Author: Aushra Augusta
Foreword
Socionics is a science about the socion, the socionic nature of humanity and the socionic structure of society, about different types of people’s information metabolism (IM) and different forms of their interrelations. It was born based on typologies created by C.G. Jung, E. Kretschmer and A.E. Lichko, as well as A. Kepinski’s theory of information metabolism. It is an exact science demonstrating that laws of physics are at the basis of human perception and thinking, as well as functioning and development of society. Being a humanities scholar, by the word “physics” the author means all exact sciences operating based on strict logic of cause and effect (Aristotelian logic).
This monograph introduces basic premises, main categories and definitions of socionics. The work cannot be considered finished. It still contains a lot of inaccuracies and contradictions, the reason being that we had to feel our way through the process because of the subject’s novelty and the author’s lack of special training. Apparently, this is an instance where the author’s lack of a psychology or physics degree did not stop us from seeing new horizons beyond C.G. Jung’s typology*, yet it seriously impedes our attempts to describe and classify what was seen. For this reason we sometimes had to use colloquial language rather than the established terms of psychology and physics. The most serious difficulties arose due to the fact that the novelty of the subject required an introduction of new concepts and definitions.
* See chapter X of C.G. Jung’s Psychological Types. Hereinafter the asterisks (*) indicate the translator’s notes.
The reader might see some of our provisions as purely theoretical constructions. Not fully proven ones at that, as though they are hanging in the air. For instance, why are there exactly eight aspects of the world? Why are they combined into blocks? Why these exact blocks and not some others? Etc. Hence we feel obligated to inform the reader that we did not invent anything ourselves and merely deepened and clarified C.G. Jung’s provisions, although some of them changed beyond recognition. We did this while studying various individuals’ specific ways of thinking. In doing so we, firstly, verified the fact that the sixteen ways of perceiving the world and adapting to it, pointed out by C.G. Jung, really exist. After that, while studying the ways each individual type of IM understands the world and reacts to concrete facts of reality, we deciphered the concrete substance of all the so-called “dominant functions” (C.G. Jung). It seems that we were able to figure out the concrete substance of each such function, as well as of the aspect of the world reflected by it (we do not claim this understanding is complete). While studying the ways individuals with different types of IM function in situations both significant and insignificant to them, we managed to find connections between individual elements, then blocks, etc.
In other words, while the work seems theoretical, “theory” is merely a way to most densely describe everything we were able to decipher during practical observation of specific individuals. There is not a single drop of some kind of “pure theory” that would not follow from our observations. And if someone has a different impression, the only thing to blame is the author’s own way of thinking (
), as well as her inability to describe concrete manifestations of living life: although concrete facts are observed, when the time comes to describe them, only general patterns pour onto the paper.
1. Introduction. Society and the socion
Reflecting the external world and the individual’s inner world, the human brain serves not only said individual, but society as well.
To fulfill their own needs, an individual requires an understanding of the entirety of their environment. In their service to society, people cooperate: the information transmitted from an individual to society only contains the individual’s understanding of some aspects of reality, but not others. According to our current understanding, the explanation of this phenomenon is fairly simple: individual aspects of reality are reflected in the human brain with different degrees of differentiation and conscious awareness. The aspects that are only used by the individual themselves are reflected in a rather generalized way – they are remembered as images, experience, skills. On the other hand, the aspects information about which get transmitted to society are remembered in a more differentiated way, with enough accuracy to allow for verbal transmission of the information.
Out of the information that is only used for the individual’s own needs and stays at the level of the first signal system, some portion is, perhaps, comprehended to a degree by said individual under the influence of other members of society. The information that gets transmitted to other members of society in accordance with the individual’s type of IM is moved to the level of the second signal system as the individual becomes consciously aware of said information.
