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| ”The School of Athens,” Raphael |
“The Philosophers”
Fe/Ti + Si/Ne
(ENTP INTP ESFJ ISFJ)
Home: the Academy
Patron: Gwydion
Quadra: Alpha
Vice: Complacency
Virtue: Wisdom
Like the Saints [Cenobites], the Philosophers judge by aligning with a standard. They’re seeking an outside truth. Unlike the Saints, though, the Philosophers, rather than being intense, committed, and dogmatic are exploratory, multi-faceted, and non-committal. Ne doesn’t commit to any viewpoint because it wants to see more, while Si doesn’t want to commit to a viewpoint because it’s unsure of how the future will unfold; it wants to be ready for anything. Si/Ne is a wormhole, as opposed to Se/Ni’s black hole; while a black hole sucks everything into one singularity, the wormhole provides a short-cut between perspectives, figuring things out quickly and cleverly. Search for truth (with an emphasis on the search), the inquiry, and the non-committal analysis. SFJs are more philosopher farmers, like Odysseus from the Illiad; wise, practical, caring, stern, “focused on the important, real things in life,” but, despite how they may appear, are actually exceptionally thoughtful.- Michael Pierce, “Function Axes Categories” (YouTube)
ESFJ: A kindly, warm-hearted philosopher, helpful and cheerful, but not simply as a result of tradition but of their own Socratic inquiry. They have thought about this and find their way of life more desirable in comparison to other ways of life.
ISFJ: Same as the ESFJ, more stubborn than the ESFJ though, and has a strong motivation to carry out their ideals and convictions. The image of the philosopher-farmer is closer to what the ISFJs really are than a motherly nurturer.
ENTP: This type is best represented by Socrates himself; interested in the inquiry into truth from many angles.
INTP: Similar to ENTP, but the focus is on the organization of the truth within themselves; the development of logical principles over finding them.
Socionics: Alpha Quadra
The Socionics term for this house is the Alpha Quadra. I don’t find a lot of Socionics to be useful or accurate, mainly because they don’t seem to understand the deep, underlying structure of the MBTI, and also because a lot of it seems to be overly intellectual wandering about in the weeds. I understand this well because this is a very NTP thing to do; we INTPs and ENTPs love think and use our minds for bullshit that’s completely untethered from reality. This is also a problem I have with a lot of philosophy. But they are aware of the functions and they seem to have gathered a rather massive quantity of data so many of their observations are useful, even if their theories are a bit dubious sometimes.
According to Socionics this quadra (house) tends to enjoy theoretical discussions for fun rather than for a practical purposes. They value logically consistent beliefs and ideas, and morally consistent behavior. They enjoy positive environments that are pleasing to the senses. They tend to show affection by performing small services or giving small gifts.
They tend to avoid controversial subjects that could lead to unpleasant confrontations and are inclined to be tolerant of past misdeed by others, preferring reconciliation so as to maintain a positive environment. They tend to avoid things that require intensive, long term commitment and upkeep, preferring short term investments of energy that offer a reliable outcome with minimal effort. They prefer experience to advice and often perceive those who try to give such advice as pedantic.
They generally strive to create comfortable, pleasant environments; an ideal situation is the exchange of light-hearted jokes while discussing imaginative ideas over a delicious meal. Games are less about winning or losing and at least as much if not more about the fun they have during them. They generally dislike heaviness, especially confrontation or anything else that could bring the mood down.
Discussions tend to go off on tangents, in whatever directions seems the most interesting at the moment. If they share the same observations about something they’ll usually agree emphatically so as to increase rapport. If a problem is encountered they’ll dive into it and develop it until some kind of satisfactory conclusion is reached.
Alphas are egalitarian and tend to avoid distinctions between insiders and outsiders, easily drawing people in. They generally find formal speech and dress to be pretentious, unnecessarily limiting, and ridiculous.
How Philosophers see other houses:
Beta (Yew): They tend to find Cenobites to be fun, but with a bit of an edge, and inclined to be a bit bossy. They usually give in to Cenobites because they feel the Cenobites care more. They can find them to be overly rigid and single-minded.
