (also INF, INT) was very interested to learn that many are ruled by that raw drive. I think INFJs are maybe, like me, ruled with more thinking and inner knowing, with an analytical bent towards the body sensations, and may thus possess less of that pure raw animal attraction that lacks any mental evaluation or involvement. I felt Freud was more of the animal attraction type, and he asserted everyone must be the same, but he was wrong. (apologies for stating only my opinion.) If anyone had different views I embrace all views. )
Thank you for your comments, very insightful.
@@blissbrainThank you for the useful insights into a deep and important subject. Jung himself didn't define libido in a strictly sexual context but seems to define it as an unconscious "life energy" emanating from the anima/animus- in that sense it has a sexual nature in the duality of the ego and the opposite-sex anima/animus and is central to sexual attraction. That would suggest that the nature of the predominant form of libidinal expression (aside from a purely biological drive) is a matter of the function(s) involved with the unconscious anima/animus, but I haven't yet been able to definitively identify exactly how Jung meant to interpret its position in the function stack and would certainly appreciate any references that might clarify the point, as I am not yet as well-read in Jung as I would like to be. I am even less steeped in Freud but am familiar with his focus on "primal sexual drive" as the prime mover, as well as the Adlerian notion of "will to power". All of these can be viewed as different perspectives of the libidinal energy related from different functional attitudes. Perhaps none of them are wrong but all simply incomplete as one facet of a whole.
As a fellow INFJ I identify closely with your description of being disinclined to sensory-based casual affairs and have never been attracted to the idea of them. The long-term focus of Ni and the "harmony" ethics of Fe have always been the primary moderators of my sexual and romantic interests and only when at least Fe has been satisfied have I been willing or able to engage with Se, but when I have all three it's deeply gratifying and nothing less or more is desired. This perspective seems to be a common one among INFJs and seems to support the premise of "functional attitude" and its influence on libidinal energy. My tentative "gnosis" of the relationship at the moment is that the secondary "parent" function seems to regulate sexual/energetic expression in conjunction with the opposite sex anima/animus function- Fe is on a spectrum with Fi , which is an INFJ's sixth function (second unconscious function) which seems to correlate well with my own experience of Fi being mostly inaccessible except through an intimate relationship, where it blooms and empowers.
I'm curious if others have noticed similar correlations in their own MBTI stacks or have different conclusions or references that address this topic. Libidinal energy in its full context (and lack thereof) is a primary focus of my own current research as a part of my trauma resolution process, so this comment and any additional insights are much appreciated.😊
Oof I say things that don’t make sense sometimes. I feel this is inferior function.
Does anybody know if the free 16 Personalities Test is as accurate as the official Myers Briggs? Thank you
great question.
My personal inclination as an INFJ is an echo of Jung's advice that each individual is his or her best judge of their type based on their personal understanding of their functions and archetypes. Tests can give a starting point for discovery or a "second opinion" to validate your findings and I wouldn't say they're useless, but if you have a lot of trauma or are older (exposure to more life experience and development) the questions can often seem to have multiple answers that apply equally or none at all, and make multiple findings equally as likely. I did test INFJ recently but I don't recall which test I used. One of the most helpful things for me has been the input of an MBTI practitioner who is a confirmed INFJ that I established a correspondence with- she produces a cartoon series (TypeTube UA-cam channel) illustrating the differences and dynamics between types in a fun and very engaging way and she's very responsive to appropriate questions. I'm no expert by a far cry but I learned and grew so much from that and her psychology channel (Schizoid Vision) so give it a try. Hope that is helpful.
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