clear explanation of inferior Se (and what it means for how we conceptualize the inferior functions in general)
heya fellas i’ve come to a quite… insightful insight recently about the inferior function that’s been continuously bolstered by my own experiences and what i’ve seen in others: the inferior function overreacts when it does not fall under the control of the first three functions.
i’m going to talk about inferior Se to paint what i mean by this in motion since, well, i’m most familiar with it. think i finally did a good job at putting it into words.
so, before i get into it, i’m not doubting or saying other people don’t experience frustration when it comes to these things, but the level of pure insanity it feels like is nothing compared to what INxJs experience.
to INxJs, the only time an Se experience is acceptable is when it:
A. does not violate the expectation set by Ni. Ni superimposes perceptual information (synthesized into an extrapolative “essence” from a lifetime of raw experiences) onto reality, anticipating reality to conform to this expected narrative.
B. it does not get in the way of Je doing what it needs to do, or getting in the way of the will/reason of Ji for doing so.
based on the true events of my life yesterday because it’s the clearest example i can think of, lets say INxJ is having a guest over for New Year’s and is making a ziti but they forgot to get garlic bread:
INTJ (with Te/Fi) will want to pick up garlic bread because having garlic bread with ziti is a value they hold dear. simply put, they want to have garlic bread with their ziti because they like it (Fi), so they will get garlic bread to go with their ziti (Te).
INFJ (with Fe/Ti) has more roundabout reasoning that is just as compelling of a motivator. they will want to pick up garlic bread because it’s what they feel is appropriate. what kind of host doesn’t serve garlic bread with their ziti, nay, who doesn’t want garlic bread with their ziti?! INFJ thinks it would be weird if they didn’t serve it! simply put, they see garlic bread as a necessity of any proper italian pasta dish—almost as if it were essential to its definition (Ti), so they will get garlic bread to go with their ziti because it’s the right or proper thing to do (Fe).
regardless of these differences in reasoning, they both have justifications already made. they have fully worked it out in within themselves and know what they want, why they want it, how to get it, and a vague sense of what they should expect to experience when going to get it. the final step is to act upon the external world to put it into motion. they have nothing left to work out within themselves, so their entire focus shifts to appealing to the external world to make it happen. but this also means it’s no longer in their ideal hands.
they can anticipate that trying to find a parking space at the supermarket will be a nightmare because it’s New Year’s... but it only prepares them for what’s to come in a general sense; like fitting data to an average, smooth-curved line as opposed to spiky, exact data.
Ni doesn’t account for the outliers they will experience trying to navigate that parking lot. they might think, “oh it’ll probably be hard to find a spot”, but only when they physically get there do they experience the impossible-to-account-for active, dynamic situation that is trying to move in the lanes to secure a spot while a bunch of other cars are barely skirting around you, trying to do the same thing as you, and yet still others are pulling out of their parking spots unexpectedly, with pedestrians weaving in and out of the lots all around you carrying bags and stuffing their trunks and talking on their cellphones, as if oblivious of the chaos that is absolutely everything the INxJ is confronted by in this moment.
when the INxJ sees the coast is clear, they can FINALLY move along to pick up their garlic bread. at least right up until they slam their breaks because a pedestrian in their blindspot walked right in front of their car, to which the INxJ thinks (or scorns out loud to themselves), “jesus dude are you fucking suicidal?”
none of this spiky exactness was accounted for in their Ni’s expectations. dominant Ni is like being able to identify the poison berries of situations to avoid interacting with them in advance, but sometimes one has no choice but to eat the berry and face the sickness that come regardless of one’s anticipation. INxJ feels the tension in the arms, their chest, their legs, one foot clinging to the break for dear life. day to day, the INxJ can seemingly handle it; they can concretely see it all happening in front of them and want to avoid making rash decisions they’ll regret, but this kind of stress isn’t sustainable.
every Se roadblock they don’t anticipate with Ni will feel like the world is conspiring against them to prevent them from just doing what it is they need to do. they’re THIS CLOSE to just getting it done. i’m sure everyone has had these kinds of experiences at some point or another, but with INxJs it’s literally constant. it’s more frustrating than most can imagine unless they experience it as an Ni dom. Se is the final hurdle but it’s essentially leaving it up to the whims of the world to decide how smoothly everything goes.
it makes the INxJ pass up many opportunities and even seem avoidant of them, not ONLY because they may see it will bear no fruit or won’t be worthwhile, but because they can never truly get used to the concrete, dynamic circumstances of every day life. no situation is ever concretely the same; specific details differ from situation to situation, so all that Ni hangs on to—all it CAN hang on to to provide some coherence of events—is an extrapolated narrative. that’s why Ni doms can say, “it’s all essentially the same thing” while living out concrete details that are never actually the same; they’re only one in the same by virtue of narrative/lesson/concept/Platonic ‘ideal form’ that was transcontextually extrapolated from many raw external concrete experiences. and while they appreciate and admire how straightforward and manifest and visceral Se is, they also loathe it when it gets in their way. they make a vague approximation of what they’re likely to find themselves in to defend against being overwhelmed, but that’s only to steel themselves in advance. it’s not the same experience as actually being there with the concrete details, external to one’s self, of a present situation.
