Discussion on being Fe dominant

[KazeCraven]

By request.

What does it mean to be Fe dominant? Here's my view on the issue:

The dominant function is the one we are naturally inclined to make use of. It is the least draining function, and the one we turn to most to handle things.

Fe can be divided into two things. It is an extroverted judgment function as well as a feeling function. Extroverted judgment functions are about exerting influence in the world, and a feeling function is a valuing function. Thus Fe is a function tuned to exert influence in values, which specifically manifests as being in tune with social dynamics. However, the key is that while this function usually ends up leading to a good understanding of social values, it is more the case that it is good at appealing to other people to get them to agree to do what the user wants.

In less technical terms, Fe is about bringing people together by appealing to what's important to them, including subtle things like expressions of warmth. As an Fe dominant likes using this function, an Fe dominant will usually be very knowledgeable about what's important to whom, who works well with who or on what task, etc. It is the Fe dominant that is naturally equipped to handle issues of human resources, if he or she is interested in such a path. This is also usually what we dig into to figure out how to convey information appropriately to others. More darkly, this is also the best function for manipulating others. Indeed, whether it is used for good or bad, Fe dominants are naturals at manipulating people, though fortunately for the rest of us they tend to use their powers to work with people. Really the trademark of an Fe-dominant is being able to get a group to work together.

In contrast, Te provides the same function (i.e. influences the world), though when directed towards other people it tends to be pushy and commanding. More direct than Fe, Te can easily intimidate or hurt others and is much more likely to generate conflict. Whereas Fe-dominants can get a group working well, Te-dominants are better at simply running things and delegating tasks. They are less adept at knowing whether some task is good for someone (or whether some group will work well together), but better at figuring out what tasks need to be done and how much is needed to get it accomplished.

As an aside, Fi, though it is also a feeling function, is of a completely different nature because it is personal and subjective and doesn't directly influence the world like Fe or Te does.
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Discuss. My understanding could be flawed, so pretend like I added some "I think" and "probably"s in there.

 

[Gaze]

thx Kaze

 

[Animekitty]

INFP's are Fi dominate so I am very interested what this means for my interaction here. I think Fi makes me know the distinction between my motives compared others motives. But I hold back in my putting mine above theirs. I want a person to understand their choices and to know what personal reasons they have for acting on their goals. "How will they learn life lessons without full awareness of the real truth how they seceded"

I feel like the honesty of my Fi doesn't work as often as I want it to but I cant go against it. My Ne allows me to know what is possible and my Si helps me remember what kinds of people would listen to my Te explanations of what blinds them from seeing their weaknesses.

 

[Peppermint]

This was interesting.

 

[sassafras]

All right, so I thought about it, and decided to summarize my understanding of Fe vs. Fi in accordance to theory. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

We commonly say that introverted feeling is subjective and extroverted feeling is objective. But that's too vague. Feelings, by their very nature, manifest subjectively, whether they are directed at your inward values or if they're directed at other people... so how can you tell if you're experiencing emotions more objectively/subjectively?

I think the best way to illustrate the difference is by analyzing our feeling function in action; how we apply it to make decisions and where we direct our attention.

Fi users typically take the current situation and apply the principles learned from this situation to build up on a previous learning experience. In other words, the present moment is being appraised for potential values or lessons that could be applied to circumstances experienced in the past or in the future. It's like they're constantly building on their values. Their judgments and perspectives are an ongoing work-in-progress This is why they typically have difficulty staying committed to one idea or project, and seem like they're constantly questioning themselves. They're always questioning, double-checking, adding, subtracting, modifying, editing their values based on up-to-date, current information and how they can apply it to their own experience.

Fe users, on the other hand, do the exact opposite. Fe users draw from previous experiences and/or previously decided upon axioms and apply them to the present issue. In other words, Fe users apply their values to the present and immediate circumstances. As a result, a Fe user's judgment and perspective is fixed and less likely to change upon the introduction of new information They're not constantly checking up on their feelings or values, thus making them less inclined to question themselves in terms of 'right' or 'wrong.' Instead, they direct their focus on analyzing and checking up on the feelings of others... but not as a point of comparison to their own feelings or how this other person's feeling/experiences is applicable to the Fe-user's own life or experiences. Rather, they are more likely to apply this information to how they might help this person or other people like them.

If a Fe user is examining his or her values, they will likely de-construct it with the aid of another function, such as Ti, Ni or Si (depending). But they will consciously withdraw in order to do so. It's not an immediate, moment-by-moment thing, like Fi.

If a Fi user has decided on a value, or if they are prompted to immediately explain, they will express it and build on it with the aid of Te, Ne or Se(depending). And usually the explanation will be illustrated without conscious effort--although true to their type, a Fi-user might be more inclined to review what was said and how it was said and evaluate it later to 'check' if it still applies given any new value-based information.

Now, with the above in mind, the other thing to consider when deciding between Fe and Fi is how one relates emotions.

Extroverted feelers wear their emotions outside of themselves. What does that mean? The feelings are felt personally, of course, but I suppose the best way to describe it is that the 'burden' is much lighter. Feelings are directed outward; values are not internalized or questioned; they're put in practice and already up and running in the real world. They're offered to or experienced along with another person. They can typically last longer in a social setting because they are 'spending' and 'using' more of their own emotions and values than they are taking in from other people. Their emotional quota doesn't fill up as quickly because they have a larger outlet for their own emotions.

