Just as there are quadrants in MBTI and triads in enneagram, there are also ways of grouping the ETI types. Naturally, they can be grouped in terms of introversion and extroversion, nihilism and spirituality or induction and deduction. These are all fairly self-explanatory.
The question of whether a subject uses extroverted induction and introverted deduction or introverted induction and extroverted deduction produces another dichotomy. This schism similar to the nominalism and realism detailed in Jung’s “Psychological Types”.
Nominalist believe that abstract concepts are just words. For example: a thing can be beautiful but the beauty of it cannot be separated from the object itself. Therefore beauty isn’t a thing so much as a description or opinion. By contrast, the realist believes that beauty is a substance that something can be imbued with. It has an objective existence.
Strangely, attributing an objective existence to these abstractions points to introverted deduction. Although all introverted functions focus on the subjective aspects of existence, deduction uses logic rather than testing a hypothesis. Therefore, the introverted deductive has to decide that something is fundamentally true about their subjective experience before an opinion can be formed. This means they would require a feeling for what beauty is before they could say that a thing was beautiful.
By comparison, the nominalist will be more likely to use introverted induction to form such an opinion. They may have felt that things were beautiful before. By discovering new things that are beautiful, they would develop a taste for certain things. However, they would remain hesitant to separate the concept from the object. Doing so would commit them to such a preference and feel limiting.
Another important dichotomy occurs in the form of function combinations. The introverted functions tend to work in pairs. It is the same for extroverted functions. Types who’s deductive and spiritual functions match in this way are markedly different from those who’s inductive and spiritual functions do. Deductive spirituals such as the gambler, healer, sage and hedonist form one half. Inductive spirituals such as they seeker, guardian, provocateur and warrior form the other. They can be split into positivists and interpretivists.
Deductive spirituals tend to be positivist. They are more beholden to the idea that there is one truth and one reality. They seek to know that one truth and live in accordance with it. This is driven by a spiritual view that guides the deductive process. Logic is used to determine the fundamental nature of reality and to uncover the metaphysical from the physical. Such a process may be internal or external depending on whether they are extroverted or introverted.
Inductive spiritualists are typically more interpretivist. They take the view that wider reality can only be understood through subjective experience. Therefore it is by debating, understanding and engaging with other perspectives that the truth can emerge. This is caused by an inductive approach to spirituality. The interpretivist type seeks to explore all the available data on a subject and identify patterns. It is by this method that they seek to separate the physical and metaphysical aspects of existence.
The division between interpretivism and positivism differs from other dichotomies in ETI in that it appears irreconcilable. Other dichotomies may be crossed by integration of the shadow or use of the conscience and aspirational types. However, it is evident within our own minds that we may think as we like. Therefore, it’s likely that we do cross this barrier from time to time in our own lives. How and when we do so will be the focus of the next post.
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