Image from Present Obsessions
This blog has been reeeeally quiet for a while, and that's because I've been working on so much! I also keep getting distracted from one thing I'm working on by another thing that comes up that I "need" to explore. The latest thing has been a deep dive into the MBTI; I'm learning so much but I still have a long ways left to go. But I have made some breakthroughs that I think I can share with the world right now regarding the subject of my recent obsession; John Beebe's 8 function model.
This is going to be a first in a series - hold onto your butts because there is a LOT coming. Like I said, I've been doing a lot of thinking on this. This first post is going to be an introduction to the theory before I go into the stuff I've been working on (which I'm super excited about!) And my understanding of the MBTI in general has deepened so much that I'm going to need to update the information on this site about the functions, etc., in light of all the new discoveries I've been making.
John Beebe's 8 Function Model
During your time in the MBTI community you may have seen people talking about the "shadow functions." These are the 4 functions that exist in our unconscious. They mirror the functions that exist in our conscious psyche, or our ego (which is pretty much the same thing, or at least close enough not to worry about it right now.) The four functions that make up our MBTI type are the ones that are in our
consciousness. Let's take an ENTP for example - a diagram of their psyche would look something like this:
Their
dominant function is Ne (extroverted intuition)
Their
auxiliary (second)
function is Ti (introverted thinking)
Their
tertiary function is Fe (extroverted feeling)
And their
inferior function is Si (introverted sensation)
For an ENTP, these four functions are going to be pretty much in their conscious, even if they may be awkward at using two of them. But what about the other four functions (Ni, Te, Fi, and Se)? Do they exist in our psyche, or are we just made up of the four functions of our MBTI type? John Beebe seems to think we do have all 8, based on his experiences and those of his clients. He had dream images that he identified with the different functions in his psyche; a prominent one was an anima figure that he called the "Chinese laundress," an inner personality he identified with his inferior Si function. Beebe eventually came to identify all 8 functions with various Jungian archetypes, such as the Hero and the Good Parent (the first and second functions, respectively.)
When I was initially exposed to this theory I pretty much dismissed it immediately based on the lack of any evidence I had at that time. It isn't surprising that they're so difficult to see given that they're in the unconscious, unlike the four conscious functions. But as I explored more, especially through C.S. Joseph's excellent videos on YouTube, I began to see more of these functions, both in myself and in others, and now I'm fairly convinced that they actually do exist.
The 8 functions are named after the roles they play in
everyone's psyche; everyone has a Hero function (the dominant), just as they all have a Nemesis (the archetype of the archenemy of the Hero). Which function falls where and fulfills which role determines our MBTI type and our personality. The reason I've spent so much time lately on this topic isn't just because I'm still trying to gather data about how the different functions manifest in different people, but also because it's turned out to be an incredibly deep topic, and one that I believe has an enormous potential to help us grow psychologically and spiritually. But I'm going to get to all that in other posts.
The 8 cognitive functions are as follows:
The Heroine/Hero
Image from Comic Vine
The function one's ego is most identified with, forming the core of what we and others think of as "us." It's the easiest function for us to develop - it basically happens automatically - and is the area of our lives where we have the most proficiency and control. It costs the least energy to use; we can use it at high levels for what seems like a limitless amount of time. In fact, it's so easy to use that it doesn't actually require any conscious effort. It's the thing we value most, we enjoy using it, and can easily get depressed if we don't have any opportunities to express it. Confident and competent, the Heroine leads the charge. She adapts us to the world, and initiates action. This is especially critical for the process of individuation, which is why we need a healthy ego (and a healthy Heroine.)
For example, the phrase “cogito ero sum” (To think is to be) fits perfectly the two types INTPj and ISTPj, Ti dominants. For other types different principles of existence can be valid: “I am loved, therefore I exist” (Fe), “I am healthy, stable and have a roof over my head, therefore I exist” (Si), “I feel, therefore I exist” (Fi), “The world is in order, therefore I exist” (Te), “I can move my body, therefore I exist” (Se, paralysis in bed or chair would destroy an ESxPp), I am free therefore I exist (Ne), I am secure and at peace therefore I exist (Ni).
~ Lastrevio, "
The 8 cognitive roles in-depth explanation"
If you notice that you or someone else has shifted into a leading the charge mode – as if carrying out a dramatic banner ahead of the troops, with complete confidence in the rightness of the action or position, and serious therefore that others will be compelled to follow – you’ve probably seen the “energy signature” of the Hero/Heroine.