Fi-users, however, tend to bottle up their emotions. They are emotional 'savers' and tend to have a smaller outlet for expression (usually to people they trust or artistic pursuits). In a social setting, because they absorb the emotions of other people and do not 'spend' their own emotions fast enough, their reservoir fills up and they can't keep up with sorting through it, so they tend to withdraw much more quickly.

Here is where the theory gets complicated. What happens when Fe or Fi is secondary or tertiary? How does Fe or Fi look like when modified by a dominant introverted/extroverted intuitive or sensing function? That I'm still trying to figure out, because I think that's where the confusion comes in, especially for people trying to differentiate between a Ni/Fi dominant because they seem similar but one is a perceiving function and the other is a judging function--but more on that later.

In the mean time, as far as Fi vs. Fe goes, I hope my spiel was food for thought (because I really was talking out of my ass here).

 

[NiennaLadyOfTears]

I am definitely Fe.

 

[KazeCraven]

I think what Indigo had to say about F being able to be used in the absence of emotion was very insightful: http://forums.infjs.com/showthread.php?t=11944. I think while F tends to go work with emotions (because values are often emotionally charged), the emotions are simply a reflection. Whether this distinction needs to be made to understand the functions isn't clear (assuming it is indeed accurate).

What we mean by subjective/objective is simply that Fe works with external values (i.e. other people's, the 'object') and Fi works with internal values (i.e. the user's, the 'subject').

I am not so sure about the last part, with Fi users filling up with emotions and becoming overwhelmed. I relate to that when I'm in a situation where I have to tune into other people's emotional states, so it might be more general of introverts. I would have said that Fe users use their expressiveness to influence others, be it to convey a story, cheer someone up, or to show others what their opinion of something is. Fi user I would say have expressions that reflect what they 'think' of something, e.g. an ISFP smiles because he is reminded of a good friend he appreciates.

That being said, I do think that an Fi-dominant exposed to a large degree of stimulation will eventually be overrun with 'stuff' that needs to be processed by Fi. This would be similar to how I (as INTP), if forced to extrovert over an extended period of time, will eventually tune out to process my thoughts. However, I'm not so sure for IxFPs that it's because they are being overwhelmed with emotions of others.
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Will discuss subordinated functions in a bit.

 

[KazeCraven]

Here is what I have on subordinated feeling functions:

When a function is auxiliary, it is subordinated to the primary function, leading to an emphasis of using that function for the sake of the primary. This is not to say that an INFJ, for instance, will not use Fe as an ENFJ does, but rather that it is being directly filtered by dominant Ni, and that it requires more energy to use the Fe function. Usually this manifests as the INFJ making their Fe-actions count more, taking more time to take action, and gravitating towards roles that emphasize uses of Ni over Fe. Thus, for example, knowing what is best for people takes a priority over doing what is best for people (in the sense that that is more natural, not that they think that that is truly more important). For ENFP and INFP, it is the difference between accumulating a lot of possibilities to make distilling values easier and being very discerning so that not as much 'data' needs to be collected.

Really the tertiary function is the dominant of the 'other side' of things. It has a similar relationship with its complement, the inferior function, as does the dominant function with the auxiliary. The catch is that it is still being subordinated to the dominant function, and it still is rather draining, so the natural inclination is still to emphasize the primary role. In the case of INFJ (and other IxxJ types), this manifests as an inclination towards rigidity over adaptability, meaning that there is less questioning of what is known. IJs prefer (energetically speaking) to take what is known and apply it rather than take something and try to understand it better. This is why Ni-dominants tend to become naturals at predicting things from very little information (and Si-dominants, naturals at recognizing change/similarity). Having tried their best to simply use what they know, they learn to get the most mileage of out a very small amount of new information.

So really, in general, as Fe moves further down there is simply less emphasis on that type of behavior. There is a characteristic shift of focus and seeking of different roles to play. An INTP has Fe, but when forced to use it there will be a characteristic 'compensation' in which they simply use rules of thumb rather than actually tune into what's really going on with people. Rather than work by interacting with people (an ExFJs preferred mode; they find that 'fun'), they seek out theories to explain, and once they have an adequate grasp of the principles (which they find is a 'fun' way to learn), they learn to notice patterns (Ne) that indicate what is effective. Thus they don't have to spend all that time getting good at using Fe to have a basic proficiency with what it is good for. Conversely, an ESTJ will simply take action, then overtime accumulate a wealth of details, connecting the dots to get a rough idea of what's valuable and what isn't. They might prefer to take a Sunday afternoon to get their priorities straight so they don't have to think later about what's important and what isn't.

In short, two types such as INFJ and ESTP have all the same abilities, but they each are going to compensate for their weaker functions as much as possible. Despite any attempts to change their nature, the INFJ quickly sees predictions from little input and the ESTP quickly hones in on what's relevant by immersing in the present moment.

 

[Gaze]

That being said, I do think that an Fi-dominant exposed to a large degree of stimulation will eventually be overrun with 'stuff' that needs to be processed by Fi. This would be similar to how I (as INTP), if forced to extrovert over an extended period of time, will eventually tune out to process my thoughts. However, I'm not so sure for IxFPs that it's because they are being overwhelmed with emotions of others.
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Oh yeah, at least for this INFP, it does. It's ironically "sensory" overload.

 

[KazeCraven]

Oh yeah, at least for this INFP, it does. It's ironically "sensory" overload.

Not ironic at all. An INFP mind is driven to process everything that comes in through the Fi function. Insofar as you stay present to take in what's happening, you will be overloaded with stuff to process. Not sure about an Ne-dominant, but an Se dominant would pretty much be immune to sensory overload.