Jaico
16th-December-2009, 03:45 AM
Alright - this is a thread to try and type Batman (or, rather, try and determine the order of his cognitive functions). I'll throw out my thoughts on the subject; feel free to toss yours in as well.
Fi: As a lot of people have said on this forum, Fi seems to be about values and not necessarily about 'harmony' and 'peace'. To me, Batman is someone of ridiculously high inner standards, what with the "no guns" and "no killing" rules that he's set for himself (though he seems to have broken that in Final Crisis...eh...) On the flip side, when he masquerades as Bruce Wayne, he also holds himself to a set of ideals, such as stopping WayneTech's productions of firearms, and being quite the philanthropist (supposedly). Without his Fi, Batman wouldn't be Batman; he'd be the Punisher.
Te: Contingency planning, being ridiculously prepared, and being able to take down the Man of Steel - with some prep time, of course. All of these absolutely scream Te, and this function is only slightly behind Fi in defining Batman (in my opinion, that is). There was even a comic about how Batman had plans to bring down everyone in the Justice League should they turn rogue/be mind-controlled....
Ti: This one's debatable. There have also been a lot of threads talking about the possibility of a strong (or weak) Fi being similar to a strong (or weak) Ti function; I'm of the mind that Batman is simply strong in both areas. Batman is called the World's Greatest Detective for a reason - he's got the ability to root out inconsistencies and pick out details that can lead him to solve a case.
Ne: This helps Batman create all those nifty gadgets that he carries around - and to come up with creative solutions to fight off Supervillains. Ne combines with Fi/Ti to devastating effect, making Batman capable of determining complex plots and solving mysteries; in addition, it would probably also have great synergy with Te - Ne comes up with the ideas, Te comes up with the plans.
Si: Batman remembers his parent's murders, how they happened, and why they happened. He keeps the memories alive at all times, and can't seem to let go of the past. Introverted Sensing would also be useful in detective work (i.e. remembering past cases, clues, how things were, etc.)
Ni: The biggest use of Ni that I can remember was when he was inspired to become Batman when a bat flew through his window. I can't really recall many other 'epiphanies' that Batman's had - but that may be due to the fact that Ni is hard to pinpoint (especially in a comic) and I've missed it.
Se: Batman's pretty in tune with his senses, but the other functions above seem to overshadow it. This is a relative ordering of his functions, and Se seems to have fallen by the wayside...
Fe: This and Se are pretty much tied for last place. He does make effective use of it by scaring criminals, but I'm not really sure if that's him or his Batsuit. He doesn't change moods very easily, and Batman's social interactions with Commissioner Gordon aren't exactly Fe-material.
Anyhow, this ordering made me come to the conclusion that Batman is an INTP, whose Fi and Te were pushed to the forefront due to his parent's murder (traumatic experiences are supposed to bring your 'shadow' functions out, right?), and he got used to using them over time (although he really doesn't seem too mentally healthy...) Other than that, his other functions are fairly in place for an INTP - what do you think?
Fi: As a lot of people have said on this forum, Fi seems to be about values and not necessarily about 'harmony' and 'peace'. To me, Batman is someone of ridiculously high inner standards, what with the "no guns" and "no killing" rules that he's set for himself (though he seems to have broken that in Final Crisis...eh...) On the flip side, when he masquerades as Bruce Wayne, he also holds himself to a set of ideals, such as stopping WayneTech's productions of firearms, and being quite the philanthropist (supposedly). Without his Fi, Batman wouldn't be Batman; he'd be the Punisher.
Te: Contingency planning, being ridiculously prepared, and being able to take down the Man of Steel - with some prep time, of course. All of these absolutely scream Te, and this function is only slightly behind Fi in defining Batman (in my opinion, that is). There was even a comic about how Batman had plans to bring down everyone in the Justice League should they turn rogue/be mind-controlled....
Ti: This one's debatable. There have also been a lot of threads talking about the possibility of a strong (or weak) Fi being similar to a strong (or weak) Ti function; I'm of the mind that Batman is simply strong in both areas. Batman is called the World's Greatest Detective for a reason - he's got the ability to root out inconsistencies and pick out details that can lead him to solve a case.
Ne: This helps Batman create all those nifty gadgets that he carries around - and to come up with creative solutions to fight off Supervillains. Ne combines with Fi/Ti to devastating effect, making Batman capable of determining complex plots and solving mysteries; in addition, it would probably also have great synergy with Te - Ne comes up with the ideas, Te comes up with the plans.
Si: Batman remembers his parent's murders, how they happened, and why they happened. He keeps the memories alive at all times, and can't seem to let go of the past. Introverted Sensing would also be useful in detective work (i.e. remembering past cases, clues, how things were, etc.)
Ni: The biggest use of Ni that I can remember was when he was inspired to become Batman when a bat flew through his window. I can't really recall many other 'epiphanies' that Batman's had - but that may be due to the fact that Ni is hard to pinpoint (especially in a comic) and I've missed it.
Se: Batman's pretty in tune with his senses, but the other functions above seem to overshadow it. This is a relative ordering of his functions, and Se seems to have fallen by the wayside...
Fe: This and Se are pretty much tied for last place. He does make effective use of it by scaring criminals, but I'm not really sure if that's him or his Batsuit. He doesn't change moods very easily, and Batman's social interactions with Commissioner Gordon aren't exactly Fe-material.
Anyhow, this ordering made me come to the conclusion that Batman is an INTP, whose Fi and Te were pushed to the forefront due to his parent's murder (traumatic experiences are supposed to bring your 'shadow' functions out, right?), and he got used to using them over time (although he really doesn't seem too mentally healthy...) Other than that, his other functions are fairly in place for an INTP - what do you think?