~ Mark Hunziker, Depth Typology
The Good Parent (Father/Mother)
Image from Very Well Family
Supports the Heroine. Balances her out; if she's extroverted, the Good Father is introverted; if she's a perceiving function (intuition or sensation), he'll be a judging function (thinking or feeling), and vice versa. Comforts and nurtures both the self and others. If the Heroine is Batman then the Good Father is Alfred, always looking out for her and trying to give her good advice... and patching her up when she gets hurt. Unlike the Heroine the Good Parent takes some effort to use, and if we use it too much we can get exhausted, leading us to seek escape in the Child function. Also unlike the Heroine, the Parent tends to be cautious, sometimes even negative.
Bold functions are used with confidence and more freely while functions in our cautious roles are used with caution and insecurity, with a lack of confidence in them. That is because our bold functions are of the same I/E attitude as our preferred one (if you’re extraverted, they will be extraverted, if you’re introverted they will be introverted) while our cautious functions are of opposing I/E attitude to our preferred one, therefore not in the “realm we dominate” (be it external (Extraversion) or internal (introversion)).
~ Lastrevio, "
The 8 cognitive roles in-depth explanation"
This function takes some effort to develop; when we're unhealthy we tend they try to do an "end run" around the uncomfortable Parent function and just hang out at either the Heroine or Puella functions. This is because, being the opposite attitude, it forces us out of our comfort zone. Developing this function, though, is one of the major keys to personal growth, and doing so will unleash a great deal of potential, thanks to the Parent's ability to balance out the Heroine's weaknesses. Opposite gender as the Heroine/ego.
Recognizing this archetype’s energy signature is usually a simple matter of noticing supportive, nurturing, positive-enabling, and protective behavior. When the Parent becomes inflated-when we become possessed by the archetype-it’s a matter of being over-protective or too permissive, patronizing, or teaching or “parenting” when it’s not appropriate to take on that role.”
~ Mark Hunziker, Depth Typology
The Child (Puella/Puer)
Image from Anime Planet
Where we play; we like to tease others and generally be childlike here. The Child is called the “relief function” because it’s where we go to relax, especially when we’re avoiding something... like work we have to do with the Parent function, lol. Our tendency to try to avoid the Parent by running to the Child is quite common. There's even a name for it, the "dominant-tertiary loop." Generally this is where we go when we want to relax, or to play. This may be the way we want to be comforted. It's definitely the function we escape to when we're feeling pressured. We're ok messing up here; we're not particularly competent with this function - Personality Hacker calls it the 10 year old and that's about the level it's at - but we're ok with not being competent, unlike with the Animus function. At the same time, criticism in this area can be quite hurtful because it is a vulnerable child, after all. Even weaker than the Parent function so too much work with this function is even more exhausting. Not play though; we can play all day long here, which is the main problem with the Child. Innocent. The same gender as the ego.
The Eternal Child tends to manifest in manic cycles: one minute, the “king of the world,” and the next, a withdrawn and timid “wounded child”. Good integration of the Child into the ego means allowing ourselves to be playful, silly, irresponsible, and vulnerable when appropriate and healthy.
~ Mark Hunziker, Depth Typology
The Anima/us (Animus/Spirit or Anima/Soul)
Image from We Heart It
The opposite function as the ego and, therefore, the last conscious function to be integrated into it. Awkward and painful, it's the place of our shame; mistakes made here will cause feelings of almost unbearable humiliation. The tender spot in our psyche; a never healing wound. If we're attacked here, we will
hate that person.
At the same time, it's also what we most admire; as such it's sometimes called the "aspirational function." Of all the conscious functions it's the one that's closest to the unconscious, a bridge from the conscious mind to the unconscious. We both despise and admire it; while we may consider it a waste of time, we admire and respect those who are highly proficient in it. And if they're of the opposite gender we often find them exceedingly attractive. (Although if they, or we, are unhealthy they will drive us up the wall, and vice versa.) In my experience it appears that one's attitude towards the Animus function is an excellent indicator of psychological maturity. The more friendly a person's attitude towards their inferior, the healthier they generally are.
