Extraverted Intuition or Ne, is one of the eight cognitive functions in Jung's theory.
It is a Perceiving function, meaning it is a source of gathering information.
Since it is an intuitive function, the information it gathers is abstract, intangible; between what is picked up with the 5 senses.
Being an extraverted function, it looks outwards and accumulates.
As with all extraverted functions, it's objective rather than subjective.
Ne in a nutshell: what could be?
Ne is a shotgun of conceptual ideas. It expands, branches out, detects connections between the things it explores, and generates as much new potential as possible. It's like walking out onto a large patch of fertile ground with a bunch of seeds in your hand from too many different plant species to count, and just lobbing them into the air. "What will the end result look like? Who knows... but it could be anything, isn't that awesome?!" they'll say, with visible stars in their eyes.
It's objective because the outcomes are not created from within the Ne user, they just perceive and cultivate them. It accumulates as many different ideas and as many different new starting points from which new potentialities can be born as possible, as many options and outcomes as possible, and if it had its way, it would never ever stop.
Ne is big-picture vision with expanse and breadth of variables as the focus, contrasted with Ni which is big-picture with depth and distance as its focus.
None of this needs to exist in reality for the Ne user, it can be enough for them to sit and wonder "what could happen if I did this..." and then disappear into that rabbithole of imagined potential outcomes. This also allows them to engage with abstract mental imaging to navigate problems and ideas, a very underappreciated aspect of Ne. So many important professions involve the ability to mentally visualise structures, measurements, shapes, motion etc. These kinds of spatial reasoning abilities are key in the STEM fields.
For these reasons and more, Ne is the function most associated with open-mindedness and a capacity to perceive things from multiple points of view.
The counter-balance points of Ne
Symbiotic Introverted Intuition - Both Perceiving functions, both abstract, but Ni is introverted, it narrows and refines. They align in what they focus on but have very different approaches. Ni serves to prevent Ne's expansion getting out of hand. If you just keep gathering options or starting new projects without committing to any of them, you get nowhere and may have also accumulated a ton of consequences...
Distorted | Balanced |
Within self, this results in Ne trying to expand and amass without any refining. It will refuse to consider any one thing as ‘more important’ than another and instead want to explore all the options. It will also fail to consider consequences or view them as irrelevant, because if no option is more important than another, they can simply move on to the next one. | Healthy Ne will work with Ni to understand that constant expansion simply isn’t sustainable, and that it has consequences inherently. It will recognise that some things have abstract qualities which lend themselves to more importance than others and that if you keep jumping from one thing to the next, nothing actually forms. |
Towards others, it will result in the judgement of Ni as restrictive and narrow-minded, a threat to their freedom to explore possibility. | Healthy Ne will respect and appreciate the way Ni can narrow, focus and follow-through. |
Action Points
Emphasis that their difficulties with being selective or committed, in whichever aspects of life it arises, does not make them bad or broken people (I bring this up because I have noticed a tendency for self-flagellation associated with high Ne more than any other function, even though they often hide it with self-aggrandisement) but it does also have inherent consequences if left unchecked, especially in regards to interpersonal matters.
Train the 'Ni muscle' by brainstorming ideas/desires and then explore each in more detail to recognise which is more important, viable, meaningful etc. and why. Then explore the probable consequences of those ideas/desires.
Explore the idea that committing to one thing generates just as many possibilities, it just centres them to a consistency eg. fully learning one skill generates possibilities within the context of said skill, rather than continuously jumping to another skill and ultimately achieving nothing.
Explore and become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of Ni, either theoretical, or practical via direct interaction if possible.
Learn from the Ni philosophies.
Challenging Introverted Sensing - Both Perceiving functions, but Si has a concrete focus while Ne has an abtract focus. In addition, Si is introverted and therefore looks inwards and refines. Ne wants to focus on generating potential ideas and possibilites while Si just wants to be comfortable and enjoy what's been established. Opposing motivations but with different areas of focus that can align.
Distorted | Balanced |
Within self, this results in inability to form beneficial routines, because it’s mundane and there’s no novelty to it. It is also a lack of awareness on how established patterns of behaviour could affect future possibilities. Dealing with minor details is also perceived as a waste of time when they could be creating/exploring more instead. | Healthy Ne will work with Si to recognise that without some kind of comfort and stability, new ideas and possibilities cannot be easily explored, and are unable to be sustained or maintained, whether for its personal concern, or simply in concept. |
Towards others, it results in the judgement that routine, tradition, comfort and established ideas are inherently negative concepts because they are an obstacle to exploration and new ideas/potentials. Detail-oriented people are nitpicky and annoying. | Healthy Ne will respect and appreciate the way Si can establish comfort and stability, which allows for a grounded base from which new ideas/potentials can be explored. |
Action Points
Encouragement to form small healthy routines, eg. journalling, 10 minutes of daily exercise or meditation etc.
Train the 'Si muscle' with things that require attention to detail.
Explore and become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of Si, either theoretical, or practical via direct interaction if possible.
Learn from the Si philosophies.
