Introverted Feeling or Fi, is one of the eight cognitive functions in Jung's theory.
It is a Judging function, meaning that it makes judgements about the data that is taken in by the Perceiving functions.
Since it is a feeling function, it focuses on emotional reasoning.
Being an introverted function, it looks inwards and refines.
As with all introverted functions, it's more subjective than objective.
Fi in a nutshell: What is the individual's experience?
Fi is pure subjectivity. It's quite literally about making judgements based on how things affect us using emotional reasoning. It refines feelings in the sense that it wants to 'purify' the emotional landscape down to what comes from within. External emotional input must be sorted and made sense of internally.
Because creativity is so connected with self-expression, it is a domain heavily dominated by Fi.
Fi is often incorrectly equated with selfishness, which is somewhat unfair. Unhealthy Fi is definitely selfish because it is literally characterised by an a over-fixation with one's own subjective viewpoint. It's more accurate to say Fi is self-focused, but it is equally concerned with - and the champion of - the subjective experience of others when it is healthy and balanced.
Fi also prefers to keep their emotional data internal, Fi users aren't usually the type to wear their emotions on their sleeves, nor are they prone to 'big' emotional expressiveness i.e the kind you associate with extremely charismatic people. And if they are, it's unlikely to be authentic, it will more likely be a mask they wear to keep people even further away from their true internal emotional landscape, as that is sacred to them. Fi can be completely inauthentic to others without issue so long as it remains true to itself.
Due to these points, Fi is highly sympathetic. They pull from their own experience to imagine what other people's must be like, making it a powerful tool for relating to others. Fi actually perhaps fits the definition of "stepping into another's shoes" better than Fe. However, Fi can only do so with the personal experience to draw from, thus it almost literally synthesizes the feleings that the other is feeling within itself, so in other words the Fi user feels what the other is feeling. Fi 'relates' far more powerfully than Fe, but lacks the objectivity to truly take itself out of the equation, which is why it is more aptly described as sympathy, yet the line is much more blurred than is often perceived.
The Counter-Balance Points of Fi
Symbiotic Extraverted Feeling - Both Judging functions, both oriented around emotion and values, but since Fe is extraverted, it is expansive and accumulative. They align in what they focus on but have very different approaches. Fe stops Fi from dissapearing into solipsism, essentially. Without this counter-balancing force, Fi would be completely unable to process having to exist in a world of emotional data that doesn't belong to the Fi user.
Distorted | Balanced |
Within self, this results in placing an over-importance on being authentic, individual and a lack of consideration or even awareness of others’ experiences being different to one’s own. Fi gets so entangled in its own experience that it fails to recognise that others have their own values, thoughts, feelings and that these are equally valid, despite being so different from the Fi user’s. | Healthy Fi will work with Fe to generate an awareness of others’ experiences, an ‘agree to disagree’ type response to value differences and feeling less need to force individuality in itself. |
Towards others this results in a judgement of others who have high levels of Fe, judging them to be ‘manipulative’ or ‘fake’ for trying to fit in with group norms and values. | Healthy Fi will respect and appreciate the way that Fe can pick up on surrounding emotional information and adapt itself to it. |
Action Points
Train the 'Fe muscle' by relating one's own experiences to that of a collective and de-mythologising them i.e. you probably aren't the only person even in the room right now who is dealing with something difficult (hell, there may even be someone in the room going through the same problem).
A crash course in the theoretical components of empathy, i.e “this person has an experience different from mine, and I shouldn’t judge it based on my experience, but as its own thing, it is to be respected and treated with equal value”.
Explore the positives of group norms and values.
Explore and become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of Fe, either theoretical, or practical via direct interaction if possible.
Learn from the Fe philosophies.
Challenging Extraverted Thinking - Both Judging functions, but Fi has an emotional focus while Te has a logical focus. In addition, Te is extraverted and therefore has an outward focus and seeks to accumulate. Te wants to be efficient and focus on the objective realm while Fi wants to be authentic and subjective. Opposing motivations but with different areas of focus that can align.
