EPISODE 10 PT 1: THE THIRD FUNCTION

This episode, we move away from our discussion of SSRIs and begin to lay the foundation for a close look at MBTI (that is, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator). Based on the theories in one of Jung's most famous books, Psychological Types, MBTI is a personality test and system most commonly known for sorting individuals into types like "ENTJ" or "ISFP." We discuss what this system is, how it works, and how personality typing came to completely overshadow the central message of Jung's work. We discuss cognitive functions, what Jung actually believed about personality, and why MBTI wound up being so useful in my own experience of depression. Utilizing a compass metaphor, we explore the lost medicine and insight lurking behind this scientifically contested yet wildly popular personality system.

Note: The next two episodes will be, in some ways, a continuation of the discussion we began in our most recent Nekyias episode (Are Ya Winning, Son?), and may be of interest to new patrons who are not yet up to date on the rest of the Katabasis series.

Additional Resources:

1. For those of you who have never taken an MBTI test, the most ubiquitous (and free) version can be found here: https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

Although this episode isn't really concerned with traditional MBTI, taking the test can be fun, informative, and may help provide some foundation for this topic.

2. As promised in the episode, below is a conversion chart for the cognitive functions as they relate to the traditional MBTI type acronyms, as well as the corresponding "child playing" images to help differentiate which one is which. As noted in the episode, this typology, while based on Jung's theories, is rooted in contemporary discourse and a very specific interpretation of Jung's work (which, while helpful in many ways, is not perfectly aligned with what he actually said or believed). We're going to be delving much deeper, particularly in Part 2. For now, though, I felt compelled to include this chart for reference and research purposes. Jung's actual theories can be so opaque that I've found it easier to explain the modern interpretation first.

PS For my MBTI junkies out there, I am aware that this is horribly oversimplified and am just trying to make this system accessible to those who are unfamiliar.

Judging/Rational Types:

Te - Extroverted Thinking (Playing with Legos)

Ti - Introverted Thinking (Reading a book about space)

Fe - Extroverted Feeling (Including friends in a game)

Fi - Introverted Feeling (Playing dress up/creating her own rules)

Perceiving/Irrational Types:

Se - Extroverted Sensing (Playing a sport)

Si - Introverted Sensing (Engaging with familiar movies, board games, or collections)

Ne - Extroverted Intuition (Drawing new lines in a coloring book)

Ni - Introverted Intuition (Secret & rich fantasy world)

MBTI/Cognitive Function Stack Conversions:

Dominant Function — Auxilary Function — Third Function — "Shadow" Function

(Note: I've included the child-playing images just to make it easier to read/remember; these are vast oversimplifications purely for the sake of learning the system/reference. The first two of these are bolded/underlined to indicate that these functions are more easily used/dominant within the personality, while the last two are usually more difficult to access, repressed, or even totally unconscious.)

Judging/Rational Dominants:

ENTJ: Te—Ni—Se—Fi

(Legos—Fantasy World—Sports—Own Rules)

ESTJ: Te—Si—Ne—Fi

(Legos—Familiar Games—Outside the Lines—Own Rules)

INTP: Ti—Ne—Si—Fe

(Books—Outside the Lines—Familiar Games—Playing w/ Others)

ISTP: Ti—Se—Ni—Fe

(Books—Sports—Fantasy World—Playing w/ Others)

ENFJ: Fe—Ni—Se—Ti

(Playing w/ Others—Fantasy World—Sports—Books)

ESFJ: Fe—Si—Ne—Ti

(Playing w/ Others—Familiar Games—Outside the Lines—Books)

INFP: Fi—Ne—Si—Te

(Own Rules—Outside the Lines—Familiar Games—Legos)

ISFP: Fi—Se—Ni—Te

(Own Rules—Sports—Fantasy World—Legos)

Perceiving/Irrational Dominants:

ESTP: Se—Ti—Fe—Ni

(Sports—Books—Playing w/ Others—Fantasy World)

ESFP: Se—Fi—Te—Ni

(Sports—Own Rules—Legos—Fantasy World)

ISTJ: Si—Te—Fi—Ne

(Familiar Games—Legos—Own Rules—Outside the Lines)

ISFJ: Si—Fe—Ti—Ne

(Familiar Games—Playing w/ Others—Legos—Outside the Lines)

ENTP: Ne—Ti—Fe—Si

(Outside the Lines—Books—Playing w/ Others—Familiar Games)

ENFP: Ne—Fi—Te—Si

(Outside the Lines—Own Rules—Legos—Familiar Games)

INTJ: Ni—Te—Fi—Se

(Fantasy World—Legos—Own Rules—Sports)

INFJ: Ni—Fe—Ti—Se

(Fantasy World—Playing w/ Others—Books—Sports)