# Fi users: how objective is your Te?



## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

This is a question for the Fi users. Te is supposed to be the companion judging function to Fi and is used to impose some order on your environment and to get things done. Do you use ready-made, objective standards of truth and efficiency when using Te, like Te-doms supposedly do? Or do you use personal, subjective standards you invent or discover using trial and error, say--eg, using your Se? Just how objective is your Te? Is it actually a subjective Te function? And what is your attitude towards Te and Te-doms and Te-auxs? Do you have a similar attitude towards Fe and its users?


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## Acadia (Mar 20, 2014)

ae1905 said:


> This is a question for the Fi users. Te is supposed to be the companion judging function to Fi and is used to impose some order on your environment and to get things done. Do you use ready-made, objective standards of truth and efficiency when using Te, like Te-doms supposedly do? Or do you use personal, subjective standards you invent or discover using trial and error, say--eg, using your Se? So just how objective is your Te? Is it actually a subjective Te function? And what is your attitude towards Te and Te-doms and Te-auxs? Do you have a similar attitude towards Fe and its users?


I figure I use both Se and Te. If I choose to climb a tree, I judge where to climb based on my senses; what I feel, what I hear, what I see. Te is objective, but I usually use it to back Fi. i.e., I {usually} only express my opinions when I can prove they're right and back them up with evidence. 

my dad is an ISTJ, and he and I have shouting matches quite frequently, but we also confide in one another and understand each other on a level others don't 'get'.

I can't figure if my ex led with Fe or Te but we had quite a long run together and complimented one another in many ways; but we had trouble expressing our emotions and we were both interested in our individual lives rather than blending our lives together. 

My cousin is an ISFJ and he and I are tremendously close as we grew up in the same house; we are protective of one another and while we see the world differently, his Ti and my Ni complement one another in terms of asking those big 'why' questions. 

On the other hand, a close friend of mine, an ISFJ {with a different enneagram} drives me nuts because she's got very unhealthy Fe. She's always concerned about how people see her, and wants people to agree with her on her perspectives. she's always organizing my car and can be quite ignorant in her judgments about the world. 

as a whole I don't have any attitude toward any user of any function, because every person is different. I mistyped as an ISTP for six months. It happens. I just tend to clash with people that try to tell me what to do, or how to live my life.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

heartofpompeii said:


> I figure I use both Se and Te. If I choose to climb a tree, I judge where to climb based on my senses; what I feel, what I hear, what I see. Te is objective, but I usually use it to back Fi. i.e., I {usually} only express my opinions when I can prove they're right and back them up with evidence.


What kinds of evidence? Let me put it this way, if you had to do something, do you use Se trial-and-error or do you go on the internet to see how it's done or ask an "expert"? Are your Te standards your own invention/discovery or do you take them from authorities?



> my dad is an ISTJ, and he and I have shouting matches quite frequently, but we also confide in one another and understand each other on a level others don't 'get'.
> 
> I can't figure if my ex led with Fe or Te but we had quite a long run together and complimented one another in many ways; but we had trouble expressing our emotions and we were both interested in our individual lives rather than blending our lives together.
> 
> ...


So is it when your dad uses his Si-Te to tell you what to do that you clash? Do you react the same way to other Te users, the way you reacted to that Fe user? Or do you distinguish between Fe and Te and have more respect for Te authority?


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## something987 (Jul 20, 2014)

Can you use real world examples for what you're asking? You are in the SP forum after all and this question is a little too abstract for me to get.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

Yeahright said:


> Can you use real world examples for what you're asking? You are in the SP forum after all and this question is a little too abstract for me to get.


Te in Te-doms is supposed to be a function that evaluates ideas by accepted standards of truth and efficiency. So, an ENTJ who wanted to start a company might go to B-school or read a lot of books about business and mgt to see what the experts know and say. Do you, as Fi users, do the same thing and seek out expert opinion (ie, authorities) when you want to get something done? Or do you consult your own experience, values, common sense, and use trial-and-error methods you invent and discover yourself? In other words, are you as individualistic when using your Te as you are when using your Fi? Or do you go by the Te book, so to speak?


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## something987 (Jul 20, 2014)

Ah okay. You mentioned Fe as well so I was kind of confused.

As a Se dom I use experience first. Like I don't read instruction manuals before I jump into stuff, I only refer to them as necessary. I like figuring it out on my own.

Am I individualistic when using Te? I'm not sure how that would manifest itself. I thought Te and Fe were more like the opposite of individualistic in that they rely on external standards. No I don't go by the book unless I don't know how to proceed. Hope that helps.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

Yeahright said:


> Ah okay. You mentioned Fe as well so I was kind of confused.
> 
> *As a Se dom I use experience first. Like I don't read instruction manuals before I jump into stuff, I only refer to them as necessary. I like figuring it out on my own.*
> 
> Am I individualistic when using Te?* I'm not sure how that would manifest itself. *I thought Te and Fe were more like the opposite of individualistic in that they rely on external standards. No I don't go by the book unless I don't know how to proceed. Hope that helps.


Not reading instructions is one way it manifests itself. What are other ways can you think of where you don't go by the book? And what do you think of Te users? What do you think of Fe users? Do you see these two types as the same, similar, or different?