Since humanity cooperates in service to society, and each individual is a part of society, each transmits information about some aspects of reality and receives information about others. Later we will talk more about this, and right now will illustrate the aforementioned with an example. We are often surprised that absent-minded people, those who “never remember anything” and therefore “never see anything,” do not hurt themselves or get hit by the first car they encounter. It turns out that this does not happen because the information they receive about the concrete world around them is only enough to use practically, but not enough to verbally transmit. This is why these people seem absent-minded. They deeply and consciously perceive, and easily transmit, information about abstract aspects of reality. At the same time other people similarly perceive information about concrete reality, while aspects that are usually called abstract seem to slip by, even though the individual is perfectly able to use them for their own needs. The former are usually referred to as people with abstract thinking (intuitive types), the latter – people with concrete thinking (sensoric types). It is notable that the former possess a certain slowness of thinking. They need a lot more information to figure everything out, which is why they come across as absent-minded and slow-witted. On the contrary, the latter group can immediately impress with their ability to form a quick understanding of the situation. The former are strategists, the latter are tacticians. Both of these qualities are equally valuable and equally needed by any society under any circumstances.
Human as a biological being is an independent unit, cooperating with its own kind only for the purpose of procreation. Human as a social being does not possess such independence.
This is because human psyche uses different ways of processing information. There are sixteen such ways, and each individual person masters only one of them. Together they form a unified system thanks to which man was able to become man and build everything we call “culture” today. A single way of processing information, or information metabolism, is unproductive. Even if we take a very large number of people with the same type of IM, this kind of social group will function sluggishly and will not be able to tackle even the simplest life problems. Humanity’s strength is in the diversity of its intelligence – the existence of the sixteen types of IM.
From this it follows that one person’s intelligence is one sixteenth of the social intelligence, and that we can speak of a full unit of this intelligence. This unit, sixteen people with different types of IM, we will call the socion. The socion can be considered a unit of human society and a basis of human social nature.
But the socion is not just a sum of sixteen different intelligences or a group of sixteen people with different types of IM. It is also a strict system of their interactions. In other words, it is not just sixteen specific, concrete intelligences, but also sixteen different (and no less specific and concrete) relations between each person and all other people. These relations turn these people into a unified and logical whole – an energy unit of humanity, in a sense. This scheme is shown on fig. 1.
Firstly, sixteen types of IM form pairs, eight dyads in total. The purpose of this is mutual alignment of the individuals’ life activity lines. As far as we know, without this process full realization of human intelligence is impossible. Secondly, all eight dyads are broken down into two energy rings. A ring consists of four dyads linked by a one-sided connection, due to which new information only flows in one direction. Thirdly, information flow in the two rings has opposite directions, and the rings are connected “inductively”: information flow of one ring activates the other ring, charging it with energy. On fig. 1 each circle represents one type of IM. The arrows show the direction of the information flow.
Such a generalized diagram only shows the relation of complement between two members of each dyad, and the relation of social request* between dyads connected by an arrow. But in fact every part of the socion, i.e. every type of IM, has a particular relation with every other part of the socion. In other words, every type of IM has very specific and concrete relations with all other types of IM. In total there are sixteen sets of intertype relations.
* Hereinafter “social request” refers to the intertype relation usually called “benefit” in the West. In accordance with this, “requester” refers to the benefactor, and “receiver” refers to the beneficiary.
This is why we can say that, as a unit of humanity, the socion is not just sixteen types, or forms, of human intelligence, but also sixteen forms of their interrelations, uniting these people into one logically functioning whole. All laws of societal development, including the law of social progress, are inherent to the socion as a unit of society.
The development of each individual person is based on one type of IM, i.e. each person acquires one of sixteen possible forms of intelligence. The essence of the socionic nature of man manifests in the following:
- different perceptions of the world;
- the fact that other people’s type of IM, not their good will, is what determines whether one’s relationships with them will be good or bad, easy or difficult.
