# What type is Naranjo?



## OrangeAppled (Jun 26, 2009)

Naranjo is easily the most interesting of the enneagram authors out there, IMO, but at the same time he's really inconsistent in some of his ideas. He contradicts himself a lot, because he's not really after details, but trying to give you the vibe of each type, to get to their essence. It just dawned on me how there is nothing remotely logical about his take on this theory, and that's precisely why it's the most accurate one out there.

I think he's very likely ENFP, because he gets the big picture patterns so well, but doesn't seem to care or be aware if the details add up. I'm not sure what his enneatype would be though. 

Anyone know if he's typed himself, and if so, what his type is?


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## kaleidoscope (Jan 19, 2012)

@OrangeAppled

I think he types himself as a 5? But I'm not sure where I read that, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was another type.


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## sleepyhead (Nov 14, 2011)

kaleidoscope said:


> @_OrangeAppled_
> 
> I think he types himself as a 5? But I'm not sure where I read that, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was another type.


I've read the same thing but I've never seen it actually verified. I tried to do a search once but I couldn't find anything conclusive (meaning it came from him).

I haven't noticed contradictions so much, but I'm only just starting a 2nd book by him.


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## mushr00m (May 23, 2011)

I do hear there has been some criticism of his book , Character & Neurosis due to the fact it seemed to be incomplete, not tied up at the ends and I agree that just when you are getting warmed up and grasping the essence of the type, it does seem to come to an abrupt end. The last chapter of the book was interesting though with advice on what to do with the information you have learnt, further self work. I don't know how long it took him to write the book and I havn't yet read any other books of his so its hard to really say.


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## Entropic (Jun 15, 2012)

I've heard theories that Naranjo is an 8, but listening to his speeches I somehow find it unlikely. I was thinking the other day how I actually kind of relate to Naranjo to a degree based on my superficial knowledge (aka vibes) of him from listening to his speeches. I was mostly thinking in terms of instincts though, in that sx first seems likely? 

I suppose 5 is not necessarily a bad guess. I do think his energy seems to flow more towards the head than the gut. As for MBTI, no clue. I would have to study him more carefully to get a grasp of his thinking patterns. He's fond of metaphors though, and he prefers explaining an idea rather than something concrete so Si-Ne does seem likely. I don't see him conveying the kind of distilled knowledge Ni-Se would. 

But yes, I was thinking he kind of sounded like me (or me like him) when I was holding my speech at a seminar a couple of years ago. As for whether that wound indicate INTP-ness, sexual 5w4-ness or something else I don't know, though.


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## zallla (Oct 11, 2011)

I've listened recordings of him describing each Enneagram type's instinctual variants and the way he snickers and titters is just so amusing. And his sense of humor is wonderful. Many times he tells a joke and laughs only after his audience has started to laugh. 

His _Character and Neurosis_ is theoretical and eclectic but I don't see him as a Five, he seems way too lively and expressive and frankly also too people-oriented for that. 

If I had to guess, I'd say he is a Six. If not, my next guess is a 7w6. He seems a head type to me but not assertive.


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## Vanguard (Dec 22, 2009)

I was under the impression that he's a 9. Character and neurosis' style is very theoretical, psychological literature based, but he ultimately is conveying a sense of character for each type, not trying to be particularly neat in his explanation. I feel that if he were a 5, the book would be smaller, and would explain more things. 9s have a tendency to say a lot, and be overly reliant on specific thematics that what they're explaining rests on.


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## OrangeAppled (Jun 26, 2009)

@_zallla_
My impression is similar, and I was leaning towards 7w6 myself. I see him as a head type, but he's very jumping between ideas & charismatic in a way few 5s are. His observations are sweeping & in "gist" form, yet pretty clear (he's playing for an audience), not detailed or expressed heavy-handed or cryptic like a 5. It fits well with him being an ENFP, as I suspect he is. 

FYI, It took a few readings for me to pick up on the inconsistencies/contradictions... I'm not detailed nor consistent myself. So I'm not even sure I'd say that's a criticism, coming from me . My main criticism would be the way he correlates enneatypes to Jungian theory. To me, his understanding of Jung is pretty bad, and he might be less critical if he properly got it :X.

EDIT: I think 6 over 7 because he seems open to me, sometimes revealing types of women he's dated and personal experiences as illustrations. 6s seem careful about what they reveal - it's not a contrivance like an image type, but as if they have concern about what could be used "against them" in the future. 5s are withdrawn & enigmatic. 7s are the most loose with their tongue, IMO.


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## Entropic (Jun 15, 2012)

Interesting, so most agree on that he's a head type at least then?


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## aestrivex (Mar 7, 2011)

naranjo self types as 5


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## Sina (Oct 27, 2010)

Naranjo self-types as 5; I've heard 5w4 for him. Though, a very good case could be made for 7. I fuckin love listening to him speak. He can be hilarious. He is very quick on his feet in conferences etc. and yeah @_mushr00m_, C&N is pretty disorganized and rubs my Te wrong on so many levels lol. I'd need to read Enneatype Structures before giving my final verdict lol.

