# Inferior function weaknesses



## MyNameIsTooLon (Apr 28, 2012)

What does the inferior function look like when it manifests? 


INFP -trying to be rational and failing miserably
INTJ- trying to have fun and failing miserably
INTP- trying to be likable and failing miserably
ESTJ- trying to think deeply and failing miserably
ENTP- trying to make a wise decision and failing miserably


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## Kynx (Feb 6, 2012)

The inferior function will manifest in more than 1 way. Also, it will appear differently depending on whether it's manifesting under direction of the dominant function or in the form of an eruption due to being overly-suppressed. Usually inferiors appear as childlike and immature. 


Inferior Fi and Fe might manifest as attention seeking or tantrums. 

Inferior Ti and Te overly-harsh and unfair. 

Inferior Ne and Ni as seeing unrealistic potential possibilities 

Inferior Si and Se maybe being too rigid and stubborn, I'm not sure on that one


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## jakojako (Jul 5, 2012)

Se inferior.
Last night I tried to enjoy a tea I made for myself, and while walking fast upstairs toward my computer, I was very lost in thought, so I hit the wall and dropped the tea I was holding in the hand. Plus I hurt my left arm because it hit the edge of the wall.
Walking is dangerous for us.


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## Eric B (Jun 18, 2010)

Basically, with the inferior, you feel vulnerable, and are easily intimidated, and sometimes you try to compensate for it by overdoing the function, "projecting 'shoulds' at others" as Berens/Nardi says.


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## JungyesMBTIno (Jul 22, 2011)

MyNameIsTooLon said:


> What does the inferior function look like when it manifests?
> 
> 
> INFP -trying to appear rational and failing miserably
> ...


Not even close. No way (having fun and Se...no idea what these have anything to do with eachother, inherently). Also, depth can be any introverted function (think Ni stereotypes). Inferior Si - well, "wisdom" and that function would be a pretty vague stereotype (inferior Ni types might come off the same way - in fact, those are the ones more classically stereotyped as having "wisdom fail" moments (at least they look cartoonish anyhow). I mean, I don't doubt that you might've derived an understanding from some kind of interpretation of reality in a vaguely accurate sense, but inferior functions behaving as inferiors are going to not involve a person "trying" anything (consciously, they wouldn't be anyway), nor are other people going to be able to deduce properties from them that can be tied to F/T/S/N (they might be derivatives of this, which one would have to see enough pattens of "out-of-character" or "off-color" moments exhibited by a person to even _broadly_ stick one of these heuristic labels to. Many inferior manifestations can look like each other, no matter what the function (Jung thought that it was just I/E that best characterized people's tendencies toward the inferior - he didn't spend much time talking about the specifics of these in terms of the functions in any outwardly obvious way - after all, he would often take years to declare a type for some of his patients, so it wasn't easy to figure anything out).


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## JungyesMBTIno (Jul 22, 2011)

jakojako said:


> Se inferior.
> Last night I tried to enjoy a tea I made for myself, and while walking fast upstairs toward my computer, I was very lost in thought, so I hit the wall and dropped the tea I was holding in the hand. Plus I hurt my left arm because it hit the edge of the wall.
> Walking is dangerous for us.


I wouldn't be so sure of this (I mean, maybe, but the way you prove it is not convincing). Since you just say you were very lost in thought, this might as well be anyone who's just really lost in thought and forgets to look, or what have you. Inferior Se would be much more of...well, a psychological phenomenon. It would involve just what @_Eric B_ said, and specifically, the function would be just kind of a flat 5 sense-based interpretation function (it would especially come out flat or overly fanatical/undiscerning (in terms of weight a person gives to the process)/roughly directed at a purpose, etc. if a person is just describing details of images, happenings, occurrences, etc.). If not this, then the person also will just have a rather wonky and unconventional orientation to present details or sensory impacts (or present details no longer present, but universal in what they represent by real-world standards). Actually, after having Ch. 10 of Psychological Types open my eyes yet again lately, I've found that Jung didn't really think it was so much the inferior's relationship to the dominant that made it "inferior," (after all, they're complementary - the I/E orientation of the person had the most to deal with "issues" around the inferior, very generally speaking - Jung gets mroe complicated than even this though in his explanation) but actually, the repression of the opposite attitude to the inferior (so, for inferior Se types, this would be Si). He seemed to imply that the near inability of introverts to subjectify the "8th function" is what made it (inferior) a bit objectively distorted (when the person approaches it to achieve rational aims, making them "tempt" the outer world or view it as overly powerful, as if they are enslaved to being subjects to everything (like receivers), rather than those who can adapt to it readily (probably very egotistical, neurotic introverts)), while for extraverts, the near inability of them to objectify the 8th function did the same to them (making the neurotic ones very egotistical in terms of their needs and wants). In a way, inferior Se types might look really flatly tied to details of trivial consequence in the greater intellectual sphere, or what have you, since their sensation is greatly tied to their unconscious needs/desires (residing near or in "the shadow"), which are very self-oriented and not something adaptable to getting by in the establishment (same goes for all inferior functions). Of course, the inferior can be adapted, but not as a whole (and I don't think a person can really "learn to" from anyone or anything, which to me, defeats the point of these movements concerning "learning to engage lower functions well" or whatnot - I think it's something the person would just have to learn to captulate to and deal with when it comes up (after all, since most of the inferior is near shadow, it's going to usually involve issues a person might not have realized were important to them or whatnot, to put this very very generally (I'm not an expert enough to get more specific) - gaining self-confidence and self-control here would be the ideal).