Distorted | Balanced |
Within self, this results in a bias towards feelings over practicality. Fi can reject everything Te represents purely on the basis of 'I don't like it/I don't feel like it', and it doesn't take a genius to see where problems might arise from that. | Healthy Fi will work with Te to actually bring their creativity and values into the external world and to do so efficiently and effectively. |
Towards others, it results in the judgement that Te is cold, robotic, and completely lacking in the essence of being human. Any who espouse data and facts are therefore swiftly dismissable. | Healthy Fi will recognise and appreciate the way Te can be objective when needed, and can create, in a much different way, through efficiency. A building which stays sturdy because of planning, outlines, measurements and such, is of far more value than one that breaks the rules, looks pretty and displays individual expression only to fall over in a strong breeze, leaving casualties. |
Action Points
Train the 'Te Muscle' by practicing use of tools such as to-do-lists, SWOT analysis, day-planners etc.
Explore the positives of objectivity and creation through logic and planning rather than self-expression.
Encouragment to bring their creative and ideosyncratic expressions of their inner emotional world into the external.
Explore and become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of Te, either theoretical, or practical via direct interaction if possible.
Learn from the Te philosophies.
Dichotomous Introverted Thinking - The most difficult dynamic, because they are fighting for the same space, so to speak. Both are introverted and so are trying to refine from a subjective, inward place. Fi judges through emotional reasoning, while Ti judges through logical reasoning.
Distorted | Balanced |
Within self, this results in placing major significance of their initial ‘gut response’ to a thing, over any kind of logical reasoning. At worst, it’s almost a complete inability to logically think for oneself because how they feel is of more subjective value. | When Healthy, Fi will work with Ti to keep each other from running the show. This and that can be true, X can have both emotional and logical components that should be considered with equal respect and value. |
Towards others, it results in a judgement of Ti as impersonal, stubborn and antagonistic: an almost hair-trigger impulse to refute logic with their emotional response, i.e “I think X is good/bad, therefore no matter how logically sound your argument is, I won’t give any ground”. | Healthy Fi will recognise and appreciate the way Ti can assess and judge a subject through logical analysis, e.g. the pre-Socratic philosophers being able to accurately infer the existence of the atom hundreds of years before it would be proven by science. |
Action Points
Train the 'Ti muscle' by confronting feeling judgements with logical reassessment and developing one's critical thinking skills.
Explore the positives of logical reasoning, everyday and historical (i.e. everything the study of philosophy has given us)
Explore and become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of Ti, either theoretical, or practical via direct interaction if possible.
Learn from the Ti philosophies.
The 8 Attitudes of Fi
Hero - INFP | ISFP - Champions of moral values, individual expression and individual freedom. True to themselves, to what they hold as their values. To what feels right to them. They'll fight to the goddamn death for it. Also, a lot of the most iconic and influential artists - of any medium - in history were Fi doms. Risk of becoming tyrannical and enslaving all other functions, demanding that everything must be according to how it feels.
Parent - ENFP | ESFP - The Parent function keeps the Hero responsible. Fi Parent will support Ne or Se Hero by providing direction on whether it aligns with the perception of the authentic self and whether others are free and able to do likewise. It won't be as concerned with creative expression as Fi Hero. Risk of becoming authoritarian and helicopter-y, demanding and expecting others to be as responsible in their aspect, i.e. "You should be more authentic."
Child - INTJ | ISTJ - The Child function wants to play, it's where we like to defer to when we're at ease. Fi Child wants to live authentically, it wants to be unique and individualistic and stand out from 'the others' in some way. It's just childish in the way it does so and is also strongly affected by the influence of the Hero and Parent. Developed Fi child can excel in these areas, but is unlikely to have the same natural internal alignment of Hero/Parent types. Risk of becoming bratty, using the aspects of Fi in immature ways and getting easily upset in matters that concern Fi. IXTJs have a tendency towards being excessively focused on their subjective experience and also excessively unwilling to share it, as well as tendencies of being 'moody'. We tend to feel deep shame when we fail in this function and this may lead to further defensiveness.
Inferior/Aspirational - ENTJ | ESTJ - Fi is the thorn in the side of efficiency, objectivity and empirical truth. If left unchecked, can sink into the unconscious and become deep-rooted insecurity. Fi inferior types can become even more hard-line in their efforts to get things done and develop hositility towards 'impractical' emotion. They also can become deeply insecure in this area, and are often secretly very worried that they are bad people and nobody likes them, even though they will simultaneously assure themselves that these Fi matters are actually inconsequential. Can also become a source of jealousy when others display ease in this aspect.
Nemesis ENFJ | ESFJ - Fi tries to pull Fe away from becoming too focused on external emotional data, on the cameraderie of group consensus and shared norms and values. It's shouting: "What about what I feel!" 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 Fi.