people picture Ni doms as sort of these untouchable wise men with tons of wisdom and experience who patiently oversee everything unfolding “in due time”, and well... only if they don’t have any active motivation or will for doing something. which isn’t often, especially in this day and age. otherwise INxJs overreact to the smallest little obstacles. screaming in annoyance after dropping a shampoo bottle twice; the loud din of the noise clattering in the tub, the extra step to take to just get something done enough to make them see red, thinking “why is the world getting in my way preventing me from doing something as mundane as washing my hair?!”
we can also see this inferior Se action in INxJs putting the blame on the outside world because they see causes for things that inconvenience them or others. putting them through meaningless hassle elucidates how it could be solved if only measures were originally taken to avoid that kind of inconvenience in the first place:
(left turn lane is backed up) “who thought it was a good idea to make the left turn lane start so close to the light??? it’s constantly full because the light is so long and it holds everyone up; the cars have to end up lining up in the middle lane, blocking the people who are actually using the middle lane????
(misses something) “oh come on who the hell is gonna see that, it blends right into the surroundings”
(its head on cupboard) “who the fuck installed these cupboards installed so low?? why is there a cupboard right where my head usually goes????”
(shampoo bottle slips out of hand) “why don’t they make grips for these things or something god it’s like they WANT you to drop a 2 pound bottle on your foot”
that’s also why INxJs are so picky about what they like sensorally; aesthetics, music, art, sensory experiences in general. when they like it, they LOVE it, because it checks off everything that their first three functions need to be fully satisfied with and have a positive attitude towards Se, rather than negative or neutral. it’s like finding a needle in a haystack, something they’ve been searching for endlessly but have a hard time concretely finding. their proactive Se seeking is essentially put through a filter based on the contents of Ni, Je, and Ji, and they have a negative or neutral response to anything that isn’t what they’re looking for.
someone in a youtube comment described what i’m talking about very well:
“I also noticed as an Ni-dom that my interest towards Se related things is very focused / limited unlike Se doms, who seem to “swim" in all the Se possibilities and regard them all as almost equal. I instead have special Se interests like certain imagery, visual styles etc but almost a disgust towards Se things which aren't in line with that. Se is like that special thing, which I only want, when it goes completely my way. But when it does that, I idolize it even more than Se-doms probably would, although it's their domain. For example sometimes I find this special, rare movie, that has a visual style which I completely adore, because I unconsciously looked for something like that for a long time, but never found a movie which satisfied me in that regard. A Se friend of mine instead seems to be satisfied with a broad range of visual effects heavy movies and such a special [sensory] interest/obsession like I described don't seem to be on his mind at all, even though he has preferences of course.”
anyway i hope this helped you understand inferior Se better, and by extension all the inferior functions in general, since that “filtering” thing by the first three functions happens to give all inferior functions the attitude they have.
YES this is exactly like my relationship with Si! If Si dom is like "shapes in wet concrete, once hardened are permanently etched into their minds as to 'how things are'" as Michael Pierce says, my impressions are like soft clay, constantly reshaping and never hardening for fear of limiting the endless possibilities of it by forcing it into just one shape. BUT if it "passes the test" that my other functions give it then its respected more, like my friend showing me the "correct" way to play a video game, I initially feel limited by this idea of one correct way, and want to experiment with the game myself first, but then after doing that for a bit (playing around with the game, trial and error) I finally have made enough sense of the game that I understand WHY I should play it that "correct way" and utilize that method from then on out. The same way Ni dom secretly seeks out (highly specific) Se experiences, I think Ne dom secretly wants to find solid footing in a (highly specific) Si "routine", it wants a perfect world where they know the best way to play a game, but would never ever settle for that with Ne rocks still left unturned, and in my case without Ti being able to map it out, and this is all probably motivated partially by Fe wanting to not embarrassingly mess up the game next to my friend.
YES EXACTLY!!!!!!! im glad you could apply it to your type as well!!! that’s exactly what i imagined it would be like for ENxPs :) it has to pass the first 3 functions to be fully appreciated
this applies to all other types as well. for ExFJs’ inferior Ti for example, it’s typically difficult for them to get a hold of it if they can’t figure out how it can account for the feeling realities outside of themselves. michael pierce says about ENFJ’s inferior Ti:
But the important word here is "posit", for, as I think is the case with all inferior functions, the ENFJ perceives Ti in the current moment as a stumbling-block, but imagines this being perfectly reconciled in the future somehow. This generates an awkward tension within the ENFJ, where they fear that whatever Ti principles they entertain will not account properly for the feeling realities outside themselves: in other words, they fear they will never be able to come up with the Ti model as idealized.
so Ti for the ExFJ is hard to use as something that remains stable between contexts for them because it needs to not undermine Fe’s causal efforts (which are oriented to the dynamic external world), and must be checked by auxiliary Pi and tertiary Pe (does it explain contexts i’ve been in before and this one right now?). a lot of times it seems like it doesn’t really matter anyway, since actual results are what are ultimately important for Je functions no matter the underlying explanation.
this is unlike IxTPs who can easily retain that sense of coherency and consistency between contexts (because their first approach to contexts is to evaluate them against their Ti).