Gamma (Oak): They tend to view Aristocrats as standoffish and cold, even hostile, especially in work situations. They also dislike Aristorats’ tendency to play favorites, which is offensive to the fair-minded, egalitarian Philosophers. They can find Aristocrats to be overly harsh, unimaginative, boring, overly concerned about the future, as well as having a mean-streak of unforgivingness and vindictiveness.
Delta (Rowan): Philosophers tend to find Explorers to be kind and creative, if a bit too serious about their ideals and principles and too demanding that others feel and act just as they do about those ideals.
How other houses see Philosophers:
Yew: Cenobites tend to find Philosophers to be fun and creative - pleasant company - but also goofy, lacking focus and ambition, and too concerned with refining ideas and having fun. They often see them as needing to be led. Groups of Philosophers and Cenobites generally get along better in groups than as individuals; as Fe activates Cenobites start telling loud stories, and Philosophers make goofy suggestions for entertainment.
Oak: Initially Aristocrats find Philosophers to be friendly, creative, well-meaning, pleasant people. Later, however, they tend to see them as unambitious and overly concerned with comfort and physical pleasure. They also find them to be oversensitive while, at the same time, failing to make an effort to focus on the deeper feelings involved.
Rowan: Explorers tend to find Philosophers to be fun and interesting people to discuss ideas and prospects with, but also naive and inconsistent in their personal and business affairs. They feel Philosophers are overly idealistic and lacking in common sense, failing to turn their fun ideas into something productive.
Ash
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| Connection, Wisdom, Surrender |
The Ash is associated with magician, hero, and trickster Gwydion.
A cunning and skilled magician, Gwydion was able to use magic to enhance his own abilities and change the forms of others. While his chief attribute was his deft mind, he was also a capable warrior strong enough to defeat one of Wales’ most powerful lords in single combat. According to medieval Welsh poetry, his magic could create women out of flowers…- Gregory Wright, "Gwydion fab Don, Celtic Trickster Deity" (Mythopedia)
Though he was a trickster, Gwydion possessed a strong sense of loyalty to certain members of his family, most notably his nephew Lleu.” [Lleu eventually becomes High King, and Gwydion his advisor. This is an archetypal relationship; the trickster magician and the king.]
Gwydion is a kind of mischievous Celtic Merlin; think of a combination of an impish Hermes and wise Merlin. In one legend he started a war with his uncle King Math's rival, Pryderi. His brother was in love with their uncle's foot-holder (Math needed to keep his feet on the lap of a beautiful virgin). He started the war by stealing the rival king's divine pigs through clever trickery, but he ended it by physically defeating him in single combat. In this way Gwydion's foolish chicanery wound up leading to the dramatic expansion of his liege's kingdom. These kinds of fortuitous accidents are quite common with trickster figures like Gwydion fab Don.
Gwydion is a powerful sorceror and master of illusion. He delights in trickery and is thought to have originated April Fools' Day when he conjured the armies to trick Aranrhod into arming Lleu. He is a lover of poetry and the art of the bards, and is the druid of the gods. He is persistent in his ventures and learns from experience. He is both subtle and devious, yet open and honest in his dealings with others. He takes responsibility in his actions and in the actions of his people.- "The Legend of Gwydion"
I chose Ash to represent the Philosophers as it expresses the central dichotomies of these types; that is, the tension and unity of heart and mind, precious tradition and future possibilities. The sacred task of House Ash is to discover the true, eternal principles for a good life. Ash teaches us that all of us - in fact, every thing - is connected. All of the houses, at their best, bring forth their own special form of wisdom, but Sophia - the wisdom that connects the world together in truth which is love - is the special gift that the dwellers of this house are tasked to bring into the world.
In the academy, we have the ESFJ, greeting all the people in a friendly way, giving advice to those who need help; the ISFJ, quietly working on discourses concerning how to live a good life; in the center is the ENTP, asking fellow philosophers difficult questions, listening carefully to their answers; then there’s the INTP, separate, like the ISFJ, working out their own theories of the universe and it’s nature.- Michael Pierce, “Function Axes Categories” (YouTube)
Posts
The Houses
House Oak
House Rowan
Jungian MBTI
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