The Inferior Function: Opening to the Interior

Sep 29, 2022

Delve into Jung's fascinating theory on the inferior function, a hidden aspect of our psyche that reveals untapped potential. Discover how these 'cracks' in our ego can lead to confusion yet also spark joy and creativity. The discussion explores projections of our inferior traits onto others and the dreams that unearth these buried emotions. A captivating dream about swimming with jellyfish and encountering a whale-man symbolizes the unconscious and personal transformation. Tune in for insights into how this concept shapes our lives and perceptions!

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INSIGHT

Inferior Function As The Unconscious Door

The inferior function is a weak spot where unconscious figures enter consciousness through a thin door.
Jung and von Franz say this weak spot can force defeat but also opens access to vital creativity.

ADVICE

Circumambulate Dreams Through Four Functions

When interpreting dreams, intentionally examine it from thinking, feeling, intuition, and sensation.
Circumambulate the dream like an initiate walking four temple walls to see the full meaning.

INSIGHT

Humiliation As Humus For Growth

The inferior function often bursts out in embarrassing, disowned behavior that humbles the ego.
That humiliation can reconnect the ego to earth and dethrone overreliance on the dominant function.

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There is a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in. LEONARD COHEN

Jung’s system of typology—our characteristic way of orienting to the world—led to the creation of the widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Jung observed four essential ego functions. Thinking and feeling are rational functions of assigning value and making decisions, and intuition and sensation are non-rational modes of perception and attention. Ordered hierarchically from most to least developed, our inferior function lies closest to the unconscious. It tends to manifest through tasks, people, and situations that throw us off balance: we feel confused, overloaded, and unable to get a grip. The inferior function pushes in through the cracks in ego’s efforts at supremacy and opens us to what is unknown and unlived. For Jung, however, this seeming weak spot in the personality was also “the treasure hard to attain,” for it is also the source of our aliveness, freedom, and fun.

Here’s the dream we analyze:

“I was swimming in the ocean at nighttime. I was surrounded by a school of gigantic, hot-pink jellyfish the size of hot air balloons. They were almost bioluminescent. I looked down and saw a massive sea creature rising from the depths. At first, I thought it was a blue whale. As it got closer, however, I realized it was the size of several blue whales and shaped almost like a man. I was filled with terror and awe and swam away to the shore. On the shore, I was talking urgently with Doctor Who. Suddenly, we were attacked by Daleks (a fictional alien species). As they flew toward us, we ran away toward the ocean. We didn’t go underwater; however, we ran on top of it. As we ran across the sea pursued by the Daleks, the jellyfish and whale man from before rose out of the water, running and flying around us to protect us.”

REFERENCES:

Lenore Thomson. Personality Type: An Owner’s Manual. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0877739870/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_1EXKNRD8Y9YNCHJH7AND

Marie-Louise von Franz, Lectures on Jung’s Typology. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G2CBJ0K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_CWHRP65RJ41W03JKQW8N

Ann Ulanov. The Danger and the Treasure of the Inferior Function, Psychological Perspectives, 52: 9-53, 2009.

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