Critic INFJ | ISFJ - Fi acts as the superintendant to Fe, 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: "Fe has an important job, it's important to be attuned to external emotional data, but that pesky Fi keeps getting in the way, I must prevent this as much as possible by making sure Fe is behaving properly and by pointing out Fi's flaws." This applies within self and towards others.
Trickster ENTP | ESTP - 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 Fi Trickster will treat everything Fi values as a rebellious child would. Look at my own emotional landscape? Nah, I'll just compensate by providing a pleasant external emotional landscape, (i.e. cracking jokes, giving compliments, being charming, charismatic etc.) Am I aligned with my values? That stuff's all so undefined anyway, what's the point?!
Demon INTP | ISTP - 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 come out, it can wield its gifts like a weapon you might never expect. Fi Demon will immerse IXTPs in their own negative subjective experience which can result in a forced explosive emergence of repressed emotion, or less severely, they can simply point out where their aggressor is being self-righteous and morally hypocritical with amazing accuracy.
Fi Demon can get very easily frustrated with having to deal with emotions. IXTPs can also become deeply unsettled when Ti and Fi end up in a clash. 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. Fi Demon will pull Ti Hero down and reinforce it's negative experience with a focu on the internal emotional landscape. "Forget logic, we have all the emotional reasoning we need to be justifiably destructive right now!"
Common traits in high Fi types (INFP | ISFP | ENFP | ESFP)
Creative/Artistic
Authentic (to themselves)
Sensitive
Sympathetic
Often like to read due to the intimacy of being allowed into other people's POV (even if not first-person)
Champions of ideosyncracy, the 'Human touch' etc.
Drawn to people-based professions (especially 1-1) i.e. care work, counselling, etc.
Notable Fi Philosophies/Worldviews
Existentialism | INFP
Seichō no le | ISFP
Absurdism | ENFP
Black Nationalism | ESFP
Wicca | INFP
Capitalism | ENFP
Taoism | INFP
Female Dating Strategy | ESFP
Animalism | ISFP
Sentientism | ISFP
Libertinism | ESFP
Queer Theory | ENFP
Moral Relativism | INFP
Trans-identity | ISFP
"New Thought" INFP
Irrationalism | INFP
Progressivism | ENFP
Santería | ESFP
Quietism | INFP
Cultural Relativism | ENFP
Notable Figures with High Fi (Real)
David Bowie | INFP
PJ Harvey | ISFP
George Carlin | ENFP
Dave Grohl | ESFP
Björk | INFP
Thom Yorke | INFP
Kanye West | ENFP
Iggy Pop | ESFP
J. R. R. Tolkien | INFP
Elvis Presley | ESFP
Amy Winehouse | ISFP
Carl Rogers | INFP
John F. Kennedy | ESFP
Michael Jackson | ISFP
Mark Hamill | ENFP
Henry VIII | ESFP
Pablo Picasso | ESFP
Vincent Van Gogh | INFP
Gerard Way | INFP
Franz Kafka | INFP
Masashi Kishimoto | ISFP
Hunter S. Thompson | ENFP
John Lennon | ENFP
Bob Dylan | ISFP
Walt Disney | ENFP
Brad Pitt | ISFP
Daniel Radcliffe | ENFP
Avril Lavigne | ISFP
Phoebe Bridgers | ENFP
Billie Eilish | ISFP
Notable Figures with High Fi (Fictional)
Son Gohan | Dragonball | INFP
Eren Jaeger | Attack on Titan | ISFP
Aang | Avatar: The Last Airbender | ENFP
Monkey D. Luffy | One Piece | ESFP
Wanda Maximoff | MCU | INFP
Phoebe Buffay | ENFP
Anakin Skywalker | Star Wars | ESFP
The 10th Doctor | Doctor Who | ENFP
Jinx | Arcane | ENFP
Luke Skywalker | Star Wars | INFP
Zuko | Avatar: The Last Airbender | ISFP
Miles Morales | Spider-verse | ISFP
Peter Quill "Starlord" | MCU | ESFP
Jesse Pinkman | Breaking Bad | ESFP
Anna | Frozen | ENFP
Clementine Kruczynski | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | ENFP
Thorfinn | Vinland Saga | ISFP
Marceline the Vampire Queen | Adventure Time | ISFP
Luna Lovegood | Harry Potter | INFP
Harry Potter | Harry Potter | ISFP
Son Gokū | Dragonball | ESFP
Ichigo Kurosaki | Bleach | ISFP
Yuji Itadori | Jujutsu Kaisen | ISFP
Kylo Ren | Star Wars | INFP
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