Do INTPs Dismiss Emotion?

[NeverAmI]

Wrong choice of word for the top, rather than dismiss, think ignore. If you hadn't noticed, I sometimes have a hard time finding the right word.

I am curious, since the time you came to the conclusion you are INTP, or at least it is a best fit in terms of MBTI, have you found yourself avoiding or dismissing emotion as irrelevant more often than you did before you classified yourself as INTP?

If you have dismissed emotion more often, do you think it has been beneficial or detrimental? If you think both, can you please attempt to share at least a couple pros and cons?

I have found that when I was younger I actively dismissed emotion in preference of logic, and yet over time I found that it was ultimately detrimental.

If you don't eat, because it takes time away from study, then ultimately your studies will suffer until you get proper nutrition. I conclude that emotions are another urge, similar to hunger, that we need to contain, something that needs to be controlled/mastered in order to better move forward, lest we be consumed by it. I don't imply that life is about creating positive emotion, but rather feeding them enough to make them stop nagging.

To what extent do you introspect, or analyze your own subjective nature?

Thoughts?

 

[EditorOne]

Do we devalue emotions?

Yeah, to the extent we've learned to doublecheck what we're feeling before doing anything about it, I suspect. That's a function simply of being aware that we don't do as well with emotions as decision-impellers or whatever. Not to say we don't respect them, much as you do a neighbor's dog that is friendly much of the time but occasionally gets territorial, with sharp teeth. The dog, like emotion, is a necessary part of the landscape; just remember to keep an eye on it, lest you get bit just when you trust it.

Disrespecting others who rely on emotions for decisions would be illogical, since it seems to work for them.

That make any sense?

 

[Melkor]

Just thought I'd share a few things that some of my fellow INTP'S have said in the past.

: My everlasting children. Tell me. How does it feel?
: We feel nothing.
: But in your mind. What do you think?
: We think the same. We are Uniform.
: But you think of what?
: We think of the humans. We think of their difference and their pain. They suffer in the skin. They must be upgraded
: Excellent! Then lets begin!

"Our life span was getting shooorter, so our scientists and doctors devised spare parts for our bodies until we could be almost coooompletely reeplaced.
Our brains aaare just liike yours, except thaat cerrtain weeeaknesses have beeen reeemoved.
You call them eeemotions, do you not?
There would be no need. We do not feel pain!"


"Do you consider emotion as a disadvantage? : They have their uses. : Kill her. : NO!!! Such a reaction is not a disadvantage? :"

 

[Anthile]

Why do we have every new week a new thread about emotions?

 

[Melkor]

Because every week we have a new member that thinks he has a great topic idea and neglects to use the search function.

THE SODDING BASTURD!

 

[NeverAmI]

Why do we have every new week a new thread about emotions?

Haha, maybe listen to your Ni and take it as a sign. You can cry on my shoulder if you need to.

Because every week we have a new member that thinks he has a great topic idea and neglects to use the search function.

THE SODDING BASTURD!

Bleh, get yelled at for not searching, get yelled at for drudging up old threads. Who cares? Like you have anything better to do.

 

[NeverAmI]

Do we devalue emotions?

Yeah, to the extent we've learned to doublecheck what we're feeling before doing anything about it, I suspect. That's a function simply of being aware that we don't do as well with emotions as decision-impellers or whatever. Not to say we don't respect them, much as you do a neighbor's dog that is friendly much of the time but occasionally gets territorial, with sharp teeth. The dog, like emotion, is a necessary part of the landscape; just remember to keep an eye on it, lest you get bit just when you trust it.

Disrespecting others who rely on emotions for decisions would be illogical, since it seems to work for them.

That make any sense?

That makes perfect sense, thanks for the input!

Just thought I'd share a few things that some of my fellow INTP'S have said in the past.

: My everlasting children. Tell me. How does it feel?
: We feel nothing.
: But in your mind. What do you think?
: We think the same. We are Uniform.
: But you think of what?
: We think of the humans. We think of their difference and their pain. They suffer in the skin. They must be upgraded
: Excellent! Then lets begin!

"Our life span was getting shooorter, so our scientists and doctors devised spare parts for our bodies until we could be almost coooompletely reeplaced.
Our brains aaare just liike yours, except thaat cerrtain weeeaknesses have beeen reeemoved.
You call them eeemotions, do you not?
There would be no need. We do not feel pain!"


"Do you consider emotion as a disadvantage? : They have their uses. : Kill her. : NO!!! Such a reaction is not a disadvantage? :"

Ooooh, upgrade! Do I get a shiny chip???

