As I've read over the last couple of entries, I am prompted to think about Isabel Myer's comment to Mary McCaulley that we should use perception on the world and judgment on ourselves. There is a good deal of wisdom in that observation when it comes to human relationships and perhaps even in all matters. Daily I am reminded that things are not what they seem and only after a great deal of questioning and exploration do I find there are layers of information and insight I need to consider before I get to making decisions about the situation at hand.
Jung noted that perceiving was irrational and by that I think he meant that it is always "on" and isn't under any direct control. We don't go around saying "My sensing perceptions informs me that..." or "My intutiion informs me that..." Yet, this is precisely what our perceiving processes do. While it is easy to quickly differentiate the notion that sensing is concrete and sensory, and that intuiting is abstract and mysterious, I suspect that the truth is more complex. As I suggested in an earlier blog, we are better off seeing this as a metaphor for complex perceptions and are about how we attend to information. The most practical idea is that type gives us four pretty strong hints about the kind of information we might dig out: (1) Reliable, specific data, (2) Precise, in-the-present data, (3) Linked or patterned information, and (4) possibilities and scenarios given what is presenting itself.
Judging processes--and this one many folks have trouble with as related to Feeling--are rational, as Jung noted, because they use predictable methods and criteria which can be established as relevant. I've read alot of opinions about Thinking and Feeling and it seems to me that most of the characterizations of Feeling judgment are of immature or poorly developed Feeling. My hunch is that these differences are so psychologically polarized that it takes a considerable effort to hold both ideas as equally valid--and it seems that most people can't do it. Just about everyone gets that Thinking is about the energy that drives a logical, analytical, critical approach to decisions. What is almost never questioned is whether the logical or critique are competently used or even appropriate to the situation at hand.
I plan to write a good deal more about Feeling in the future. We have a more difficult time coming to recognize, accept, and own how Feeling works within the psyche. It is the judgment process that tells us what is meaninful and interrelated in a situation. Much is made of emotions and Feeling, which is misguided. If you want to see emotions, challenge the competence of a Thinking type. I think emotions get tagged with Feeling because as a general rule the Feeling process takes into account the wisdom of emotions while Thinking processes do not.
Emotions are our internal markers for what is meaninful and in what way it is at a gut level. If you are angry, it is usually because you feel a violation of some sort as occurred--someone broke an arrangement, got in the way of reaching a goal, etc. But anger is the marker and only when you own the emotion are you able to use it productively. And this is true whether you are a Thinking or Feeling type.
As perceiving provides four useful clues, judging processes provide four more: (1) What is the underlfying model, principle, or framework for the decision?, (2) What are the critical and analytical considerations verified by others?, (3) What are the relational and human connective tissue in this decision?, (4) How will values and ideals be realized in this decision?
Some thoughts for today. I'll be interesting when people start checking this blog out what their reactions are to these suggestions.
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