Every organism’s chance of survival is determined by its ability to adapt to its environment, enter a harmonious relationship with this environment and other organisms. But, since humans are active social beings, harmony is not the only thing they require for survival, they also need to interweave with the mechanisms of IM belonging to other members of the socion. Societal progress is directly proportional to the degree of said society’s socionness.
Every individual finds it very painful to not be included in a dyad, i.e. to lack contact with a dual to cooperate with. This affects the individual’s psychological and physical balance. It cannot be said that the individual does not feel their involvement in the socionic mechanism of society. There are people who lead socially active lives and feel that society needs their activity, and there are those who barely feel needed by society or do not feel it at all, even though they know about it from newspapers. It is not enough to know – one needs to feel the pounding pulse of life, feel like a part of it. And for this one needs to be in contact with enough types of IM that are necessary for one’s successful functioning. The feeling of whether society needs them seems to be directly proportional to the individual’s degree of inclusion into the socionic structure of said society.
Activity outside of the socion, or activity where socionic connections only manifest as a rare accident, is always a psychologically tiring endeavor. The individual’s energy is very poorly used and replenished, its expenditure has a low level of social usefulness. A lot of energy is wasted purely on proving the usefulness of one’s life to oneself and others. From the perspective of society this is a waste of energy, and from the perspective of the individual it is a struggle for a niche where they could feel needed. Competition is always an effort to find a more efficient societal position, one where activity provides the individual with necessary socionic connections, which the individual themselves perceives as a higher level of recognition. Someone in a leadership position has a lot more connections with people possessing necessary types of IM; these connections are required to form a feeling of being included in social life and needed by the socion. However, if the individual is surrounded by these necessary people, said individual feels needed at their workplace regardless of their position or occupation.
Activity outside of the socion always has a very low level of social usefulness. It cannot, and does not, become an activity that is necessary to society and, consequently, truly socially acclaimed. The speed of societal progress seems to be directly proportional to the degree of said society’s socionness.
If the socionness is formed spontaneously, the group spends a lot of energy on settling endless intertype conflicts. In this regard private enterprises have a certain advantage over planned economy: a private entrepreneur has an opportunity to only hire people they consider pleasant, with whom unacceptable and unproductive conflict relations do not get formed.
We believe that human society emerged together with the socion and language, i.e. with the differentiation of the psyche into sixteen types of IM and the appearance of the second signal system. This is because for animal species the first signal system is enough, provided that their understanding of the facts of the world is homogeneous. Humans do not possess such homogeneity. As a species Homo sapiens gets represented by a married couple. Humanity consists of sixteen different models of information exchange between the individual and the environment, and is characterized by the socion. To get an understanding of humanity one needs eight dyads, or all sixteen types of IM.
The second signal system helps people communicate, but it also leaves enough room for misunderstandings, since the same words mean different things when coming from different types of IM. Let us look at the simplest word “no,” said with the same intonation and in the same situation. From one person it means irrevocable determination. The other says “no” because they think saying something else in this situation would be impolite. The third wants to scan the situation, check their interlocutor’s intentions. The fourth would get offended if no one argues with them after they said this word, etc. This is type-related! Not to mention that there are also differences caused by social status, upbringing, temperament, etc.
Before the emergence of the socion language is not needed, the first signal system is enough. When the socion does emerge, language becomes necessary.
What was there before the socion? We could probably answer this question after studying the psyche of primates from the perspective of our theory of IM. How many types do monkeys have? They, without doubt, can be cyclothymes and schizothymes*. Perhaps they can also be extraverted and introverted. So far we do not know anything about this for certain, although some Leningrad studies of cooperation among monkeys consider it possible that they also have asymmetrical relations of one-sided information transfer, or one-sided “authority.”
* See part II of E. Kretschmer’s Physique and Character.
When the second signal system emerges, a partial divide between energy metabolism (EM) and information metabolism (IM) also appears. It becomes possible for information signals to be utterly divorced from energy metabolism. Thus paying attention to the other’s behavior stops being enough, their words should be taken notice of as well.
