I.Introverted Intuition
“Introverted Intuition is directed to the inner object, a term that might justly be applied to the contents of the unconscious. The relation of inner objects to consciousness is entirely analogous to that of outer objects, though their reality is not physical, but psychic. They appear to intuitive perception as subjective images of things which, though not to be met with in the outside world, constitute the contents of the unconscious, and of the collective unconscious in particular.”
Introverted Intuition is an irrational function by the previously established definition. It does not rely on conscious scrutiny for assessment, but to something most closely in tune to the colloquial notion of 'hunches'. Since such Intuitive force is intuitively aimed, unlike the Extroverted Intuition, it requires very little external stimulus. We also know that Intuition is an information collecting faculty--as it is a perceiving function. Here we are struck by a paradox that Intuition is primarily concerned with collection of information, yet at the same time seems to rely little on the external stimulus. This leads us to question whether such an information collecting faculty truly does suffice to adequately collect information. Does it fall to the same malady Jung has evinced in Introverted Sensing?
"Even with only a slight increase in the power of the unconscious, the subjective component of sensation becomes so alive that it almost completely obscures the influence of the object. If the object is a person, he feels completely devalued, while the subject has an illusory conception of reality, which in pathological cases goes so far that he is no longer able to distinguish between the real object and the subjective perceptions....Actually he lives in a mythological world, where men, animals, locomotives, houses, rivers, and mountains appear either as benevolent deities or as malevolent demons. That they appear thus to him never enters his head, though that is just the effect they have on his judgments and actions. He judges and acts as though he had such powers to deal with; but this begins to strike him only when he discovers that his sensations are totally different from reality."
What, one may wonder, accounts for such a striking difference between the object itself and the IJ's perception thereof? Could it be due to the fact that this perception is Introverted? Namely that it defines the object by the internal agenda and the internal agenda itself is rarely clearly pronounced as it is an irrational function. Thus, if this were the case, the way the object is perceived is directly filtered through the scope of the introverted perception. For this reason, the objects are not assessed in terms of their own validity, but in terms of how they relate to the perceiver. Therefore, the perceiver tends to assume that the objects are much like himself, as he sees locomotives and animals as demons or benevolent deities.
The accentuation here was on the locomotives and animals because the Introverted Sensing type, the type that the previous quotation meant to depict is focused primarily on concrete things--or sensations. Hence, he anthropomorphizes concrete entities. Or assumes that the objects in themselves have much to do with his own personal qualities. This is precisely the reason why we often have seen eyes on the Moon, the nose on the sun, and the Sword in the hands of the cloud. So our mythologies have compelled us to see!
However, since Introverted Intuition, the function by which the INFJ is led is abstract, it tends not to see the external world in this fashion. However, the relationship it has to abstract perceptions is indeed much analogous to the relationship Introverted Sensing has to concrete data. Thus, Introverted Sensing anthropomorphizes the physical world, Introverted Intuition, almost wholly without a doubt, anthropomorphizes abstractions and ideas. For this reason it is not uncommon for INJ philosophers and scientists to be observed deeming some ideas as wicked and others as benevolent without having any reasonable explanations for such taxonomy. That is because there truly is not an explanation for such a thing, as judgments of the like reflect more about them personally rather than about the matter they have commented on and therefore often serves as evidence of their personal biases and prejudices.
Because the way they interact with the world is necessarily influenced by their subjective perceptions, they are automatically drawn to focus most intensely on ideas that their unconscious minds tend to gravitate towards most. Such ideas soon flourish to be of solid and constant conscious interest in which their whole being shall be thoroughly imbued. This is an allusion to an earlier remark concerning how INJs tend to see abstract ideas as similar to themselves due to the anthropomorphic quality of introverted perception. This is more so for the INFJ than the INTJ as the former has a more personal and less logically rigorous approach to life. Conversely, ideas that are not in tune with their unconscious predilections, will be paid little heed to. This is where the INJ stands in sharp contrast with their Extroverted Intuitive counterparts who lack focus of perception because they are forced to confront all external phenomena at once. Introverted Intuition, however, has a distinct idea which entities are worthy of perception. To an outside observer, such judgments often appear arbitrary, yet this is more than likely the case because such Intuitive perceptions have a lot more to do with the inner life of the perceiver rather than the external world. The subject distinctly holds primacy over the object, and the Intuition itself has a clear notion of what is worthy of focus.
"Like sensation, intuition has its subjective factor, which is suppressed as much as possible in extraverted attitude but is the decisive factor in the intuition of the introvert. Although his intuition may be stimulated by external objects, it does not concern itself with external possibilities but with what the external object has released within him."
Thus, unlike the Extroverted Intuition that is concerned with collection of all ideas and assesses them based on how such ideas influence the external environment, the Introverted Intuition assesses such hunches based on its internal agenda and is interested strictly in ideas that befit the previously established agenda. Whilst Extroverted Intuition requires continuous stimulation, Introverted Intuition runs on itself. The Extrovert will be forced to engage himself in abstract external activities, such as writing or debating to maintain his world of ideas, yet the Introverted Intuition requires no more than a solitary retreat. The more peaceful the environment, the better, to a greater degree the vivid imagination shall flourish. Thus for an INJ, it would hardly be hyperbolic to claim that the creative energy derives literally from nowhere.
"The extravert would say: "Reality does not exist for him, he gives up to fruitless fantasies." The perception of the images of the unconscious, produced in such inexhaustible abundance by the creative energy of life, is of course fruitless from the standpoint of immediate utility. But may give life a new potential, this function, which to the outside world is the strangest of all, is as indispensable to the total psychic economy as is the corresponding human type to the psychic life of a people. Had this type not existed, there would have been no prophets in Israel."
Incidentally, here we touch basis upon the notion of the introverted perceiving faculty to anthropomorphize. For this reason ideas generated by these types appear flattering to men, as they seem to suggest to us that the greatest possible essences of the universe have much to do with our tastes and prejudices. No doubt, the greatest religions of the world are thoroughly imbued in personalities of their initial propounders. As the God of Christianity is much similar to Jesus, of Islam--Muhammad and respectively Moses for Judaism. There also could hardly be a doubt that many of the most influential prophets in those religions were INJs. More of them were more likely to be INFJs than INTJs because the Extroverted Feeling aspect strongly gravitates towards presenting their vision to the common folk and making it part of societal life in a very systematic fashion. But this is a note to be expounded on further in our next section on Extroverted Feeling.
Such ideas of the Introverted perception are highly abstract as this type is most intuitive of all--due to the intensification factor of introversion. As a matter of this discovery, the INFJ turns out to be the most intuitive of all types because Feeling imposes less limitations on the perception than Thinking. Feeling is not a tough-minded function and is therefore more easily diluted by foreign elements than Thinking. For this reason Extroverted Feeling contains less of the judging element than Extroverted Thinking and therefore countervails the perception of Introverted Intuition to a much lower degree. Incidentally the perceptions of the INJ are ineffable and cannot be properly transmuted into the realm of concrete phenomena. When they do attempt to, their initial hunches are either grotesquely distorted or lost altogether. However, the Intuitionist himself appears much content with merely having the hunches that he has as they adequately guide him, even if he cannot duly explain it to others. Once more this is even more fitting to the INFJ as he relies less on objective assessment of his ideas than the INTJ for the reason mentioned earlier.
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