Dichotomous Extraverted Sensing - The most difficult dynamic, because they are fighting for the same space, so to speak. Both are extraverted and so are outward-focused and trying to accumulate. Ne is conceptual, more passive and focused on potential, while Se is concrete, more forceful and focused on what is.
Distorted | Balanced |
Within self, this results in a failure to be in the here-and-now via disappearing into the daydreams or processes of thought of possibilities and ideas, with no ability to take the action necessary to ground them into reality. | Healthy Ne will work with Se to come down out of cloud cuckoo land long enough to actually take actions towards its ideas or desires in the tangible reality without getting lost in the countless possible outcomes. It will also recognise that it has to reconcile its ideas or fantasies with reality. |
Towards others, it is the judgement that Se is 'too forceful' in the tangible sense; its actions or demeanour are perceived as too overbearing or imposing on physical reality in a way that obstructs or disrupts abstract exploration. Or it may be perceived as too thrill-seeking or hedonistic. Ne will also not like the way Se tries to force it 'be realistic'. | Healthy Ne will respect and appreciate the way Se can take affirmative action and enjoy the moment. It will recognise that Se can help them enact its ideas and bring them into reality, where they can be experienced. |
Action Points
Encouragement to take action on their ideas/desires, with an emphasis that this allows for a more thorough exploration and the possibility that experiencing those explorations in reality can be enjoyable and beneficial.
Exercises to increase awareness of the 5 senses ie. 3 things you can smell, 3 things you can touch etc.
Explore reasons to appreciate the current moment.
Explore and become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of Se, either theoretical, or practical via direct interaction if possible.
Learn from the Se philosophies
The 8 Attitudes of Ne
Hero - ENFP | ENTP - Creative and full of ideas, Ne Hero will take in multiple perspectives and find new ways the future can be imagined. Risk of becoming tyrannical and enslaving all other functions to its will, demanding novelty, options and absolute freedom. Ne Hero requires no conscious input, it is first nature.
Parent - INFP | INTP - The Parent function keeps the Hero responsible. Ne Parent will support Fi or Te Hero by adding creativity in how they use their gifts. It will act more responsibly in this aspect, and won't take as many risks or depend on idealistic faith in its exploration. Risk of becoming authoritarian and helicopter-y, demanding and expecting others to be as responsible in thier aspect, i.e. "You should be more open-minded/curious at all times."
Child - ESFJ | ESTJ - The Child function wants to play, it's where we like to defer to when we're at ease. Ne Child wants to imagine possibilities, it wants to be able perceive what might happen, it's just not naturally good at doing so and is also strongly affected by the influence of the Hero and Parent. Developed Ne Child can excel in these areas but will never have the natural creativity of Ne Hero/Parent. Risk of becoming bratty, using the aspects of Ne in immature ways and getting easily upset in matters that concern this function. ESXJs have a tendency to be wildly naive and idealistic when it comes to expecting how things could go to plan compared with what is actually likely/feasible. We tend to feel deep shame when we fail in this function and this may lead to further defensiveness.
Inferior/Aspirational - ISFJ | ISTJ - Ne becomes nefarious in its function, presenting as a threat to Si comfort, possibilites and ideas different from those they are comfortable with are scary. Future potential outcomes may be come to them prophetic of doom to ISXJs. If left unchecked, can sink into the unconscious and become a deep-rooted problem. Ne inferior types can become even more impulsive trying to escape Ne's influence and find themselves trying squeeze their worldview as tight as possible in order to compensate. They also can become deeply insecure in this area, wishing they could be as 'fun' and free as Ne Hero/Parent types, even though they'll assure themselves that those people are actually just being irresponsible. Can also become a source of jealousy when others display ease in this aspect.
Nemesis - INFJ | INTJ - Ne tries to wrestle control from Ni to stop retracting. At times it will overwhelm Ni with possibilites, options, potential outcomes. This can become a source of irritation and stress, internally and externally and can also become a source of jealousy when others display prowess in the gifts of Ne.
Critic - ENFJ | ENTJ - Ne acts as the superintendant to Ni, making sure its being responsible in its role. The Critic is sort of like an overzealous advocate for its corresponding function so it treats its own associated function as trouble. So in this case it's saying: "Ni has an important job, its important to discern what is potentially most worth focusing on, but that pesky Ne keeps getting in the way, I must prevent this as much as possible by making sure Ni is behaving properly and by pointing out Ne's flaws." This applies within self and towards others.
Trickster ISFP | ISTP - The Child wants to play, and whatever function is in the Trickster position interferes with that play by its nature of opposition. Therefore, the Child wants nothing to do with it. The Child will roll its eyes, stick out its tongue, ridicule the Trickster function, devalue it. So the Trickster will treat everything Ne values as a rebellious child would. Possibilities? Who cares, there are things happening now! Creative ideas? Quit wasting time, they won't work!