The Animus is vital for attaining wholeness; it's the first key to individuation (the Demon is the second). It's not only our greatest weakness, it's also our highest calling, and our spirituality. Integration of a function in the role of the Animus gives us unique access to that functions noblest, most spiritual virtues. No other type can express these virtues the way we can when it's our Animus (or Anima). As such, it's important to keep this function directed inwards, towards spirituality, or what is most meaningful. The Animus will never be competent - it will always trip us up, because it will never completely be under the control of the ego. And this is a good thing, because it is through the Animus that the unconscious enters the conscious psyche. The Heroine is the face we turn to the outer world; the Animus is the face we turn to our inner world, hence a bridge to the unconscious. The opposite gender as the ego.
Our conscious realm is like a room with four doors, and it will be the fourth door by which the shadow, the animus, and the anima and the personification of the Self will come in. They will not enter as often through the other doors, which in a way is self-evident, because the inferior function is so close to the unconscious and remains so barbaric and inferior and undeveloped that it is naturally the weak spot in consciousness through which the figures of the unconscious can break in. In consciousness it is experienced as a weak spot, as that disagreeable thing which will never leave you in peace but always causes trouble, for every time you feel you have acquired a certain balance or inner standpoint, something happens from within or without to throw you off again, and it is always through that fourth door, which you cannot shut. You can keep the three doors of your inner room closed, but on the fourth door the lock does not work, and there, when you do not expect it, the unexpected will come in again. Thank God, you can say, for otherwise the whole life process would petrify and stagnate in a wrong kind of consciousness. It is the ever-bleeding wound of the conscious personality, but through it the unconscious can always come in and so enlarge consciousness and bring forth new experience.
~
Marie Louise Von Franz, Psychotherapy
In Tertullian and Origen we see that this transformation involves the sacrifice of the superior function. Tertullian sacrificed his intellect, thereby gaining depths of feeling through which he arrived at his famous paradoxical view of Christ. Origen, on the other hand, through self-castration, sacrificed his extraversion, his relation to the outer world, and won the wealth of Gnostic thinking. Augustine, from the point of view of typology, resembled Tertullian; until the time of his conversion he was a thinking type. The inferiority of his feeling is indicated by the licentious life he had previously led. His feeling was in the dark, until it emerged along with the violent breakthrough of his inferior function. His genuine feeling, which until then had been tied to his mother, now turned to Christ and the church. Since Augustine was an introvert, his fourth function had of necessity to be of an extraverted character and therefore it moved toward outer objects, that is, to the visible Roman Catholic church.
… With Saint Augustine the breakthrough of his feeling function was the solution. The inferior function, whatever it may be, contains the highest value, although it is experienced as the greatest handicap.
~
Marie Louise von Franz, Dreams
The Nemesis (the Opposing Personality)
From here on we're going to be looking at the shadow functions. Each of these functions is a mirror for it's matching conscious function (the Nemesis with the Heroine, the Parent with the Critic, or the "bad parent," etc.). The Nemesis is the arch-enemy of the Heroine of the opposite sex. He's the Catwoman to our Batman. We have love/hate relationship with the Nemesis, similar to what we have with the Animus but where the Animus is the "nice guy/girl" the Nemesis is the "bad boy/girl." Unlike with the Animus we have a hard time accepting it's value. Also unlike with the Animus we're actually fairly competent at this function, we just don't care. Also, it's tiring to use for long periods but it's different from when we use a weak function (like the Child or Animus). With our weak functions, we find it stressful and unnerving; with the oppositional function, which we're actually quite good at, we just feel bored and uncomfortable.
One thing I've noticed about this function is that it's where our rage lives; being thwarted by something of this function often sends us into fits. For example, my fiancé, an ISFJ, flies into insane rages when thwarted by things that have to do with physical reality (Se, the opposite of his superior Si), things that other people (like me) find annoying but not
infuriating. Since I started paying attention I've noticed that when I, an INTP, am frustrated in what I'm trying to do by systems that are stupid or don't work (Te, the opposite of my Ti Heroine) I have a total meltdown. We tend to have an unreasonable, "Why does the world have to be like this???!!!" attitude when we're frustrated in this area. At the same time, this is often the function we turn to when we're in a somewhat desperate situation, when our normal way of doing things isn't working. I'll have a lot more to say about this and the other shadow functions in later posts because there is a lot going on here, but these are the basics. The Nemesis, I believe, is closely related to the Animus as well as the Heroine. He seems to be the dark side of the Animus.
