Typing Religions, Teachings, and Movements: Gurdjieff

Gurdjieff is a "whole different animal" than western religions like Mormonism, which I discussed below. He came from an eastern mystic tradition with probable roots to ancient Christianity, but quite unlike anything in existence in contemporary western Christianity. I have typed Gurdjieff as SLE (here's a bio from Wikipedia). Let's look at his teaching from a socionic perspective.

The personality of Gurdjieff himself has been absolutely central to the Gurdjieff movement itself, notwithstanding the widespread influence of his teachings (The Matrix, for instance, is full of echoes of Gurdjieff). He was a charismatic, internally driven, demanding force who could easily be considered a cult leader.

Gurdjieff's own spiritual quest, which occupied the first 40 or so years of his life, involved traveling large distances across mountains and deserts, conquering great external obstacles, and experiencing brushes with death. These were the aspects of his spiritual quest that he emphasized the most, and he tried to convey to his followers that any spiritual progress was to made at the cost of great efforts, even at risk of death or harm. He likened achieving higher states of spiritual development to making an escape from prison with the help of other prison mates - slowly and painfully digging their way to freedom with a few hints from those who had escaped before them.

Gurdjieff was a demanding teacher who consciously put his followers through all sorts of trials to test their resolve. His decisions often seemed rash or arbitrary, but were actually aimed at preserving an atmosphere of tension and extreme effort that he considered necessary for spiritual growth. He was often critical to the point of ridicule, but this was likely done to "create obstacles" and "test" followers, rather than simply being an expression of irritation or disgust. As we can see, this closely follows the ideas of a centered teaching as described in a previous post.

Gurdjieff lived a long life that involved frequent travels and starting over from scratch in several different countries. After he died, there was no formal successor, since Gurdjieff didn't establish a formal organization, much less a church. Instead, there were scattered followers and groups of followers in many different countries. A few attempts were made to join forces, but they haven't led to anything so far, perhaps because Gurdjieff himself gave no compelling reason to have a common organization (such as a belief in a divine organization).

The organizations and groups that do exist seem to have largely morphed from a emphasis to a one. While still retaining the sense that spiritual development is a hard journey that requires great effort, these groups seem more focused on following or studying the "canon" of teachings that Gurdjieff left behind. In reality, there seems to be no one to submit followers to type tribulations as Gurdjieff once did. This is another example of how an extraverted founder left an ultimately introverted movement behind him.

I don't know Gurdjieff's teachings as well as Mormonism, but I'll try to look at how different information aspects are valued in the teaching.

: The concept of a spiritual search is given considerable emphasis in Gurdjieff's teachings, but the substance of it is actually . In other words, one already has a very good idea of the goal of the search (as opposed to an open-ended search), and the key is to make up one's mind and press forward despite the obstacles. Searching for the sake of searching seems to be viewed as a frivolous occupation.

: In addition to what I've already said, Gurdjieff's focus on living in the here and now and not troubling oneself with irrelevant thoughts (worries about the future or regrets about the past) also contains a emphasis.

: I would say this aspect is completely ignored. If any work is performed, it is only to provide another test of participants' strength and resolve.

: Gurdjieff's extensive work with music and dancing (including his famous "Gurdjieff movements") can be seen as partly an expression of emotional coalescence with the divine and with other participants. Mormonism, which I just discussed below, as well as quite a few Protestant religions, has no such group rituals that involve external emotional expression.

: Quite a bit of emphasis. Gurdjieff himself practiced hypnosis for a long time and seems to have used trance-like states in his teaching. It could be argued that many of Gurdjieff's teachings that he got from other sources - such as concepts like the "ray of creation" - were meant to be understood symbolically and could be associated with .

: I'm not aware of much emphasis at all. Nowhere does Gurdjieff espouse a particular diet or philosophy of consumption of food or water. Also, the idea of striving for a relaxed, balanced physical state doesn't mesh well with the concept of "super efforts" and accessing one's "reserve batteries."

: Heavily emphasized, at least in the early period of Gurdjieff's teaching, when he introduced a complex conceptual system (basically, the equivalent of "doctrine" in religions) that followers were expected to think about and discuss actively.

: Fully suppressed. Gurdjieff felt that "being nice" encouraged "sleep," and that it was necessary to be harsh and blunt to keep people "awake." Occasionally followers accused him and his teachings as being "heartless." Also, Gurdjieff often made a point of alienating those who had dropped out and encouraging active followers to break off contact with the person as a necessary step to avoid being distracted by feelings of sentimentality and empathy.

