i don't really want to spend too much time on this, but let me try to explain some of my thinking...
this is the definition i am going by:
he isn't "devoted" to it, like i said earlier, but you have to remember the context. we're discussing whether he is ISTP or INTP. ISTP is a lot more likely to have epicurean proclivities, since Jung says the goal for Se types will be to live life in as much sensory pleasure as possible. it isn't necessarily bestial. it can be very refined and controlled, as this is what a mature Se looks like.
It's wrong. If that's the only thing to say he's ISTP then the argument dies because that clearly has nothing to do with anything and may actually contribute to him being a different type. Luckily Holmes being ISTP is an idea that had come up before yet hadn't been resolved. I could agree that any Se will be more likely to have those proclivities but Holmes doesn't but that doesn't mean he couldn't be ISTP. Even if he was, that could be what an epicurean INTP looks like, or even INTJ with their Se. You have to remember, what likely makes him ISTP is his astute powers of observation and possible Ni. He's usually described as being of the taller, more lean archetype with hawk nose and long thin fingers; surely there are some ISTP who look like that. Thrown in for extra is an addiction to substances, so to speak, and one an expert in a boxing art for physical defense, common amongst those involved in that line of work. Certainly plausible Se activities. But if you look further it seems he has no interest in the opposite sex, which screams very un-ISTP like perhaps, unless it is firmly controlled. Irrespective of what it is, they usually suggest some traumatic childhood event or homosexuality. This aspect is traditionally reserved for INTPs or INTJs. Plus, the definition you quoted reeks of hedonism to me. Certainly Holmes eats but it's just like a normal schedule. Maybe he does get extra pleasure from it. But there's an interesting quote - "food dulls the senses," which he says during a fast. On a particularly troubling case and had to starve himself to make his faculties more clear, didn't want to interrupt his groove. Once it ended they had a good dinner. Well deserved I'd say...
INTPs are far more likely to live minimalistically and instead be devoted to exploring intellectual possibility. the N will give them a big-picture orientation, even if they have a specific specialty they have developed for work. Ne lends itself to really scattered interests and a tendency to get lost in thought. Sherlock does sometimes speculate about big-picture things, but he obviously lacks that overall big-picture fixation which defines virtually all iNtuitives. Sherlock is also extremely skilled at living in the moment.
True I suppose.. He does live minmalistically and uses his skills, particularly that of a consulting detective, to ponder about the existence of life, and the universe. I'd still say this is fairly intellectual, considering they took place from around 1887-1910 or so, wasn't that long ago but the world was a different place. I also consider Doyle, and any tendencies he may have put there, for example, how the Prof. Challenger stories became heavily influenced by spiritualism, which plagued Doyle's later life after his family and both first and second wives died. So he easily could have say been a programmer.
He doesn't really speculate that much, only about cases that he's on, and he derides speculation since it potentially distracts his train of thought, considering his important jobs. I haven't read Seven Percent Solution yet but I guess in there they try to do a backstory thing where a traumatic event from childhood, uncovered by Freud's work with him, suggests that due to it, he developed an infatuation with justice and the need to see crime put to an end. Very interesting things for a potential INTP, all I do know is he goes through bouts of sustained Ti withdrawal and I don't know what you mean by 'but he obviously lacks that overall big-picture fixation which defines virtually all iNtuitives.'
furthermore, in the same way that Ne is expansive and interested in a wide array of intellectual topics, so too is Se curious about a great many sensory pleasures.
i know for a fact that Sherlock goes on cocaine binges.
It depends on what all happens. He only used trace amount of cocaine to stimulate adrenaline, for particularly exciting cases which may require it; whether it be running or getting into a potential brawl, or needing to stay up long nights; etc. Who's to say he used it recreationally on his free time.
i'm pretty sure he goes on opium binges. he smokes a ton of tobacco. he drinks plenty.
Not sure about opium, sometimes he's depicted as doing that as part of a disguise or cover if he has to tail someone known to scour the opium dens. Whether he used it recreationally is up for debate, I can't really recall such things, although, supposedly it was popular in London at the time. He does smoke tons of tobacco as they all did back then out of their pipes.. Not sure what that could mean. I think he said it was stimulating and basically helped him think, see 'a three pipe problem'. He doesn't drink, but was familiar with the properties of say brandy to soothe a nearly unconscious person. Maybe some modern adaptations show him to be somewhat of an alcoholic. He's quite prone to use metaphors and quote stage though.
notice that his hobbies outside of work involve sensory stimuli: he likes going to concerts; he likes going to the museum of art to look at paintings; he likes studying the details of the leaves of the many tobacco plants. he understands very well how to use his physicality (Se); he understands, and is even enthusiastic about, aggression and violence (also Se). INTP would be much more likely to, say, habitually read a book about a topic they know little to nothing about as a way to relax and entertain themselves.
the list goes on and on...
