Fe vs Fi - sorry, I'm sure there's so many threads... | INFJ Forum

Fe vs Fi - sorry, I'm sure there's so many threads...

justeccentricnotinsane

Community Member
Oct 7, 2008
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Fe vs Fi has always confused me. I've read loads of threads but descriptions seem to change on each one and I just get more confused.

I'm just looking for confirmation on what I think is the difference, if you don't mind indulging me. I just want to understand! I've decided to forget about social/personal value systems for now because I have absolutely no idea which one I have.

Fe:
- able to see/feel the feeling of others but has difficulty understanding their own feelings

Fi:
- very aware of what they're feeling but may assume other personalities would feel the same way they do in certain situations (With some of my friends, I tell them something that's pissed me off and they stare at me blankly. I'm thinking: Well it might not upset you, but can't you tell why it would upset me?)

Is this true? I find that I very rarely say "Why would they do that?" Which something I hear a lot from my friends. I assume this is Fe/Fi? I know why they would do that? I also don't bother sympathise with some people. I might know why they did it but I'm not looking for a "humanistic" answer. Sometimes they genuinely did something maliciously because they wanted some else to hurt.

I've read on a lot of threads that Fe/Fi is about opinions and I disagree. I think this is more to do with the Ti function? On one thread, people were encouraging someone to develop Fi by thinking about what they thought about abortion/death penalty etc. I know very well what I think on issues. I have strong opinions (although they're changeable should knew evidence come up). I don't know how I feel when I feel "bad" - I wouldn't be able to decipher between angry, frustrated or why it is I feel bad/what's made me feel bad, but my opinions on things external to me are very clear.

So Fe/Ti is good at understanding their opinions on things that don't affect them personally but bad on deciding their feelings on things that happen to them.

Fi/Te also has opinions (but they sometimes seem less thought through, like they've just picked them up from a newspaper?) but knows exactly how they feel when something happens.

Correct or nay?

Cheers
 
Not necessarily. Since I've explained my understanding via text before, for the sake of avoiding redundancy, I'll opt for pictures this time.

ibkJ8U.PNG
 
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That's cool. You should do pictures for all of the cognitive functions...
 
Not necessarily. Since I've explained my understanding via text before, for the sake of avoiding redundancy, I'll opt for pictures this time.

ibkJ8U.PNG

Ha! Sorry for making you explain it again. I don't think I'm ever going to understand! I understand the basic - Fe is for society, Fi is for the individual, but if I try and apply that to myself - meh, I don't know.
 
Nah, I don't mind. I kept thinking I had written down the definitions elsewhere and I couldn't find them.

F - harmony/symmetry
Fe - harmony based on shared compromise (external)
Fi - harmony based on individual emotional/mental equilibrium (internal)

Fe/Ti = Everyone should have equal social position, but internally be more or less efficient at their individual talents.
Te/Fi = Everyone should have the social position they deserve based on objective testing/criteria, but internally be at peace with themselves and their worth.
http://forums.infjs.com/showthread.php?t=17591
 
Nah, I don't mind. I kept thinking I had written down the definitions elsewhere and I couldn't find them.

http://forums.infjs.com/showthread.php?t=17591

Ah ha! Excellent. Now I know for certain I use Fe. What confused me was that Fe is often said to be "keeping the social hierarchy". I feel so strongly that everybody should be given equal rights and generally seen equally (I don't totally stick to this because I do see people who are good to others as somehow "better" than those who aren't). I saw social hierarchies as being the very thing that produces the underdog, the bullied and the very same thing that produces people who believe themselves to be superior or who think there's such a thing "winners" or "losers" in life.

So...yeah...I got confused :)
 
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That's probably the clearest explanation I've seen, and I've been struggling with it for weeks. Thanks a bunch Arsal :3