All socionics are built on dichotomies taken from Karl Gustav Jung's monograph Psychological Types. The main dichotomies are introversion and extraversion, intuition and sensorics, logic and ethics. However, besides them, there is another, less well-known dichotomy - rationality and irrationality. You will read about it in this article.
Socionic functions (aspects)
In socionics, which inherits Jung’s typology, there are four main functions that make up a dichotomy:
- logics;
- ethics;
- Sensory
- intuition;
Rational aspects
Logic and ethics are functions by which a person makes certain decisions. Decisions based on logic appeal either to facts and cause-effect relationships (black, it is business logic), or to abstract structures and systems (white logic). Decisions based on ethics are based either on subjective ideas about morality, relationships, good and evil (white ethics), or on ideas about external aesthetics, emotions, external human reactions (black ethics). Logic and ethics are called decisive and therefore rational aspects. Carriers of psychological types whose basic function is a form of logic or ethics are called rationals.
Irrational aspects
Sensory and intuition are receptive functions. With their help, a person perceives the surrounding reality, being guided in it. Since they are focused specifically on perception, and not on decision-making, they are also called irrational aspects. Sensory perception implies either one’s own and others ’physical sensations (white sensory), or a sensation of one’s and others’ power potential (black sensory). An intuitive sense of reality implies either the perception of reality as a dynamic process over time (white intuition), or as a static space with countless options and possibilities (black intuition). Carriers of psychological types, the basic function of which is one of the forms of sensory or intuition, are called irrationals.
What is "rational and irrational": socionics, Jung's typology, popular psychology
Thus, basic intuition and sensorics are irrationals, while basic logics and ethics are rationals. This affects their character, thinking, behavior, work habits and the way they make decisions.
Features of irrationals
So, rationals and irrationals, no matter who says it, are very different. Irrationals tend to listen to their own feelings in everything. They focus on the environment. They seem to listen to the vibrations of being, trying to orient themselves in a myriad of sensory and intuitive signals. Because of this, their decisions often look spontaneous, thoughtless, taken at random. Rationalists often blame irrationals for the unplanned and random nature of their actions. But in fact, this seeming randomness has its own internal logic, based on a deep understanding of the surrounding reality inherent in the irrationals.
Irrational intuitions tend to rely on their forebodings, fantasies, and insights in everything. The whole world for them is an infinite subtle space woven from images, trends, dynamics and opportunities. They move through this space, relying on their basic function - black or white intuition. Among these people are many writers, poets, futurologists, shamans, and fortune tellers.
The irrational sensory literally "live" in the material world, "breathe" matter. They perfectly feel both the capabilities and the state of my own body, as well as the physical properties of the surrounding objects. Owing to this ability, they firmly stand on their feet and “pull up” in this their duals - in some way excessively pliable, careless and divorced from life irrational intuitions. All decisions made by irrational sensors are based on the well-recognized properties and characteristics of the material world.
Features of rationals
Rationalists and irrationals think in completely different ways. The stereotypical rational is a classic Stolz from a famous work of Russian literature. These are people for whom the possibility of action and decision-making is much more important than the feeling and perception of the surrounding reality. They tend to abide by plans and schedules, live according to a regime, and abide by long-established rules. This is a kind of demiurge, trying to rewrite the laws of reality for themselves, their plans and ideas about the rational (fair, aesthetic, logical) structure of the world. Among these people, most of all are neat, larks, workaholics and law enforcement officers. Their psyche is arranged in such a way that adherence to a specific program of action is for them a simpler and more convenient form of interaction with the world than a somewhat extravagant, but flexible and easily adaptive activity of irrationals to everything.
Using rational logics as an example, it is best seen how to distinguish between rational and irrational. Rational logicians tend to draw graphs, create systems, come up with rules and regulations that, from their point of view, simplify life (in fact, they really simplify it - but only to the same rationals). They see the world in terms of ordered logical circuits and causal relationships. Their activities and worldview may seem somewhat ridiculous to the irrationals, but rational logics, as a rule, are distinguished by a practical mind and stable performance, and therefore they can quickly and easily (and most importantly - in practice) prove the advantage of their approach to life.
Rational ethics (especially those with creative intuition) perfectly see the essence of the people around them, and act on the basis of stable, fixed and often very subjective ideas about how to build relationships, show emotions, communicate with people, etc. These are people living according to the laws of feelings, emotions, a certain invisible energy, which brings people together and makes them reach for each other, straying in pairs, groups, families and companies. Strange as it may seem, feelings, emotions and relationships have their own internal logic and their own laws, which is why ethics is a purely rational aspect, along with the aspect of logic. Ethical rationals are pedants and neat, no worse than rational logicians, and sometimes even surpass them in this. These are people living according to the laws of feelings - strict, stable and even logical in their own way.
However, they most often ask themselves: "How to determine whether I am rational or irrational?" The fact is that ethics (emotions, feelings, relationships) are mistakenly considered an irrational phenomenon because of its opposition to logic.
Advantages and disadvantages of irrationals
In order to understand the differences between rationals and irrationals, one should briefly list their qualities. The obvious advantages of the irrational mindset include:
- flexibility;
- adaptability;
- susceptibility;
- forethought;
- multitasking;
- internal independence from the rules and regulations.
The disadvantages of irrationals include:
- spontaneity;
- inconsistency;
- unstable performance;
- poor planning abilities;
- in the future - non-punctuality.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Rationalities
Indisputable benefits of rationals include:
- ability to plan everything;
- ability to live on schedule;
- sequence;
- stable performance;
- composure.
At the same time, rationals also have flaws, and here are some of them:
- lack of flexibility;
- low adaptability;
- monotony of activity;
- in the future - excessive, annoying surrounding pedantry.
Psychotypes: rationals and irrationals
It's time to list the main socionic types. So, let's start with irrational sensors:
- SEI (Dumas);
- SLE (Zhukov);
- SEE (Napoleon);
- SLI (Gabin).
Next in line are irrational intuitions:
- ILE (Don Quixote);
- IEI (Yesenin);
- OR (Balzac);
- IEE (Huxley).
Now let's move on to sensory-rationals:
- ESE (Hugo);
- LSI (Maxim Gorky);
- ESI (Dreiser);
- LSE (Stirlitz).
And finish the list of types with rational intuitions:
- LII (Robespierre);
- EIE (Hamlet);
- LIE (Jack London);
- EII (Dostoevsky).