Introduction to Jungian Typology
- Rowan Lobdell
- Aug 28, 2019
- 6 min read
Contrary to what one may expect, Jungian personality types (or typology) isn’t a horoscope-like system for character analysis, it wasn’t invented to simplify our understanding of people and personality types; instead, it was invented to demonstrate the complexity of human typology and its consequences. You are an individual. No doubt about it. You have your own unique fears, interests and passions. you have your own personality. You interact with people differently than others, you organize your thoughts in a way that is unique to you. In essence, your personality is the thumbprint of your soul into the real word. The problem lies in the proper harnessing of one's personality to transform himself into the best version of himself. Typology can be liberating tool concerning this aspect.
For our purposes, we will be using the Jungian method of typology. To best understand this method of mind harnessing, (I like to call it Personality Management) we must first understand the mind of the creators. Carl Jung was a groundbreaking Swiss psychologist who specialized in analytical psychology. The book that truly defined Jungian thought was Psychological Types, and was the result of twenty years of extensive and thorough research in the domain of practical psychology. In the 1940s, Isabel Myers began developing a self-report questionnaire—the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® instrument—that could help people find where they fit in Jung's theory. The use of this instrument has led to an almost universal understanding that there are sixteen basic personality types, each of which can be 'named' by a four-letter personality type code.
In recent years, Buzzfeed and Facebook moms have completely butchered the complex system developed as a tool for introspective and external understanding. The depth of Cognitive Functions and psychological aspects of the theory have been removed and replaced with a streamlined yet inefficient substitute for said system. It has often been compared to astrology (and not without justification) as it is incoherent and nothing more than undefined terms associated to loose stereotypes. While there are some observable stereotypes within the types, it isn't the basis for the system, and everyone is assumed and outlier until proven otherwise. There is true humor in typology and it can be very fun. Analyzing the personalities of historical figures to fictional characters are an added benefit to mastering this system. Thus there is a huge mbti meme community. However, Bearing Liberty has little interest in the shallower aspects of typology. Instead we wish to teach people about the unique gifts offered to each individual and how they can transform themselves into a more well rounded person through the harnessing of their personality. Typology is a road to mental liberty. Liberty is the goal of our movement.
The Basics
In this article, we will assume that the reader has little to know knowledge of Jungian Typology, and thus, we shall lay forth the fundamentals of this theory in terms that are simple and straightforward.
The first step in understanding typology in the Jungian context is redefining and removing our prior assumptions of "Introverts" and "Extroverts." The modern definition of extrovert is something like this: "The guy who loves parties and people. He takes risks and is often loud and annoying. He is the natural leader... etc." While the correlating definition of introvert is a "Shy and emo kid who likes cats and Tim Burton." People who have any sort of introspective ability would find that they have a little bit of both of these traits in themselves. Few people realize that the vague method of defining people in such terms is extremely different from how the terms were originally created. It was, in fact, Jung who developed these terms. The terms weren't related to how much you like doing cocaine at parties or if you like reading Edgar Allan Poe alone, instead they were defining how one perceives the world around him and makes judgements with such knowledge. Think not of terms of social adeptness but instead the world they live in. There is the internal world and the external world. “External” means happening external to your mind. An extraverted person is generally more oriented to the external world — all of the people, places, and experiences that happen in the real, physical world outside of themselves. While “Internal” refers to inside your mind. An introverted person is generally much more oriented with their internal world — all of the feelings, thoughts, and ideas that transcend space and time within their minds. As you will learn later on, you have both introverted and extraverted cognitive functions that you tap into on a daily basis. However, you prefer one of these over the other, thus you are either a Jungian extravert or a Jungian extravert.
The building blocks for MBTI are Cognitive Functions. Before we jump into any definitions, it’s important to note that in this context, we are talking about the psychological meaning of cognitive functions, as opposed to the cognitive functions of the brain, which crosses over to biology. Cognitive functions, (aka psychological functions), is a concept theory developed by Carl Jung on personality type.
In his book, he notes four primary psychological functions: thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition. Carl Jung further divided our cognitive processes into two main basic functions. (introverted or extraverted) Thus we get two versions of the psychological functions, an introverted and an extraverted version. Each variation of said function has its own attributes and overlapping similarities. They are distinct yet they share similar aspects.
The Car Model
Human beings absurd. There are so many factors in the creation you as an individual, thus it’s truly impossible to fully know ourselves in a single lifetime. We have parts of ourselves that want one thing, and other parts that seem to want the exact opposite. Wrestling with doubt, confusion or lack of clarity can be maddening. Getting a handle on some of those parts can be an awesome first step in creating inner alignment – that thing that brings self-esteem, direction, and an answer to the question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?”
Thats why we at Bearing Liberty use "The Car Model". Its like a map to your brain. Remember, maps are not supposed to be perfect. A perfect map would mean it would have to have every detail and nuance insofar as it literally the exact thing that needs to be mapped. The Car Model, like the map, dumbs down the brain in such a way as that we can map our cognitive functions into levels of development and how they relate to one another.
Let’s pretend your mind is a four passenger vehicle. (These four ‘passengers’ represent four Cognitive Functions which influence you the most.) In the front seat you have a Driver. Next to the Driver you have a navigator, or a Co-Pilot. Directly behind the Co-Pilot sits a 10 year old, and directly behind the Driver is a 3 year old.
The Driver is the part of your personality that is in essence, your most distinguished part of who you are. If I were to ask you to describe yourself you would spend most of your time describing this process. We call this your Flow State. The Co-Pilot is a part of you that you identify with, but not nearly as strongly as the Driver. It’s an incredibly important part of ourselves that we tend to undervalue. (I’ll get to that in a moment.) We call this the Growth Position. The 10 Year Old is a part of you that you know is there, but have a push/pull relationship with. Sometimes you think you’re good at it, sometimes it is your downfall. We call the 10 Year Old the Defensive Position. The 3 Year Old is the most unsophisticated part of you, and so you have a tendency to not see it. It often influences you from the shadows until it makes its presence known, usually through inner turmoil. We call the 3 Year Old the Blind Spot.
Finding Your Type
We will cover this more in depth in future articles. But for starters its best to take a few tests. Do remember that the majority of mtbi tests don't include cognitive functions in their formula. The best way is to read type descriptions and figure it out for yourself by seeing which one resonates most with you. Usually, there will be a description that will jump out at you and you will immediately identify with. I've included a few websites that I think are quite reliable and great resources for determining your type. I do not recommend using 16personalities.com as a resource for an accurate type. If you have any questions, email us at bearingliberty@gmail.com or DM us on instagram @bearingliberty.
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