Typing Religions, Teachings, and Movements: Mormonism

Mormonism, formally called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is one of the religions I am closely acquainted with. Here I will analyze the socionic content and development of the church and its teachings, whose integral type is ESI.

As has been the case with many other religious teachings, the early days of Mormonism had a different information emphasis than the church we know today. The founder, Joseph Smith, was an ethical extravert of some kind - possibly EIE or SEE (or maybe even SLE??) - and a very dominant, charismatic, and action-oriented individual. The early days of the church were tumultuous and involved moving from state to state, rapid expansion and extensive missionary efforts, and continual conflicts with local residents as they tried to establish their new society. There were also experiments with communal property, a banking fiasco, and armed conflicts with locals. The general spirit of the movement was one of overcoming tribulation necessary to achieve the young church's lofty mission - establishing the "restored gospel of Jesus Christ" and preparing the Earth for the Second Coming.

As I discussed in a previous post, numerous charismatic and ambitious people were drawn to the new movement who later "apostatized" and left the faith after making great contributions to it. Many of them, as well as occasional charismatic individuals after them, went on to create churches of their own (here's a list of all the Latter-day Saint splinter groups). A handful have been reasonably successful.

The dramatic and exalted atmosphere of early Mormonism also carried over to the area of spirituality. Powerful spiritual experiences such as visions, speaking in tongues, and other dramatic external expressions of spirituality were not uncommon. During this period, missionaries converted thousands of new members overseas, who left their homes to travel to the new Zion. This was a very extraverted time.

The extraverted period of Mormonism culminated in the conquering of the American West after Joseph Smith was killed and the Mormons were essentially driven out of the country. They made a grand exodus across the Great Plains and settled in Utah, where they built a new society and established new settlements across the Great Basin region.

Now, with external threats mostly out of the way, the church gradually metamorphosized into an introverted structure. The church's focus shifted to keeping traditions, maintaining a stable and growing society, and developing personal moral qualities in a family and community setting. Ultimately, the conservative, kind-hearted and soft-spoken, family-oriented Mormonism that we know today was born. The most-emphasized mission of the movement switched from external expansion and conquering to perfecting one's home, community, and personal life.

Naturally, these changes were reflected in the spiritual practice of Mormonism as well. Much of the initial dramatism of the faith was lost, and spiritual experiences became "tamer" and more internal. In modern Mormonism, spiritual experience centers around "the still, small voice" or "the warm fuzzy feeling." External spiritual manifestations are extremely rare and are generally treated with suspicion. The "Holy Spirit" as understood by contemporary Mormonism expresses itself through feelings.

Introverted ethics is also the common language of the religion. You will feel it in almost any Mormon congregation all over the world. People speak in a soft, sentimental tone and move around gently and thoughtfully, and there is a lot of tenderness and meekness, good will towards newcomers, and soft crying during frequent emotional moments. Compared to the importance of cultivating and sharing this feeling, all other considerations such as studying holy writ, developing a meditative state, or balancing one's physical sensations (which correspond to , , and ) clearly take a distant back seat. Of course, there are pockets of these information aspects wherever there are charismatic church members of these types, but these aspects do not become the common language of the congregation.

This information focus is generated at the very earliest stages of missionary work. Missionaries try to create a atmosphere at lessons, deemphasize the importance of gaining a logical understanding of how the pieces of the theology fit together, and constantly share personal experiences and feelings in a spirit that often bring tears to people's eyes. "This," say the missionaries, "is the Holy Spirit." New members are taught to make this feeling the basis of their personal religious practice and to let it guide their lives.

Collectively, Mormons cultivate the image of nice, concerned, faithful, strong-principled, morally upright people who can be trusted and counted on, and who uphold family values and honor their communities and government. Going back to my descriptions of the information aspects as they apply to religions and teachings, we see that this is a centered spiritual teaching.

Now let's see what weight the other information aspects are given in Mormonism, going back to my descriptions of different spiritual emphases.

: The idea that spirituality involves an external, open-ended search is given little if any emphasis. In fact, it is essentially discouraged, except for people who are investigating the religion and whose search leads them to Mormonism. After a person has joined the church, however, additional searching is frowned upon. Also, it is institutionally made very difficult, as members are given duties and responsibilities and are encouraged to cultivate stable family, work, and community relationships and to take part in frequent church activities. All of this makes concerted external searching - which might involve travel, trying out random things, and letting oneself get carried away - extremely difficult as long as one is involved in the Mormon lifestyle and community.