I am not really into MBTI typing, but if I had to guess, I'd say ENTP.


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## RepairmanMan Man (Jan 21, 2012)

I'd been wondering about the same thing myself, just this past week.

I've seen that he self-types as a 5, which I can easily buy. I was thinking 9 before I read that, but that's mostly based on the "Epic Metaphors" and hazy ways of speaking that he is fond of using. Dunno much about the guy, though. 

I think ya'll are making a good case for 7 as well.

One of those three. I don't know where to put him on the MBTI.


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## cyamitide (Jul 8, 2010)

After reading some of his writings, I think he is INTJ type 5.


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## aestrivex (Mar 7, 2011)

i have had the thought myself that naranjo might be a 7. but i am not confident to stand by it very much.


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## enneathusiast (Dec 15, 2012)

Naranjo self types as a social 5. Don't know why people would second guess the man's own typing. Especially when he's the one that developed the Enneagram personality types.

He places emphasis on subtypes and not wings, so I don't think he's identified any wing for himself. If you want to speculate on his wing, it might be more productive.


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## OrangeAppled (Jun 26, 2009)

^He does emphasize how proximity to another type influences a type itself, and that's essentially what wings are (just one having a heavier influence than the other).

There's a 5 & 7 connection of course, with the dist/int lines. I would've seen him more as integrating 5 qualities, but perhaps it's the 5 disintegrating to 7 scatteredness being picked up on. Actually, scattered is not a bad word for him. I still see him as a Ne type, leaning towards ENFP. 

And of course, people can know a lot about a theory and mistype themselves still. It's less about knowledge than, well, understanding yourself.

Naranjo mostly correlates 5s to the Si-dom and notes traces of it in the Ti & Fi dom.... wonder if he identifies with one of those. I got the impression he just doesn't put much stock into Jung.


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## enneathusiast (Dec 15, 2012)

> He does emphasize how proximity to another type influences a type itself, and that's essentially what wings are (just one having a heavier influence than the other).


That's one way to interpret wings, but I haven't found anything where he uses it to distinguish variations of type. He uses subtypes for the variations to the point where he's stated that if you don't recognize yourself in one of the subtypes then you aren't that type.

It's in a 5's thinking to look at things from many different perspectives and understand the relationships between all the parts that make up the whole. Naranjo exemplifies this to me the way he compares the types to each other in a wide variety of ways. You can see him doing this in the beginning of Character and Neurosis (i.e., placing them on a circumplex, contrasting the types on either side, antipodes, etc.). The adjacency of the types to one another is just another way in which he does this.


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## Entropic (Jun 15, 2012)

I think a 5 can appear very 7-ish if the connection is strong (not necessarily disintegrated, but could be). I've been thinking about this a lot myself lately, reviewing both my current and past behavior. 

@_Orange_ Appled, of course, people can know a lot about something and still lack knowledge and insight into the workings of their own mind, but since we only have secondary access to his mind anyway (speeches, books) and none of us have I presume, met and spoken to him in person, I also think it would be presumptuous to assume that he doesn't know himself either, since we clearly lack evidence to support which assertion is correct to begin with. 

If we don't know, it would probably be better to trust his own self-typing. Having good knowledge about the enneagram theory is after all crucial in order to properly apply it on yourself. Doesn't mean the application is always right, but I can see the argument for 5 simply because he did create an exhaustive theory in order to explain the world and people around him. I can very much understand and relate to how relieving personality theory can be (for a 5, maybe other types can relate) because you now have a good explanation as to why people act and think the way they do and socialization is no longer as stressful because even if I feel disconnected, I now have an explanation why.


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## Sina (Oct 27, 2010)

@_LeaT_

Do you have a type interaction video here? Do us an Enneagram presentation on your type, please. I'd love to see THE Naranjo's intellectual/ verbal/stylistic look-alike in our midst. You're a diamond in the rough hiding out here, man. :kitteh: You've been selling yourself short, too damn short, all this time. It's 'bout time that be rectified!


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## sleepyhead (Nov 14, 2011)

I can see him being a 5 - if that's what he self types as I would trust it. I don't think there's any way to know for sure, and I would trust his typing as he obviously has a very in-depth knowledge base that he's working from. I don't think it's unusual to have a 5 be excited and energetic, especially about a subject matter he's so clearly interested in. You can be somewhat people-oriented, lively, and expressive and still be a 5 - many of the people I work with would probably characterize me that way (I mean people who only see me in that one role and never in any other roles) because I'm often talking about subjects that I'm very passionate about.

I also find it interesting that others found C&N disorganized - I loved the way it was laid out. I'm waiting for a 2nd book of his to arrive so I'm curious to make some comparisons.


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