 

[Melkor]

Yesss!
You also get your brain put in a shiny metal case whihc grants you immunity to emotion and immortality!
Transhumanisn with added chique!

 

[Jennywocky]

i actually could make more allowance for emotions after I learned about the MBTI.

I did not find MBTI until my mid-20's, and before that... while I tried hard to not be mean... I was very dismissive of emotion. it was illogical, irrelevant, irrational, just a waste of time and energy, and led to people not making "good logical decisions." This seems to be the natural bent of Ti. Externally displayed values (including emotions) are unsettling and seem to come out of nowhere, or just muddy one's thoughts and derail sound judgment for intellectual issues...so.... yeah, it felt bad.

But part of this was me trying to justify/validate my own personality. Once I realized through MBTI I had legitimacy, I could allow for other types as well rather than feeling I was in competition with them.

Over the next number of years, I then learned to let myself experience and live in my emotions more, and it helped me feel far more alive.

 

[NeverAmI]

Yesss!
You also get your brain put in a shiny metal case whihc grants you immunity to emotion and immortality!
Transhumanisn with added chique!

I always used a tin foil hat, this sounds more fun! Hopefully I won't get weird looks anymore either.

 

[NeverAmI]

i actually could make more allowance for emotions after I learned about the MBTI.

I did not find MBTI until my mid-20's, and before that... while I tried hard to not be mean... I was very dismissive of emotion. it was illogical, irrelevant, irrational, just a waste of time and energy, and led to people not making "good logical decisions." This seems to be the natural bent of Ti. Externally displayed values (including emotions) are unsettling and seem to come out of nowhere, or just muddy one's thoughts and derail sound judgment for intellectual issues...so.... yeah, it felt bad.

But part of this was me trying to justify/validate my own personality. Once I realized through MBTI I had legitimacy, I could allow for other types as well rather than feeling I was in competition with them.

Over the next number of years, I then learned to let myself experience and live in my emotions more, and it helped me feel far more alive.

Wow, that sounds really similar. I found out about MBTI last September and had a hard time finding my true type because I had fairly intense social anxiety and also a bunch of emotions from being in love and potentially losing my job due to a merger.

I agree that it really helped me validate myself, being able to realize there isn't "one" right way of being or even "one" type of intelligence/interaction that is particularly better than another. I had felt that way before, but not fitting in is tough and so I would try to adapt myself. Talk about shoving a square peg into a circular hole.

I figured if I drank enough I would eventually dumb down to the point of ignorance, I think.

 

[Fukyo]

Why do we have every new week a new thread about emotions?

There's something really off about this sentence...

 

[EloquentBohemian]

I always used a tin foil hat, this sounds more fun! Hopefully I won't get weird looks anymore either.

...

 

[Chronomar]

I have actually found myself more likely to consider emotions as "valid" or worth considering.

Prior to learning I was an INTP, I was vaguely aware I had flaws, but I was not sure what they were and I actually thought I was "personable", although when I look back on it no one talked to me because I never showed them I was interested in talking to them. I would just, essentially, prattle on to myself about something or another with the delusion that this was a "conversation".

After learning I was INTP, reading about it, finding the forum and experiencing what INTP is, I have become aware of the areas I need to improve in and have made a semi-effort to improve. Not really most of the time, though.

I think that was the whole point of the MBTI theory, that you know who you are, so you can self-evaluate and know how to get to who you want to be.

 

[Cavallier]

I think the word dismiss is perfect for explaining how INTPs often deal with emotion. I note that I feel a certain way or that I might feel a certain way given certain circumstances then decide to dismiss that information entirely. At least when I was younger I did this.

I've had enough horrible emotional experiences that were the result of my dismissing my own emotions. I've told myself I don't care only to be horribly wrong enough times. I still don't quite understand why I care about some things. However, I know that I will react emotionally and thus add that bit of knowledge to my calculations.

Also, while I think that there have been a lot of emotional threads lately I don't think there is any need to jump down his throat about it. Perhaps it's the spring air waking everybody up to their more sensitive sides? Nah. That can't be it.

 

[Geminii]

I was very dismissive of emotion. it was illogical, irrelevant, irrational, just a waste of time and energy, and led to people not making "good logical decisions."

I was this detached even as a fairly young child. It was all about understanding or observing things, never about participation or personal reaction.

Not much has changed, although I'm now better able to fake appropriate social emotions and vocal nuances when I remember to.