: The idea that spirituality involves overcoming hardships and tribulation is given considerable emphasis. Great attention is given to the themes of resisting temptation and combatting one's weaknesses. Spiritual development is perceived as being a long, thorny road with many obstacles. Church members frequently discuss their hardships with one another. However, this is not the main theme of the religious practice.

: The idea that spirituality involves service and being "actively engaged in a good cause" is also prominent in Mormonism. It is commonly believed that righteous living leads to prosperity, and members are not shy about their professional achievements and prosperity, but proudly consider them "blessings" or rewards for proper living. Church members are kept busy with numerous meetings, activities, and service. However, achieving goals in a rational and effective way is not the primary goal of these activities. Instead, their purpose is mostly to provide a setting to feel more , and they are not very externally productive nor carried out in the most rational way.

: The idea that spirituality involves emotional coalescence with other worshipers and with God is not given much emphasis. Mormons are widely known for their restraint and for not getting involved in "loud fun." However, they don't necessarily view external emotions as a bad thing; they're simply not emphasized.

: The idea that spirituality involves giving up worldly cares, a meditative state, and visions and similar experiences receives some emphasis. In fact, the concept of "soul searching" in a way replaces the idea of a related external search. Soul-searching and thoughtful reflection about one's life and mission is recognized to be a part of Mormons' spiritual journey. However, sophisticated related practices have not been developed.

: The idea that spirituality involves perfecting the bodily experience receives very little emphasis in Mormonism except for a simplistic eating and drinking code called the "Word of Wisdom" that forbids alcohol and tea and coffee. Ways of improving health and balancing one's internal sensations are almost never discussed; these areas are considered to be members' personal prerogative.

: The idea that spirituality involves a concerted study of holy writ and mastering the religion's theology is given little emphasis. Scripture study classes are held, but the focus is almost on subjective aspects (i.e. personal application) rather than mastering teachings themselves. Generally, doctrinal instruction is undemanding and unsupervised. There is almost no definitive doctrinal statements in Mormonism from which to build a set-in-stone theology.

: As we have seen, the idea that spirituality involves perfecting one's behavior and stable relationships and cultivating a sense of duty and gratitude towards others permeates all areas of Mormonism.

Possible Objections to Typing Religious and Spiritual Teachings

It has occurred to me that by analyzing religions and spiritual teachings (along with all kinds of movements and ideologies) from a socionic or anthropological point of view, I may be touching on a very sensitive subject. I will continue until I see a compelling reason to stop. The whole point of many religions is that they are supposed to be universal. By suggesting that each organized religion or movement gives unequal weight to different information aspects, I'm basically undercutting their claim to universality. However, there are many other reasons to doubt the universality of individual religions, and this is just one of many.

Another criticism that I have received before is that I am trying to obtain a "mental" understanding of something that is intended to be understood with the "heart." Here I would answer that first of all, I am very familiar with variations of the "heart" aspects of religion and have experienced them firsthand over many years. However, my own pursuit of understanding (including spiritual understanding) puts first (see the description three posts ago to see what kinds of things that entails). Secondly, the remark that religion is meant to be understood with the heart is an ethical sentiment that does not apply to all religions and spiritual teachings. In many logic-centered religions it is normal to have theological discourses without engaging personal sentiments. For these religions, religious truth is not obtained through feelings but through study and correct interpretation. Finally, even religions that are "heart" centered frequently include teachings about the nature of the physical world, history, and future events that are not heart-centered and do not engage ethical feelings.

Another possible objection is that religions typically include teachings about how to go about doing things in all areas of life and include value systems that have something to say about every area of human activity - from science to sex and from politics to professional choices. Religions don't limit themselves to teachings only about one or two information aspects; therefore, it is impossible to type them. To this I would answer that teachings relating to different information aspects differ in their depth and emphasis. The aspect that receives the most emphasis is also the common ("default") language of the group that you will find when you visit congregations of that religion - even congregations located in completely different countries.

In upcoming posts we'll see what kind of perspective this approach can give us.