Well sure, he appreciates the arts and refers to his own profession as one. I'd call him old fashioned. You have to remember his age during these adventures. Very useful hobbies, he only studied the leaves because it was a part of his job - to know the favorite cigars of famous criminals so he could tell whom may have possibly been present at a crime scene; an applied hobby. He very well knows the line of work he's in and that many want him dead. Why he became law enforcement is anyone's guess and may be related to his family or heritage. He always warns Watson when they may be in danger and tells him to bring his revolver. Nothing really wrong with that. He does read and writes articles for publication, sometimes about odd subject matter or the art of sciences.
whereas someone like Dr. House (INTP) is also a drug addict, but prefers to focus on one drug: prescription opiates. this is because Si is intensive, digs down deep into one or a few sensory stimuli.
I don't know House or his type. You can sort of say indica is more introverted while sativa more E.
if we look at his cognition, this also backs up his being a Sensor. clearly he is a storehouse of information. but the way in which Sensors store and process information is very different from how iNtuitives do it. Sensors will tend to store information and have it there in their memories intact. there is little to none of the synthesis that iNtuitives apply to their information.
this is because Sensors tend to think it is "wrong" if they alter the information they memorized in any way.
Maybe that's just the Si in him, if any. He doesn't really store information, just important court cases or other detail related to crime and the law. He does synthesize it sometimes.
the way Sherlock synthesizes his data for solving cases is much more like the way Sensors store information. for the most part, everything stays intact, he just pulls it up as it was and applies the info as is. his use of Ni is impressive, he definitely makes some remarkable inferences, but this activity doesn't leave any kind of lasting mark on his long-range knowledge base. his syntheses and inferences are ephemeral, lasting only as long as the length of the given case.
No, he references past cases sometimes. Doesn't always really need to I guess.
Mycroft, as you said, is the one who forms all these connections and "melts" his data down into unrecognizable forms in order to mix all of it together and produce something new altogether. this is what iNtuitives do with their information.
and indeed, the information as it was originally becomes very hazy, we don't remember facts and details nearly as easily as we remember the ideas we derive from them, which we're much more excited about. this incongruity is why the tendency tends to tick Sensors off.
Sure, I suppose. Mycroft generally remembers everything though, and focuses all the facts into a most likely conclusion. Sherlock remarks that the same powers that went to Mycroft's storing facts Sherlock used his for the detection of crime. It's just deliberate cognition for the specialization of a job.
right, the whole point to this thread is to show people, particularly Sensors, that Sensors can be smart too, and that it's OK to be any given type. it doesn't in itself make you dumb or less of a person.
if anything, i think NTs will sympathize completely with the fact that the bias that exists in our subculture leads to massive inaccuracies in typing. so there, you have a good reason to think differently about, and to laud to a certain extent, Sensor intelligence now.
Well good I suppose. There is a bias as everyone apparently wants to be N and S is automatically relegated. Is this right? It has a bad rep.. Rightfully so? Look at our officials, if things aren't going well it's basically because mostly sensors are in charge and rather meek.
But that's the worse. That's actually what's going on here in the USA right now. Well it's been going on forever, no one can figure out what the coolest thing is. Everyone thinks they're N, no one wants to take responsibility for being S, they just deny and try to now behave N as much as possible and... Just wait.
So it's all the same thing but kind of different.
LOL i just got done reading one where he's bagging on Lestrade's cluelessness right in his face.
nah, IMO he extraverts Sensation and introverts iNtution. he is very often removed from his own body (poor Si). he does all the theorizing and sifting and weighing by himself (strong Ni + Ti). never does he bounce possibilities, or any kind of incomplete speculation, off Watson or others (poor Ne). he only shares his final conclusions with other people.
not sure, haven't paid much mind to this. will be on the lookout for that...
Most of what we read is from Watson's perspective. Needless to say he leaves some detail out, minor occurrences which actually may have helped Sherlock's train of thought.
I don't necessarily know what other type's thought processes may be like. No, he doesn't necessarily theorize with Watson at length. He must certainly bounce possibilities but you don't see it on page. It isn't rare for him to show the whole process once he has a conclusion. If anything INTJ is more probable than ISTP.