It may have been a factor as to why I was in the public service for so long. At least when speaking to customers, a polite, intellectual detachment was seen as part of the culture.

 

[Luzian]

It's simple: emotion is a natural bias.
Bias has no place in the mind of a truth seeker.

 

[NeverAmI]

It's simple: emotion is a natural bias.
Bias has no place in the mind of a truth seeker.

Are you in full control of your emotion?

How do you stop emotion from consuming you or affecting you in ways you may not realize?

If you fall into depression or dissonance, do you not acknowledge it, or do you acknowledge that you are depressed and seek to contain it?

Regardless of it "having no place" unless you truly are a robot, it is there, so what do you do about it?

I acknowledge that spontaneous emotions can cloud judgement or the application of logic, but do you simply not experience them, or do you let them subside before you act?

 

[NeverAmI]

I was this detached even as a fairly young child. It was all about understanding or observing things, never about participation or personal reaction.

Not much has changed, although I'm now better able to fake appropriate social emotions and vocal nuances when I remember to.

It may have been a factor as to why I was in the public service for so long. At least when speaking to customers, a polite, intellectual detachment was seen as part of the culture.

I always felt a bit like a sociopath when I was younger, like I should be feeling something when someone else's feelings are hurt or when something bad happens. That in itself caused negative emotional buildup in me, I think.

Over time I sought to experience emotional situations so that I could understand that seemingly irrational and subjective essence that appears to control so many.

Over time I actually fell victim to my own emotions quite intensely due to depression and anxiety, this really kept me from asserting myself in the world.

Sometimes I too feel like I fake to an extent, but I don't pretend to actually 'feel' anything, I simply explain logically to others how the situation is and the cause and effect behind it.

Sometimes I do get intuitive gut feelings about someone, although usually I can logically work through what causes them, and I don't tend to act on them unless I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on the situation.

Any analysis of all of this?

 

[Trebuchet]

In his book Emotional Design, Donald Norman makes an excellent case for the necessity of emotion. Without emotion, decision making becomes very difficult, and he applied this logic to robots. Of course we can't dismiss emotion.

When this question comes up, the emotions used for decision making are never specified, but the implications are pretty clear. I always imagine the question is posed with emotions like Desire, Fear, and Lust in mind, where the emotional answer is different from the logical one.

But there are many, many emotions, and most situations evoke more than one. Logic can't always make decisions, especially social ones, or ones where there is no solution. Some decisions don't require much logic, so emotion is all that is left: What music should we put on? My place or yours? Do you want an iPad?

Some emotions influence me quite a bit, such as Aesthetics, Pride, Anxiety, Defensiveness, Disappointment, Spite, Loyalty, Gratitude, Kindness, Frustration, and Enthusiasm.

As for changing my behavior after figuring out I was INTP, no, I didn't. I think I figured it out about 30 years ago, and it was merely interesting, not defining.

 

[NeverAmI]

I added Emotional Design to my list of books to buy, thank you very much!

 

[Trebuchet]

Check out Norman's book The Design of Everyday Things, too. Now that is a great conversation starter. It has all these great little anecdotal examples, which seem to be just generally interesting to people. I bring it along if I am going to be waiting two hours for a car repair or something, and people seem to get excited discussing it. Plus, the cover is neat.

 

[cheese]

I don't think I understand dismissing emotions. They're what make me feel alive. Monotonous complacency is deathly boring. My emotions are important to me and their complex interplay is fascinating. Sure, I try to ascribe valid cause to them, but even when I can't I don't manage to immediately dismiss them. They're very real and not something I can discard.

I've never been able to relate to feeling dead, or like a robot. I've always been aware of my emotions, and I've almost always welcomed them. Setting "Pure Logic" against "emotionslolol" doesn't make sense to me either; it's merely a form that still requires substance to be of any use, and this substance will always be partly subjective in origin when making decisions.

Finding emotions shameful or embarrassing is also something I struggle to comprehend. At least in myself. In others of course it's despicable.

(dedicated to bananaphallus)

 

[FrostFern]

I'm with Cheese on everything he said.

I don't understand the whole notion of this battle of Armageddon between logic and emotion. To me it seems like either one can be a means to understanding the world, but logic can never be an end in and of itself. So in a sense logic is just as limited as emotion. You can only go so far as to guarantee consistency. Go any further and you've stepped out of bounds and are no longer even being truly rational.