Introverted Ethics in Action - Rocky Balboa

Yesterday I watched Rocky Balboa, written and directed by Silvester Stallone, who also plays the main character. The final film of his Rocky series - which are among Stallone's most successful, Rocky Balboa is a personal movie that mirrors the author's own life and sentiments.

I have typed Stallone as SEE, but there is so much in the movie (along with ) that it makes an excellent demonstration of introverted ethics.

The dominant information aspect of the first quarter or so of the movie is . We are shown Rocky's grief and tender feelings for his deceased wife Adrian. We lament with Rocky that his son has strayed away from him despite Rocky's concern for him. We are sentimental with Rocky as he is reminded of places and events from his youth that held special meaning for him.

All of these things focus on feelings of like and attachment that the characters feel towards one another and towards events, things, and places. These feelings are hardly visible externally (in contrast to !) - except for a calm smile here and there - and are mainly conveyed on screen using sappy music that makes you sob and long, up-close facial shots. Here's a short clip that demonstrates what I'm talking about.

Note the use of slow, nostalgic string music with a simple piano melody in the background. This music conveys . Even more importantly, the cameras focus on Rocky's face, letting us see every twitch and sign of hidden feeling. Basically, they're forcing us to empathize with Rocky. Paulie, on the other hand, is shown from a distance, essentially making it impossible for us to empathize with him. Paulie gets mad at Rocky, and related yelling ensues, but then they settle back to a mood, and the camera's move closer to Paulie, letting us feel what he feels.

These tear-jerker techniques are a favorite of the American movie industry, but there are many countries where they are rarely, if ever used (Russian cinema, for one).

Scenes with Rocky and his son are also particularly poignant and use the same kinds of techniques to make the audience cry and empathize. Note that almost everywhere is mixed with (challenging each other, getting rough, telling each other what they want, etc.).

After the first quarter of the movie, the main emphasis shifts to , where the real point of the movie lies. Rocky's focus shifts to a difficult external obstacle (the upcoming boxing match, of course) that requires all his strength and concentration to tackle. Note that this emphasis reflects the spiritual philosophy I wrote about two posts ago.

Evolution of Religions and Movements

A fascinating aspect of religions and movements is their evolution. Often, within just a few generations, religions and other movements metamorphosize into something with an "energy" quite different from the original teaching. Most often, it seems to me, the greatest changes take place in the first few decades after the death of the founder, with evolution becoming very gradual after that (but still accumulating dramatic changes when viewed over long periods of time).

The movements I am aware of all had charismatic founders who were intensely focused on their work and leadership and had a profound effect on followers. What seems to happen is that after the founder's passing, a vacuum suddenly forms and the movement undergoes a crisis of existence: "what next?" The teaching had been so intertwined with the personality of the founder himself that followers feel lost and rudderless. As a rule, founders of teachings do not leave behind successors of their own stature, since people of their stature tend to form their own teachings rather than follow in others' footsteps. Early high-stature followers seem to splinter off and create individualized versions of the teaching or movement, leaving mostly people with a follower mentality around the original founder.

With the memory of the founder still fresh in everyone's minds, people begin to compile everything that he or she said, did, and wrote. A period of canonization begins where followers try to be as true as possible to the teachings of the founder and follow his instructions - whether explicit or implicit - as closely as possible. At the same time, they look for a logical new direction for the movement to take. After a period of searching, the movement finds a stable configuration and gradually settles down for the long term - if it has survived the crisis. Depending on the vitality of the original movement, there may be periodic "spikes" of energy and change, and disturbances in society, such as wars and calamities, can give the movement a completely new impulse. Otherwise, the trend seems to be towards greater conservatism, traditionalism, and stability over time.

It is interesting that movements often attract many creative, talented, and charismatic individuals during the early stages. These people are attracted to the chance to learn and be involved in something new and unique. And no, not all of them are types! They are people of all kinds of types who are passionate about learning and development. And they are also quite competitive. Many want to be teachers and leaders. These people contribute a lot to the movement early on but then create splinter groups or leave the movement altogether if they are not able to find a position of sufficient influence within the movement.

This creates a paradox. Spiritual movements are created by charismatic individuals who tell others of their own path to God, enlightenment, or success, but their movements are made up almost exclusively of people who, for various reasons, cannot repeat their teacher's spiritual path. The ones whose paths are in fact similar to the founder's leave the movement and start their own. To put it simply, the spiritual leader is teaching people who are followers by nature about becoming spiritual leaders. The real peers of spiritual leaders are not their followers, but the spiritual leaders of other teachings.