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## Hapalo (Sep 4, 2011)

jakojako said:


> Se inferior.
> Last night I tried to enjoy a tea I made for myself, and while walking fast upstairs toward my computer, I was very lost in thought, so I hit the wall and dropped the tea I was holding in the hand. Plus I hurt my left arm because it hit the edge of the wall.
> Walking is dangerous for us.


Did you get upset at the wall? Did you hate the wall for _being_ there?

My inferior Se does that sometimes.


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## reckful (Jun 19, 2012)

Hapalo said:


> Did you get upset at the wall? Did you hate the wall for _being_ there?
> 
> My inferior Se does that sometimes.


I can definitely relate, although I'm basically a dichotomies guy, so I think of it more as inferior S (rather than Se).

If I'm finding myself thwarted in the course of some N activity (e.g., stuck on some programming task), I'm typically a model of patience. Assuming I'm not under any major external time pressure, it feels more like I'm being challenged and trying to solve a puzzle, and it's not generally difficult for me to (mostly, anyway) maintain my equanimity, notwithstanding that I may run into brick walls several times before I finally figure out a good solution.

On the other hand, if the task I'm trying to accomplish involves working with or fixing or dealing with some physical thing in what I'd call S-world, nobody would ever call me a model of patience. I get frustrated and annoyed with bothersome/recalicitrant _things_ pretty quickly, often accompanied by a silly feeling that the physical world is somehow _conspiring against me_.


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## jakojako (Jul 5, 2012)

Hapalo said:


> Did you get upset at the wall? Did you hate the wall for _being_ there?
> 
> My inferior Se does that sometimes.


No, but I was little upset because liquid was all over the place and I had to clean it up


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## JungyesMBTIno (Jul 22, 2011)

Neverontime said:


> The inferior function will manifest in more than 1 way. Also, it will appear differently depending on whether it's manifesting under direction of the dominant function or in the form of an eruption due to being overly-suppressed. Usually inferiors appear as childlike and immature.
> 
> 
> Inferior Fi and Fe might manifest as attention seeking or tantrums.
> ...


The inferior S stuff I think you got right (that's one way they might manifest). At least in the context of the person being overly fixated on their own "ways" of going about something and perhaps trying to avoid dealing with the conditions of the present moment of from a perspective of familitarity, I can see this (e.g. N doms are often the people who try to avoid dealing with factors of the present moment as they appear and view them as a barrier to action (see Jung's Ne dom descriptions), and might be overly preoccupied with the potential of their visions, which to outsiders, might just look unreasonable since they're related to the future, or in the case of Ni doms, looking into things more than is remotely necessary).


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## jakojako (Jul 5, 2012)

> What does the inferior function look like when it manifests?


Te doms with Fi inferior: No sensitivity to feelings. Effectiveness is all that matters. They overwork and stress themselves out and ignore the pain they're going through in the process of getting to their goal. They have no values such as personal integrity and fairness, and because of this they frequently "screw over" people or their business partners. Then they rationalize it with logical reasons why that was the most effective thing to do, "I would be stupid not to take the advantage of that opportunity."
As parents they fail to connect emotionally with their kids and they try to buy love with money. 

Ne inferior people: Stuck with concrete reality and its details. Lack of ideas and creativity. Closed-minded. 

Ni inferior: Stuck. No life purpose. Can't see big picture. "Directionless loser"

Se inferior: Has many irrational fears. Doesn't trust physical reality. Low ability to control his physical environment and his body. Obssesions, like checking if switch is off five times in 30seconds(can't trust what he sees).


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## TheRevaN (Mar 15, 2012)

Actually I think the inferior is simply supressed and that's all. You will refuse to see the things from the inferior's perspective, or judge that perspective as being irelevant or of low value/importance. It is basically what you ignore. For example (and it's just an example, not an stereotype, so don't jump to anihilate me) a Te user may deem breaking a certain value as wrong, he will feel like there is something wrong in doing whatever goes against that value, but if the end result is practical and efficient, he simply won't care, arguing that efficience is of utmost importance. This may result in a "the end excuses the means" mentality.


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## TheRevaN (Mar 15, 2012)

jakojako said:


> Te doms with Fi inferior: No sensitivity to feelings. Effectiveness is all that matters. They overwork and stress themselves out and ignore the pain they're going through in the process of getting to their goal. They have no values such as personal integrity and fairness, and because of this they frequently "screw over" people or their business partners. Then they rationalize it with logical reasons why that was the most effective thing to do, "I would be stupid not to take the advantage of that opportunity."
> As parents they fail to connect emotionally with their kids and they try to buy love with money.
> 
> Ne inferior people: Stuck with concrete reality and its details. Lack of ideas and creativity. Closed-minded.
> ...