I also sometimes doubt the validity of people's responses to questions like "do you base your decisions primarily on logic or emotion". I mean, subjectively it's hard to know exactly what is influencing my decisions. It's really easy to come up with logical rationalizations for our actions after the fact and not even know that we're doing it. So much that goes on in the mind is subconscious and its easy to get the causality completely backwards. The mind can be like a great magician. There's a lot of "slight of hand" that goes on when we're thinking and/or trying to analyze our thoughts/emotions.

There's also a lot of people who claim to be uber-logical who aren't logical at all by my standards. They're merely stubborn / closed-minded people who are adept at using "logic based" rhetorical devices to try and make it seem like their subjective values are based on logic. In reality they're clinging to their subjective views in a purely emotional way.

Anyways. I don't think it's possible for a human being to completely dismiss emotion. I doubt many *NT* people, the most rational types, even come close.

 

[LAM]

I probably couldn't if I tried to. which I did. I am only capable of directing/influencing my emotions, but I don't seem to be able to get rid of them.

 

[nexion]

Yesss!
You also get your brain put in a shiny metal case whihc grants you immunity to emotion and immortality!
Transhumanisn with added chique!

Nice.

The the OP: Yes, I am consider emotions in almost all of my thinking. I just never act on those considerations. However, considering them is just a way of looking at everything from all possible angles.

 

[snafupants]

that was an apt analogy with food and study and emotions at the end there, thread starter. of course, intps have a predeliction for privacy and intellectualizing - not to put too fine an elitist point on it - but yes, at some point shunning emotions will backfire and paradoxically cause emotional turmoil. since i see people pretty infrequently due to studying, reading, writing, music (private pursuits) i make sure that those moments are positive interactions, or at least neutral.

obviously, staying in comfort zone too long will limit my options and worldview. hence, i make sure to get out and socialize a few times a month. on another topic, i think mbti has exacerbated my tendency to stay internal. its like, oh im intp, its okay now. when in reality its really never more okay that it has been. however, i also think mbti has helped in that its made me feel less alone in the world and like my interests and tendencies are fairly normal and predictable for my type. finally, it might be that im not mature or patient enough - probably the latter - but i cant handle extreme emotions like people bursting out crying or wild anger.

 

[Methuselah]

I've had enough horrible emotional experiences that were the result of my dismissing my own emotions. I've told myself I don't care only to be horribly wrong enough times. I still don't quite understand why I care about some things. However, I know that I will react emotionally and thus add that bit of knowledge to my calculations.

Seconded.

And INTPs (and all other types) can also be ruled by their emotions if they do not learn how to deal with them. I've seen many an NT make a disastrous "logical" decision that had nothing to do with logic in the first place.

When you aren't in tune with your emotions, you can't tune them out.

 

[nexion]

I completely misread this topic.

I have found emotion less and less prevalent in my life recently. I find nothing wrong with this. I rarely ever feel any sort of emotion. The more I suppress my emotions, the more "natural" I feel.

The only time I do feel emotion, it is almost always despair and torment. At the world, at the people in the world, hell, even in the fact that I have completely destroyed myself. I am nothing but a shell now. The more I think, the more I fucking know, that there is no hope in anything.

I am rarely ever happy, sad, depressed, or joyful. I am simply there, computing, thinking, doing. Nothing more. I have distanced myself from the world and everything in it, and I have almost entirely curbed my emotions and desire of anything.

Yet... I still feel compassion. That is the one thing that keeps me human. Dear God, I hope it never goes away. I still have the transcendent capacity to care deeply for anyone, despite what they have done to me or anyone else.

I feel it is incredibly illogical on both sides of the spectrum. I am constantly raging between two contradictory world views. I am quite confident that I might end up insane, whether truly or imagined.

 

[Philosophyking87]

No, I've always been suspicious of emotions. At one point in my life — at around the age of 18 or so? — I actually attempted to, and intended on, entirely purging myself of emotional content, in every aspect. Obviously this was a hopeless, naive endeavor from the outset, but I did try. Eventually, however, I began listening to John Lennon's music, which is filled with beautiful emotional content that is fundamental to all humans, and not at all irritatingly irrational, but human. And that's the thing with emotion: no matter how difficult it may be for us INTPs to accept emotion, in all its illogicality, it remains true that emotion is a natural part of our makeup, and that we should always have some part of our being which has come to terms with it, in one way or another.

Thus, I still distrust emotions, but I have come to accept that I will always have to deal with it from time to time. My main avoidance is emotional people. I dislike being around them, and intimacy causes me a great deal of stress, as I find it increasingly difficult to express my feelings.