The natural evolution and loss of relevance of religions and other movements over time ensures that there is always demand for new ones that are full of vigor and fresh ideas and approaches. In a coming post or posts I will discuss a number of religions and teachings and their evolution and socionic emphases.

Identifying "Types" of Religions and Teachings

Identifying the "type" of a religion or teaching isn't about describing specific practices, as an anthropologist would do, but involves identifying the general priorities of the teaching. Here are some guidelines that describe what teachings built around different elements of information metabolism would look like. Maybe you'll recognize some teachings you know well in these descriptions:

: An emphasis on one's search for truth and insight in the outside world: experiencing different traditions and cultures, meeting people from different walks of life, and finding out information from different systems and disciplines that contributes to one's spiritual development. The search is never over, and one is never completely sure of the results. Intense searching is perceived as an expression of spirituality. To be able to devote themselves wholly to this search, followers are encouraged not to be tied down by property and commitments.

: An emphasis on developing personal power and presence. Personal power is honed by overcoming difficult obstacles and submitting oneself to demanding ordeals and strenuous exercises. Followers are encouraged to rid themselves of fear and weakness, focus intently on the present, and learn to make a powerful impression on others. Followers believe the road to one's spiritual goal is littered with difficult obstacles, tempting detours, and even danger, and that only those with powerful intent can conquer.

: An emphasis on service, worthy activity, and productivity as expressions of spirituality. Followers believe they need to be busy doing good, productive things to merit divine approval. Wealth and professional success are seen as being likely consequences of one's spiritual growth. An emphasis on taking initiative and doing something about the causes one cares about rather than simply talking about them or waiting for God to take care of them. Followers focus on building a flawless, rational society.

: An emphasis on devotion and ecstasy as expressions of spirituality and faith. Followers publicly express powerful emotional states through loud singing, praising God, speaking in tongues, weeping, ranting, or spontaneous dancing. Followers pursue an emotional union with God and other believers where they lose their sense of self for a time. In order to cultivate this emotional state, followers look for ways to turn off or limit the activity of the rational mind. An emphasis on including others in joyous experiences.

: An emphasis on liberating oneself from physical attachments, often through the cultivation of a trance-like state of sublime detachment. Followers pursue inner peace by limiting sensory input and worldly hustle and bustle and by hypnotic chanting and performing simple repetitive motions both at gatherings and during individual practice and meditation. Visions, hallucinations, and out-of-body sensations are welcomed as signs of spiritual progression.

: An emphasis on developing the body and achieving spiritual goals using physical means. Well-developed physical techniques such as breathing exercises, stretching, balancing, body movements, and following dietary principles. An embracement of enjoyment as a fundamental principle of spiritual growth. An emphasis on temperance and balance. Followers are encouraged to look inside themselves to discover their genuine desires and find ways of realizing them. Pleasure is not shunned, but welcomed and cultivated.

: An emphasis on studying and mastering the belief system of the teaching, especially holy writ. An emphasis on following teachings in their purity as they were intended to be followed, with little allowance for situational interpretations. Followers studiously focus on learning written teachings and discuss correct interpretations with each other. Mental clarity and strict, logical thinking are honed. Followers tend to ignore others' personal sentiments and can show them their errors using logical arguments.

: An emphasis on moral perfection, warm interaction, and charitable treatment of others. Spirituality is perceived as a warm feeling you carry around with you and share with other people. Followers actively cultivate a sense of duty, indebtedness, gratitude, modesty, and humility, as well as respectful, tactful, and caring treatment of others. An emphasis on perfecting one's stable relationships - especially within the family, but also with one's coworkers and other members of the community.

Religions and Teachings through a Socionics Prism

Religion is a fascinating topic and far too broad for one article, and I expect to write more on the subject in the future. This article will be a somewhat disorganized introduction to the subject.

"Typing" a religion or teaching involves making a subjective assessment of the most important characteristics of the teaching. It's not enough to study the written works of the teaching; you have to have some experience interacting with adherents of the teaching to see where the real emphasis is placed. For instance, there are hundreds of churches that claim to be based on the Bible, but you would have little idea of what modern Christianity is like if you only read the Bible. Each church places emphasis on slightly different things and has unique traditions that are at least as important to defining the overall atmosphere and message of the faith than the actual holy writ. Thus, an analysis of a religion or teaching from a socionic or other standpoint requires looking at lifestyle, interaction, and cultural traditions as well as the written teachings themselves.