It is oppositional, paranoid, passive-aggressive, and avoidant. This is a shadow that is very hard to see in oneself (it seems to fall in the blind spot of the superior function) and very easy to project onto another person.
~ John Beebe
The Critic (or Bad Parent, Witch/Senex)
Image from Eric J. Juneau
The opposite of the Good Parent; where the Father builds up, the Witch tears down. Harsh, humiliating, and uncaring of anyone’s well-being. We have unreasonable expectations of others in this area, refusing to even attempt to understand why they might not be very good at whatever it is that we're so critical of. An example is Se Witch in ESFJs and ESTJs; both these types tend to place disproportionate importance on how well people physically present themselves. If someone has a spot or a hole in their clothing, or it's old and stained, they will often immediately write them off in disgust. Conversely, if someone is dressed sharply they'll give them the benefit of the doubt, even if they don't deserve it.
The Witch is the function of our hypocrisy. We tend to turn it unthinkingly, and cruelly, on others when we really need to turn it back on ourselves. We need to ask ourselves if what
we're doing in this area is really the best we can do, what we should be doing. And when we see others possessed by the Witch/Senex, thoughtlessly criticizing others in a cold, unrelated way, calling them out on it is often a fruitful area of
helpful criticism.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
— Matthew 7:1-5 KJV
The problem is that we think we don't need to do anything about it. We don't reject it forcefully the way we do the Nemesis, we just don't see the value in
us doing anything about it. At the same time, we are horribly critical of others doing it in ways we think are "bad," when the fact is that we ourselves really need to pay attention to it. For example, INTPs and INFPs, who both have Ni as their Witch, tend to ridicule other people's goals that we think are "stupid" (for me, people who want to be popular, or have lots of money, or stuff).
We don't want to be like that -
we don't want to want what we feel is trivial and meaningless - so we end up not wanting anything at all. This is part of the reason INTPs and INFPs tend to accomplish so little in our lives (that, and our lazy-ass Si Child.) But turning the Witch's focus away from others and onto ourselves can be amazingly beneficial... including by making us less obnoxious. The Witch/Senex is same gender as the ego.
The Trickster (Bad Child)
Image from Clipart Max
The annoying, no good trickster function, lol. I'm lol-ing because it's the place where we screw up all the time, often hilariously so. This was the first function that made me think that there might actually be something to all this "shadow functions" stuff. My trickster, Se, is always playing jokes on me (and often everyone around me). For example, a story my fiancé and I love to tell is about the time I accidentally knocked what was apparently the perfect cup of coffee out of his hand. We were riding up the escalator, I was on the step above him facing back towards him, and I gave him a few friendly pats on his shoulder. When I swung my hand back down to my side I somehow managed to SLAP HIS COFFEE RIGHT OUT OF HIS HAND. I've rarely seen him so angry but I just couldn't stop laughing about how monumentally stupid I was and he (fairly) quickly ended up joining me. I'm always running into things, often without even being aware of it, and I have to constantly remind myself that the physical world actually exists, and that thing that I lost
didn't just disappear dammit!
The opposite of the Child, the Trickster (or the
Bad Child) is mischievous, sometimes even malicious. He's our blind spot; he doesn't seem to exist for us... until he pops up out of nowhere and ruins our carefully laid plans. The Trickster is the buffoon of the psyche. If the Heroine is the Queen of our inner kingdom, then the Trickster is the court jester. It's his job to make sure that the Heroine doesn't get too puffed up; he punctures our hot air filled ego when it gets a little bit too big. I've personally noticed that whenever I start feeling like I'm "all that," that's when he loves to strike, pulling a prank that usually ends up with me being humiliated. He can have a cruel sense of humor, and no concept of self-preservation. He will gleefully threaten to ruin your security, although in my experience he never seems to goes all the way to destruction. That's for the Demon to do.
The Trickster is, above all, a catalyst for individuation. In this, the trickster is both destroyer and creator. It breaks down self-limiting structures, creating disorder, in order to open up new options that lead to a new order.