So my point is that I distrusted emotions before I knew I was INTP. Now that I'm aware of my apparent psychological disposition, I'm simply more in-tuned with the fact that I simply probably won't ever find emotions something natural. So I guess knowing that I'm INTP just helps me understand my nature, rather than reinforcing it.

 

[Philosophyking87]

I don't think I understand dismissing emotions. They're what make me feel alive. Monotonous complacency is deathly boring. My emotions are important to me and their complex interplay is fascinating. Sure, I try to ascribe valid cause to them, but even when I can't I don't manage to immediately dismiss them. They're very real and not something I can discard.

I've never been able to relate to feeling dead, or like a robot. I've always been aware of my emotions, and I've almost always welcomed them. Setting "Pure Logic" against "emotionslolol" doesn't make sense to me either; it's merely a form that still requires substance to be of any use, and this substance will always be partly subjective in origin when making decisions.

Finding emotions shameful or embarrassing is also something I struggle to comprehend. At least in myself. In others of course it's despicable.

(dedicated to bananaphallus)

Perhaps you aren't a strong INTP, then. Is your feeling/thinking balanced?

 

[nexion]

No, I've always been suspicious of emotions. At one point in my life — at around the age of 18 or so? — I actually attempted to, and intended on, entirely purging myself of emotional content, in every aspect. Obviously this was a hopeless, naive endeavor from the outset, but I did try. Eventually, however, I began listening to John Lennon's music, which is filled with beautiful emotional content that is fundamental to all humans, and not at all irritatingly irrational, but human. And that's the thing with emotion: no matter how difficult it may be for us INTPs to accept emotion, in all its illogicality, it remains true that emotion is a natural part of our makeup, and that we should always have some part of our being which has come to terms with it, in one way or another.

Thus, I still distrust emotions, but I have come to accept that I will always have to deal with it from time to time. My main avoidance is emotional people. I dislike being around them, and intimacy causes me a great deal of stress, as I find it increasingly difficult to express my feelings.

So my point is that I distrusted emotions before I knew I was INTP. Now that I'm aware of my apparent psychological disposition, I'm simply more in-tuned with the fact that I simply probably won't ever find emotions something natural. So I guess knowing that I'm INTP just helps me understand my nature, rather than reinforcing it.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[ApostateAbe]

I love knowledge, rationality, truth and that sort of thing. The rationalist tradition has been that emotions are a detriment to reason, and I belong to that tradition. Emotions are not something that can be eliminated, nor would I want to eliminate them. But, they need to be tightly controlled, to be executed only at my willing. Some of my heroes are Spock, Data and Dr. House. The harmful emotions--sadness, anger, hate--should be eliminated, and it is unfortunate that such a thing isn't possible. Since they can not be eliminated, they can at least be used for a positive effect--if I do not achieve my goals and make myself a valuable human being, then I will feel sadness, and I would like to avoid sadness.

 

[Philosophyking87]

I love knowledge, rationality, truth and that sort of thing. The rationalist tradition has been that emotions are a detriment to reason, and I belong to that tradition. Emotions are not something that can be eliminated, nor would I want to eliminate them. But, they need to be tightly controlled, to be executed only at my willing. Some of my heroes are Spock, Data and Dr. House. The harmful emotions--sadness, anger, hate--should be eliminated, and it is unfortunate that such a thing isn't possible. Since they can not be eliminated, they can at least be used for a positive effect--if I do not achieve my goals and make myself a valuable human being, then I will feel sadness, and I would like to avoid sadness.

Agreed. I love Data and Spock. And I definitely relate to the Vulcan temperament and attitude: that is, that reason and logic should be the basis of all human activity, with emotional largely suppressed and controlled. And likewise, I relate to Spock's lifelong struggle to come to grips with the emotional aspect of his nature.

 

[Puffy]

If one lives committed to logic one would simply live in nothing. Not only do I feel more 'alive' - as others above have commented - when I embrace my emotional side, but I often produce my best thoughts as well.

 

[KazeCraven]

I don't know...

I'd agree with cheese, but for me it's more of a side-appreciation of emotions as one more thing to understand about the complexity of human experience. My greatest moments are moments of abounding energy, where I feel alive, though I wouldn't call feeling alive an emotional experience.

 

[y4r5xeym5]

Enjoy the emotional experience while it lasts (even with "negative" emotions such as sadness and anger) and be aware of them. Formulate them into thoughts as you have them to look back on later, or make decisions from. Having emotions, even if we are the types that may experience them less, is what makes us human. Don't ignore them or throw them away. It's the most empty and meaningless existence in the world.

 

[walfin]

Me: everything cheese said.