Many different Christian churches can be grouped together because of their basic similarities, but you will still find very fundamental differences between Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism, and a number of other subgroups. Religious groups that are geographically separated, take root in different countries, and coexist with different political regimes always evolve differently, even if they were originally based on the same writings. As I have already said, only a small part of the lifestyle and practice of any religious group is derived directly from its scripture. This is why one holy book can give rise to hundreds or thousands of religious groups, each with their slightly different interpretation of scripture. Even religious movements that began as an attempt to correct errors and return to the "pure" religion eventually splinter into dozens of denominations themselves. For example, look at this "family tree" of Baptist denominations in the United States.

To illustrate the importance of tradition over scripture, let's look at the use of the cross in Christianity. The practice of using crosses in Christian architecture, wearing them on one's body, and using the cross as a symbol of one's faith is outlined nowhere in the Bible. These traditions evolved over the centuries in complex ways. Yet these practices are an integral part of modern Christianity, and one's acceptance in a Christian community may well depend in part on whether one accepts traditions having to do with the use of the cross and other things that aren't derived from the Bible. But I digress...

Roots of Typology

Personality typologies are often accused of being "unscientific," as if everything that is unscientific is not worthwhile. Yes, typologies are unscientific - in the sense of applying qualitative, not quantitative categories to people (with all the ensuing complications). And yet typologies keep cropping up in many different areas of human activity as a practical necessity. Let's look at some of the contexts that have produced typologies.

Firstly, people spontaneously generate simplistic typologies all the time in everyday conversation with other people, most often with just two types but sometimes with three or four:

- "There are two kinds of people: those who... etc."
- "I've noticed there are big differences between first, second, and third-generation Asian immigrants in the U.S...."
- "Our school was full of jocks. Nerds like me avoided them at all cost."
- "I think people who do drugs have a fundamentally different brain chemistry."

None of these "typologies" is "scientific," since they imply qualitative "type diagnosis," and much of their apparent unambiguity breaks down when you try to type every single person. But their purpose is to generate an awareness of significant differences between people for the sake of personal understanding.

Secondly, somewhat more complex typologies are applied in business, sports, health, and other fields. In these cases up to five types may be used, but not much more than that. In health, there are Hippocrates' "four temperaments" or "humors." In sports there are people with predominantly fast-twitch muscles and those with predominantly slow-twist muscles. (I'm not very well-read in sports, so I can't recall other examples, but I know I have come across a few of them.) In business there are many fairly simple typologies of leaders, typologies of employees, and typologies of clients. The purpose of these is to predict general behavior within the context of your activity for the purpose of maximizing effectiveness.

Finally, there are the most complex typologies usually associated with mysticism and spiritual growth. Here I would include Jung's typology (since he was interested in understanding the process of individual growth in different people). The "four temperaments" of Hippocrates might go here as well. Spiritual teacher Gurdjieff taught that many esoteric teachings divided people into types - "twelve or maybe more." Aldous Huxley, in his book Perennial Philosophy, relates Sheldon's somatotypes to preferred spiritual paths. Tibetan buddhists and other eastern religions and western monastic orders appear to demonstrate an awareness of types and allow for somewhat different spiritual paths for different disciples (as opposed to mass religion, which does not differentiate). In a more bastardized form, some of these typologies are marketed in the West on the self-help market. Your Temperament: Discover Its Potential is a typical title. The purpose of all these typologies is to facilitate personal development by discovering innate characteristics and developing individuality.

Basically, typologies of this last category tend to arise whenever complex skills are systematically handed down from teacher to disciple, usually within some sort of spiritual or quasi-spiritual discipline. In this highly demanding context, individual differences between people become obvious, a lot of attention is directed at each individual disciple or apprentice, and it is paramount to have disciples choose the right approach within the discipline early on to avoid discouragement and failure. So some sort of typology is a practical necessity here as well, even if it is not fully elucidated and exists in the form of collective know-how.

To summarize, we can see that the creation of typologies - whether mundane or complex - is a natural human tendency that increases understanding and effectiveness by helping to recognize and take advantage of significant differences between people. The implied purpose of socionics - like other development-oriented typologies - is to contribute to individuals' self-realization and to effectiveness and wisdom in interpersonal interaction.