Introverted functions can't express themselves

I've recently noticed that the introverted functions can't express themselves directly. They require the extroverted functions in order to do so.

For example, in an INFJ Ni nor Ti can directly express themselves without going through Fe or Se. At any point that a person expresses an introverted function, it has to go through the filter of an extroverted function. You'll never see a raw expression of Ni. What you will see is Fe or Se expressing Ni or even a combination of both. If you're an Ni user, you're going to be able to pick up much better on those subtle implications that Fe or Se couldn't express.



Take a more obvious example (for contrast). How many times have you been talking to an INFP, and felt the Fi underneath and through the expression of Ne possibilities or Te relative logic? You'll never actually see Fi expressed without one of them. INTPs are constantly trying to clarify with their Ti, but it comes through the filter of their Ne possibilities and Fe insistence.

Of course, the opposite is true. Extroverted functions can't ponder internally without going through the filter of an introverted function. For introverts, this means learning to integrate the extroverted functions into our reasoning. For extroverts, it means learning to slow down long enough to ponder internally.

The end result is that no one will ever truly be an introvert or an extrovert, and the degree to which someone has integrated their functions is in proportion to how well developed they are as a person.

 

Ni sees a pattern, something subtle (let's say something that could be exploited in a video game). Ni is incapable of putting it into words or any other form of expression unto itself. Ni is simply aware of this pattern.

In order to express this understanding, the INFJ has to use Fe or Se to explain what it sees. If the INFJ uses Fe, the expression will be to inform others and express Fe's sense of how things should be. "Hey guys, look!" If the INFJ uses Se, the expression will be to prompt action. "Do this!"

It is important to note that functions almost never operate entirely independently, so the above example would more likely be a case where Ni sees the pattern and Ti creates a way to leverage the pattern, then uses both Fe and Se to say, "Hey guys, look. You should do this."

If the user is playing a video game by themselves, their Fe will prompt action (by feeling that the game should be won) and their Se will enact the action (via Se's urge to engage the world physically). Both of these are 'expressions' of the inner thought processes, even though they are non-verbal.

[Also note that my Fe and Se are not doing a good job of clarifying what my Ni (and Ti) is seeing, hehe.]

 

A person's type is most obvious through how their extroverted functions express, and how their introverted functions imply.

 

Exactly. Doing so allows you to engage all of your functions, and weave them in and out of what you are thinking. I believe this is why introverts communicate much better via text, because we're able to use our extroverted functions secondarily, and at the pace our introverted functions need to operate. When speaking, we have to use our extroverted functions in real time, and that's difficult for our introverted functions.

 

Different issue, actually.

Alexythemia is a condition where someone has a lot of trouble identifying internally.

What I'm describing is an entirely different effect. The introverted functions are very easily understood by the individual, and can be expressed. They simply have to be expressed through the extroverted functions. Get an introvert talking about something they love, and you'll get your leg talked off. Get an INTP trying clarify something, and you'll have hours of argumentive fun.

However, the distinction is that the introverted functions are moving through the extroverted functions. While the end result is the same (people still expressing themsevles normally), understanding how the functions operate is actually worth noting because it explains why performing the opposite role (introverts expressing, extroverts pondering) is so 'draining' for some people.

 

It would be dishonorable for me to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed person.

 

You've managed to defeat yourself in this battle of wits without my intervention.

Excellent work.