~ Mark Hunziker, Depth Typology
The Demon/Angel (Lilith/Lucifer)
Image from Jack Fisher's Official Publishing Blog
As the Trickster is the opposite of the Child, the Demon is the opposite of the Animus. She's very mysterious; we're rarely conscious of her, and when we become so it's because she's overwhelming us. Possession by the Demon leads us to feeling "beside ourselves," and those around us will say that we're "not ourselves." She's constantly trying to bend the personality away from the Heroine; she's a villainess who's basically trying to supplant the Heroine. To continue our Batman analogy; if the Good Parent is Alfred, and the Nemesis is Catwoman, then the Demon would be the Joker. In the same way that the Nemesis is the dark half of the Animus, Lilith is the hidden, other half of the Heroine. Along with the Animus, I believe she is the key to individuation. I've seen her called the "inferior function of the inferior function." I call her the
anima of the Animus (or in the case of a masculine ego, the animus of the Anima). The same gender as the ego.
The Demon is where our hate lives. In my experience, she rises up when we've been hit in our inferior function (Animus). Attack someone's inferior function and
they will hate you. The inner personality who is the embodiment of that hatred is the Demon. In my case (INTP), if someone attacks me interpersonally (Fe inferior) my ISFP shadow ego rises up and blasts them... quietly. ISFP isn't loud, she just completely cuts you out of her life. For example, if people are whispering about me and are rude to me I will often basically stop talking to them unless I absolutely need to. When the Demon rises up she takes the form of the absolute worst of the shadow ego (in my case, a bitter, self-pitying, passive aggressive ISFP.)
Now, I normally have absolutely no idea what I'm feeling (Fi); for example I won't actually know that I'm upset until I suddenly burst into tears. No one is more surprised than I am when this happens. My negative Fi reaction when I've been hurt is equally unconscious... and completely out of my control. This is the hallmark of the Demon; she has
you, you don't have her. This is the nature of the Demon; she's secretive, mysterious. We normally only ever see her when she's raging out of control. She rises up when everything else has failed. Unlike the Bad Child she can and will burn down the world; I suspect that an out of control Demon is often to blame when people are blatantly self (and other) destructive. However...
when integrated she becomes our greatest spiritual guide.
There are two ways in which the Demon is the key to our spiritual and psychological growth: first off, she is the thing in us that we
ought to be ashamed of. We generally feel excessive shame for our failings in our Animus function; we need to learn to have compassion for ourselves there. But the Demon, in all her self-righteousness, is where we
actually need to learn to feel shame. It's important for us to see and accept our shadow, and the Demon is the darkest part of that shadow. Doing so not only enlarges our personality, it makes us more humble, and more able to have compassion and understanding for others when they're in
their shadow.
Accepting this destructive aspect of our shadow leads us to Demon's ultimate role in our lives; once we're able to truly integrate her into our personality, we see that the Demon is actually an Angel. I believe, based on my recent work with these functions, that the Demon is the
function of the Self in our psyche. When the Self appears in dreams, or in active imagination work, She seems to take the form of the shadow ego, the Demon/Angel. She's the Angel that we, like Jacob, must struggle with through our own long night before earning our blessing from Her.
The Demon is what we need to be ashamed of - the flaw in our character for which integrity exists and is needed.
~ John Beebe
Jacob took his family and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And he was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
~ Genesis 32:23–28
So, these are (fairly?) short descriptions of the 8 function roles, as discovered by John Beebe. Later posts will go into more detail about them, looking at their relationship within the four pairs they make up in what C.S. Joseph calls the four sides of the mind, or what I call the core complexes. Knowledge of, and integration of, the functions is crucial to personal growth. Not only is it important for self-awareness, and getting along with others, work with these inner figures plays a key role in the our journey of individuation. Through our depth work with these figures we can (fairly) quickly reach deep into our unconscious, and through them, especially Lilith/Lucifer, we can connect with the Source.
Chart of the 16 MBTI types and their functions
Related posts:
MBTI Families
Core Complexes
Ego Complex
Anima/us Complex
Shadow Anima/us
Shadow Ego
My MBTI story
Working with the MBTI
Links:
Beebe, John, "
Evolving the 8 Function Model"
Lastrevio, "
The 8 cognitive roles in-depth explanation" (MBTI Subreddit)
Storm, Susan, "
An Introduction to the Shadow Functions" (Personality Junkie)
"
The John Beebe 8 function model" (Present Obsession)
Also, just about anything by
C.S. Joseph. A large part of my understanding of the 8 function model comes from him.