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## something987 (Jul 20, 2014)

Other ways... well, I don't think I'm much of a book learner in general. It just doesn't sink in as much and I get bored with it. I learn by doing or watching people do. And that's how I teach people too, by passing on my own version of what/how I learned. There are probably other ways but I can't think of them now. I'm sure you've noticed some differences between us and NTJs though.

xxTJs are...not my favorite kind of people tbh haha. I find them rigid and too structured. I also feel like there's a lot of regurgitating what they read but not really examining it like a Ti user does. They know what but not how or why. If I wanted an in depth understanding on something I would go to a knowledgeable Ti user first.

xxFJs also somewhat bother me. It seems like there's two types of Fe users. One type, I feel like I have to be really careful not to hurt their feelings. I think Fi users understand self deprecation and jabs at each other, and we can be a little more hostile around each other with no hard feelings. But with these Fe users it's like walking on a minefield, and when something goes wrong the whole conversation blows up. And then on the other end of that are the Fe types who put on an act and are nice around everyone but then talk about people behind their back. I like to know where I stand with people, and I let them know in return, so that really rubs me the wrong way.

Fe and Te types are pretty different but there are similarities. They both have an underlying standard of how a given situation should operate and if you don't follow it things get awkward.


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## Acadia (Mar 20, 2014)

ae1905 said:


> What kinds of evidence? Let me put it this way, if you had to do something, do you use Se trial-and-error or do you go on the internet to see how it's done or ask an "expert"? Are your Te standards your own invention/discovery or do you take them from authorities?
> 
> 
> 
> So is it when your dad uses his Si-Te to tell you what to do that you clash? Do you react the same way to other Te users, the way you reacted to that Fe user? Or do you distinguish between Fe and Te and have more respect for Te authority?


I have pretty limited respect for authority, hahah. {doctors and people with PhDs not withstanding} but otherwise, that's just it. my dad and I clash when he tries to order things, and I want to do them my own way in my own sense in my own time in my own way. 

as far as Fe and Te goes, it almost...doesn't matter what the function is. Te users don't tend to be as outwardly sensitive as Fe users, so we can get it all out in the open. I feel like I'm walking on shards of glass when I disagree with that one particular ISFJ friend. 

I'll try to tackle the toughest one; I have the hardest time typing my ex, but we can go with ESTJ for now; he could be quite preachy on certain subjects {we're both activists} and if we didn't believe in the same thing he'd work for quite a long time to convince me otherwise. but above all, he was an extrovert; and I am still drawn to extroverts, but at any rate, he would frequently tell me to be more confident, loosen up about certain things, say things like "you can't let your dad bring you down" etc and it didn't help because my world is internal--the feelings that I have are feelings I need to sort through on my own. in other ways, we were a very good match. he's a tough one to type because he often appeared EP-ish {in a free spirited sort of way} but was also very preachy about his convictions tot he point where he was willing to bring people down in order to basically shove his point of view down others throats; childlike and affectionate in someways but ultimately sensitive to how others saw him, and wanting to be 'the man' of the relationship {which please...no} idk. maybe he's an ENFJ. I have no clue. he was a source of conflict in my life, and it seemed like we had _some_ function in common, but some other function separating us and driving us in different directions. {turns out I was more free-spirited, and he was more committed to one organization in particular.} 

as for if I use Te or Se more, it depends on what I'm doing. if I am doing something like riding my bicycle, and something breaks, I'm going to poke and prod at the bike until I figure out what's wrong with it; but, I'll reach a point where I'll look things up using google. if I'm going to climb a tree, I just do it, and figure it out as I go. When I am doing things that engage Se, I use Se. I improvise when the going gets tough, and I do rather well with it. 

However, if I want to learn how to do something particular and complicated, I combine Se and Te. Take playing guitar, for instance. I learn a couple things by ear here and there, but I actually want to know how to play the instrument; so I look up chords. I look up mini-lessons. I look up tabs. I taught myself how to play because taking lessons makes me feel constricted; but eventually, if I really want to excel, I may take classes. So it's a bit Se-first, Te-later. 

Not to mention, I'm also a veterinary assistant and wildlife rehabilitator. if I get an animal in that's got some sort of ailment I've never seen before, I'm not by any means going to cut it open and try to help it without knowing what and how to do what I need to do; I think my work in wildlife biology as a whole is somewhat Se-based, but the facts and knowing what to do and problem solving--that's from cultivating Te. It is not fun for me to learn how to do that stuff, but once I'm doing it, it makes a difference.


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## LittleOrange (Feb 11, 2012)

I mostly use Fi and Se (how something feels like and also trial and error), but I also use Te (outside authority) as well. I trust scientists and often consult various scientific books if I have to solve some problem. 
I used to always say that when I decide to have children, I would buy all the books on how to raise children to educate myself. 
My parents, on the other and (ENFJ mom and ISTP dad) are totally opposite. They never trust anyone but themselfs and it really annoys me! I read an article online written by a doctor or something, and I talk about this with my dad and he just dismisses it. As in, "That´s just nonsense. People write all kinds of stuff on the internet. " And I´m like "It´s not _any_ people, it´s a _doctor_!" That seems very disrespectful to me.

As for objectivity....hmm....I guess some things are objective, like morality. But, I´m having a difficult time accepting that attractivity (who is pretty, who is not pretty) is objective....for example....


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## animalfromthesea (Nov 19, 2014)

My te is very objective, especially when i'm around others. It is absolutely useless in any other situation lol. Most people seem to think that inferior function=stress, which is a shame since inferior functions can be very useful when used properly. I really like Te doms and aux (especially xSTJ who i think are extremely underrated). Hope this helped :/


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