Is this most probably Fi or Ni ? | INFJ Forum

Is this most probably Fi or Ni ?

On my own path

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Dec 4, 2009
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I have recently been doing more research into cognitive functions, and from what I gathered Ni typically manifests itself as " ah ha" moments and not gut feelings. Gut feelings are typically the product of Fi. There were/are some instances when I usually associated the following with Ni:
1) Sometimes when I am walking pass someone I know I get the feeling that something is bothering them or making them despondent.
2) Sometimes when I see people conversing and I hear someone make a comment, I "sense" that a specific member of the group has either been hurt or offended by the comment
3) I " sense " when someone in my family that is around me is bothered by something and I "know" what is bothering them.
But are these experiences a "product" of Fi and not Ni ( or Ni+Fe)?

Thanks for all replies and sorry if this is a bit of a foolish question
 
I think that the key expression for Ni is "what is possible?". It's the brainstorming function.
 
I think that the key expression for Ni is "what is possible?". It's the brainstorming function.

I think that more accurately describes Ne.
 
I think Ne is the interpretation function, as in "What does it represent?"
 
I have recently been doing more research into cognitive functions, and from what I gathered Ni typically manifests itself as " ah ha" moments and not gut feelings. Gut feelings are typically the product of Fi. There were/are some instances when I usually associated the following with Ni:
1) Sometimes when I am walking pass someone I know I get the feeling that something is bothering them or making them despondent.
2) Sometimes when I see people conversing and I hear someone make a comment, I "sense" that a specific member of the group has either been hurt or offended by the comment
3) I " sense " when someone in my family that is around me is bothered by something and I "know" what is bothering them.
But are these experiences a "product" of Fi and not Ni ( or Ni+Fe)?

Thanks for all replies and sorry if this is a bit of a foolish question

I don't really know the answer to your question, I'm sorry. I think there are many cognitive functions that could be in play in these situations. If the awareness is coming from observation of physical cues, it could even be Si.

My INFP boyfriend gave this example of Fi.

1) You're standing in a group of people and someone says something and your thought is, "That's f*cked up!"

After spending time among Fi dominant people, I think that hearing the "that's f*cked up" judgment is among the best bellwether's of Fi dominance.

My sense of Ni is that while it's "aha" moments can come into play with reading an emotional state, that's not it's main focus (for me at least). It's more of an abstract sense of knowing how everything comes together. It's background pattern assembly into a sudden light of awareness of the answer.
 
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I think Ne is the interpretation function, as in "What does it represent?"

That's fair, but I think both N functions are about "What does it represent?". I think Ni and Ne just engage with the question differently.

My understanding of Ne is that it is an expansive function (exploding out possibilities) and Ni is more a deductive function (pulling everything in toward an answer).
 
I have recently been doing more research into cognitive functions, and from what I gathered Ni typically manifests itself as " ah ha" moments and not gut feelings. Gut feelings are typically the product of Fi. There were/are some instances when I usually associated the following with Ni:
1) Sometimes when I am walking pass someone I know I get the feeling that something is bothering them or making them despondent.
2) Sometimes when I see people conversing and I hear someone make a comment, I "sense" that a specific member of the group has either been hurt or offended by the comment
3) I " sense " when someone in my family that is around me is bothered by something and I "know" what is bothering them.
But are these experiences a "product" of Fi and not Ni ( or Ni+Fe)?

Thanks for all replies and sorry if this is a bit of a foolish question

This is more likely Fe, with a possible aid of intuition. Fe is sensitive to the emotional states of other people, and emotional changes in the atmosphere, the "mood".

Ni isn't quite "aha" moments, because it doesn't really come out of nowhere, as the user may be inclined to believe. The particularity of Ni is that it can't be traced back in it's process, can't be scrutinized, as it is non-linear, like one might be able to do with Ti;following the thought process backwards to find the cause. Ni grasps complex information and patterns in their "condensed" form, so to speak. A lot of information neatly stuffed into a tiny package, and even if the Ni user can intuitively know this, and be intimately familiar with this knowledge they have a hard time translating this into any verbal form of communication. Ni is also a sense of knowing how things "should" be, watching the world through a lens that makes the person perceive through their future-oriented vision and worldview, making them have an underlying drive to transfer their vision to reality via their directive judging function (Fe or Te) and as such it creates a unique mindset in every user.
 
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Damit Von Hase! I was just about to conclude once and for all that I am INFP.
 
For me, the functions all kind of blend together.

I tend to think of Ni moments as my "talking with God" moments. It's a moment of stepping outside of myself and my ego to see what really matters. It's sort of the gateway to wisdom.

I tend to think of Fi as the moral compass. It tends to represent the values within you that are set in concrete. Since they are values, there really isn't any way to explain why you hold them to be absolute, but what is clear is that they are not changing.

I see Ne as the pattern function. It's always looking for abstract patterns that can string together into new things. It's definitely the gateway to invention and creativity.

I tend think of Fe as the ability to connect. It sees values as very relative and is appreciative of differences. Fe is that special thing that puts relationships above everything else.
 
Thanks a lot for all the responses everyone :)