Ok so my first reaction to what you said: please think twice before posting this kind of garbage. My second reaction of course is that I shouldn't tell you this. I should tell you to be more understanding and open minded. But what I think about not is that if you are not able to see the truth on your own, no matter how hard I would try to present it to you, I would fail miserably, because you want to believe this garbage and this kind of thinking doesn't come from a logical standpoint, but from an emotional one. So yeah......Please go outside and get to know the world better and then come back here and insult me like I deserve for being a jerk.


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## elixare (Aug 26, 2010)

Inferior Se: Trying to party like a rockstar but fail miserably (Friday night library sessions baby whoooooo)


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## Herp (Nov 25, 2010)

Inferior Ne projection:

There is a new girl in the office that I dislike. She's way too serious, punctual and fixated on details. _I think that she should_ be more open to the oportunities, seizing the moment by exploring the environment and let things happen even if they're not perfect. 

Then, I noticed I didn't do it myself either very often. :laughing:


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## Cellar Door (Jun 3, 2012)

Alright I'll try to bring some seriousness back to this. This is my interpretation.

Your inferior and tertiary functions are things you use, all the time, you have to use them, but they feel really uncomfortable and awkward. They are your weaknesses so often times they are often a source of immaturity as well.

Ni - You're going to see patterns in things, but you're not going to trust them or they're going to be totally absurd (not in a good way). You probably won't want to share your intuitive insights with others, likely considered "too deep" for most conversations.

Ne - You're going to get "out of the box" ideas, things that you think are going to be mind blowing. They're probably not mind blowing most of the time, but sometimes they will be, unfortunately you probably won't trust these perceptions even if they might be right/good. Like with Ni, you'll probably think people will think you're crazy.

Te - You're going to insist on using logic, order, and pragmatism but it will probably be to justify a value statement. The act of dealing with something in a impersonal and objective way will probably make you feel uncomfortable. You're so used to using Fi, wearing the shoes of others, sympathizing, empathizing, seeing the world in the context of their past and present. Now all of a sudden you're enforcing objective and impersonal rules? BooooooO!

Ti - It probably takes you longer to learn and understand impersonal topics like math or science. Since it's Ti you'll probably have the urge to break everything down into little pieces so that you can understand the entire system, but you're not going to feel confident in it. You may do the work, understand everything, but you'll be plagued by self doubt and insecurities. Compared to your preference for objective moral judgement, Ti is going to seem slow and low-level. 

I'm tired, maybe I'll do the rest tomorrow.


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## jakojako (Jul 5, 2012)

TheRevaN said:


> Ok so my first reaction to what you said: please think twice before posting this kind of garbage. My second reaction of course is that I shouldn't tell you this. I should tell you to be more understanding and open minded. But what I think about not is that if you are not able to see the truth on your own, no matter how hard I would try to present it to you, I would fail miserably, because you want to believe this garbage and this kind of thinking doesn't come from a logical standpoint, but from an emotional one. So yeah......Please go outside and get to know the world better and then come back here and insult me like I deserve for being a jerk.


Wow man, I'm sorry to make you angry. Don't take this so seriously, chillax 


These are just what I believe to be a possible manifestations of inferior functions. 
Your interpretation of my post as "total garbage" was shocking to me, because you are saying there's no truth in it at all. Makes you wonder, am I completely insane person or these are just some of patterns I observed that you are unable to accept because they're comming from introverted intuition(your inferior)?
I believe this has to do with your Ni inferior, you are being the one who is not understanding and closed-minded.
These are just some abstract patterns I observed in the real world, that could be true. I don't necessarily believe in any of them. That's just how Ni works.


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## TheRevaN (Mar 15, 2012)

jakojako said:


> Wow man, I'm sorry to make you angry. Don't take this so seriously, chillax
> 
> 
> These are just what I believe to be a possible manifestations of inferior functions.
> ...


No ma friend these are "abstract" patterns that you "observed" in what you think is the "real world"


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## jakojako (Jul 5, 2012)

Another manifestation of Ni Inferior: You are so dumb that you can't comprehend anything


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## TheRevaN (Mar 15, 2012)

jakojako said:


> Another manifestation of Ni Inferior: You are so dumb that you can't comprehend anything


Ok let me put it down for you: YOU (jakojako) WHO IS CLEARLY NOT AN INTJ BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT OBSERVING ANYTHING ABSTRACT (go and look in the dictionary for what abstract means) SHOULD THINK BEFORE SPEAKING- ALSO SURE AS HELL YOU DID NOT OBSERVE SHIT-MOST PROBABLY YOU READ THAT GARBAGE SOMEWHERE AND NOW YOU ARE TAKING CREDIT FOR GARBAGE (at least take credit for something smart you dumbass) 

You want real life observations : People are very complicated, but much more similar than MBTI claims. And if you think that bad parenting is the result of inferior Fi or that no life purpose is the result of inferior Ni (yeah both this claims are stupid as hell) and the fact that you can't focus on your surroundings is the result of inferior Se, then please shut the fuck up and stop posting shit around here.

PS: By the way, Ni has shit to do with how smart a person is.


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