Demon ESFP | ESTP - The Demon function is the most suppressed aspect of the 8. It's deep in the unconscious and is the least comfortable aspect of life for us to interact with. Having to interact with it makes us unhappy and stressed, especially for long periods of time. However, the Demon is also akin to an over-protective guard dog and becomes our ally in times when we are being unfairly treated. It is actually the function that cares most about our well-being, a little too much even. It's extremely pessimistic and ultimately not very helpful usually unless directly addressed, but it is protective of our own psyche to a fault. One really important thing about that: it's not weak. Not at all. It's almost as strong as the Hero in whatever function it presents as, but we don't like that function, and so we suppress it, but when it does take over, it can wield its gifts like a weapon you might never expect. Ne Demon can be creatively malicious, or less severely, pull seemingly random but valid connected points against it's aggressor out of nowhere.
Ne Demon is basically paranoia. If ESXPs have to rely on trying to perceive possibilities in a stressful situation, everything becomes a sign that could potentially lead to dozens of bad outcomes. The last thing to note about the Demon is its important relationship to the Hero. When the Demon takes over, it will use the Hero's own gifts to reinforce its negative outlook. Ne Demon will pull Se Hero down and say "Look at all the sensory data that points to ominous outcomes! You've got to do something before it's too late!"
Common traits in high Ne types (ENFP | ENTP | INFP | INTP)
Inspired by possibilities
Brainstorming/divergent thinking
Good with abductive reasoning
Often creative
Curious and inquisitive
Quick-witted/funny (so many comedians are high-Ne)
Inventive/Innovative
Detect how things are connected in ways others don't see
Open-minded
More interested in the abstract/theoretical than reality, leading to absent-mindedness or 'dreamyness'
Correlations with Openness in the Big 5
Notable Ne Philosophies/Worldviews
Capitalism | ENFP
Satanism | ENTP
Existentialism | INFP
Nihilism | INTP
Absurdism | ENFP
Surrealism | ENTP
Wicca | INFP
Perspectivism | ENFP
The Black-Pill Movement | INTP
Dualism | ENTP
Metamodernism | ENFP
Apoliticism | INTP
Romanticism | INFP
Taoism | INFP
Agnosticism | ENTP
Scepticism | INTP
Agorism | INTP
Queer Theory | ENFP
Subjectivism | INFP
Sophism | ENTP
Cultural Relativism | ENFP
Moral Relativism | INFP
Scientocracy | INTP
Quietism | INFP
Progressivism | ENFP
Anarchism | ENTP
Irrationalism | INFP
"New Thought" INFP
Solipcism | INTP
Pre-Socratic Philosophy | INTP
Notable Figures with High Ne (Real)
Eiichiro Oda | ENFP (the most Ne-dom to ever Ne in the history of our species)
Socrates | ENTP
David Bowie | INFP
René Decartes | INTP
Cao Cao | ENTP
Alan Watts | ENFP
Hirohiko Araki | ENFP
Leonardo Da Vinci | ENTP
Akira Toriyama | ENFP
Alan Turing | INTP
Charles Darwin | INTP
George Carlin | ENFP
Carrie Fisher | ENFP
Albert Einstein | INTP
Björk | INFP
Benjamin Franklin | ENTP
Blaise Pascal | ENTP
Immanuel Kant | INTP
Mark Hamill | ENFP
Thom Yorke | INFP
Bill Gates | INTP
Kanye West | ENFP
Galileo Galilei | INTP
Niccolò Machiavelli | ENTP
Slavoj Žižek | ENTP
John Lennon | ENFP
Aphex Twin | INTP
John Locke | INTP
Frank Zappa | ENTP
Jim Carrey | ENFP
Robin Williams | ENFP
Avicenna | INTP
Erwin Schrödinger | ENTP
Walt Disney | ENFP
Notable Figures with High Ne (Fictional)
Aang | Avatar: The Last Airbender | ENFP
The 11th Doctor | Doctor Who | ENTP
Son Gohan | Dragonball | INFP
Sherlock Holmes | Sherlock | INTP
Tony Stark | MCU | ENTP
The 10th Doctor | Doctor Who | ENFP
Rick Sanchez | Rick and Morty | ENTP
Josuke Higashikata | Jojo's Bizarre Adventure | ENFP
Shinji Ikari | Neon Genesis Evangelion | INFP
L Lawliet | Death Note | INTP
Klaus Hargreeves | ENTP
Arthur Fleck | Joker | INFP
Shikamaru Nara | Naruto | INTP
Harley Quinn | DC | ENFP
Wanda Maximoff | MCU | INFP
Bruce Banner | MCU | INTP
April Ludgate | Parks and Recreation | INTP
Luna Lovegood | Harry Potter | INFP
Phoebe Buffay | ENFP
Kylo Ren | INFP
Abed Nadir | Community | INTP
Jinx | Arcane | ENFP
Will Hunting | Good Will Hunting | INTP
Peter Parker | MCU | ENFP
Peter Parker | Marvel Comics/Spider-man Trilogy | INFP
Violet Parr | The Incredibles | INFP
Jake Peralta | ENFP
Bojack Horseman | Bojack Horseman | ENTP
Michael Scott | The Office | ENFP
Mabel Pines | Gravity Falls | ENFP
Luke Skywalker | Star Wars | INFP
Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama | Mob Psycho 100 | INFP
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