Actions themselves can be false, committed only for the purpose of deception. However, incomparably more deception can hide behind information signals of the second signal system. Moreover, there can be two types of false information:
- deliberate lie, which is less interesting to us;
- inadequate understanding of the other person’s words and thoughts, attributing a meaning or weight to them which was not intended.
One of the main objectives of this work is to figure out why, for which objective reasons, the same words and intonations can tell different people different things, which properties of the mechanism of IM determine this.
The science about the socion, the socionic structure of society and the socionic nature of man, about different types of IM and different forms of relations between them, about structure and functioning of a model of IM, we will call socionics.
2. Information metabolism elements
Opposition to the world and reflection of the world
We live in a world of animate and inanimate objects. The former are more complex than the latter. Moreover, we believe that each living being is a closed off system that sets itself apart from the rest of the world; therefore, in a sense, each living being repeats the world’s properties. With their body and psyche living beings can and do reflect the entire world in all its complexity. The living sets itself apart from the world, while the inanimate blends in with the world.
Direct interaction (collision) between bodies does not happen often. “Catastrophes” in space are very rare due to the fact that celestial bodies interact “from afar” – through a field. Living organisms also interact through fields. From the point of view of an observer, an organism’s field is a sum of relations between one body and other bodies. The individual’s psyche perceives this interaction as various feelings.
According to our observations, each organism receives two types of information from its environment:
- sensations that morph into perceptions and provide information about properties and states of bodies;
- sensations that morph into feelings and provide information about fields.
There are two factors that define the information received by the human psyche, determine the quantity and quality of said information. One of these factors is the environment that provides the individual with stimulating signals. The other is strength, development and training of the systems receiving the information. Someone with acute eyesight, keen sense of hearing and highly developed sense of smell will learn more about the environment. This same environment will give much more complete information to someone with highly refined feelings, helping them become a creative person – a writer, composer, or scientist.
Although it is known that the physical world does not have bodies without fields, the importance of these fields in the lives of biological beings is not acknowledged to the same degree, as though living organisms do not abide by the same laws and are “outside of physics.” It goes unnoticed that human feelings (which are studied by psychology) are merely manifestations of a field. It also goes unnoticed that all introverts, constituting half of humanity, focus on their feelings and their attitudes towards the objects, rather than on the objects themselves.
Lack of understanding of the physical nature of human feelings leads to constant conflation of feelings and emotions, out of which the latter are merely a manifestation of the arousal or suppression of the endocrine system.
Eight aspects of reflection
Research on the way different people perceive the world has shown that human perception consists of eight aspects: four aspects of the body state and four aspects of the field state. Within human psyche they are clearly differentiated from one another and differ in the level of awareness the individual has of them. Each aspect is used differently from the rest by the individual. Moreover, for each individual one aspect of perception is in the leading position, or fulfils the role of the “dominant function” (a term used by C.G. Jung). For extraverts it is an aspect of perception of bodies, for introverts – perception of fields.
Four aspects of perception of bodies
(Perception of the object’s extraversion)
Perception of the object’s appearance and shape Perception of the object’s internal content and structure
Perception of the object’s external dynamics, its movement through space
Perception of the object’s internal dynamics, changes happening within it
Four aspects of perception of relations
(Perception of the object’s introversion) 
Perception of the object’s internal situation
Perception of time Perception of the object’s position in space
Perception of the object’s attraction and repulsion
Four introverted aspects are the qualitatively different ways the objects relate to each other. Taken together, they constitute the objects’ relations with other objects. An object integrates into the environment of other objects through these four relations.
To summarize, one might say that (time) and (internal state) are two forms of interaction between processes (object in the middle of some process), while (object’s attraction) and (knowing object’s position in space) are two forms of interaction between objects (object at rest). Following C.G. Jung, we will call and irrational elements, and – rational elements.
Let us take a closer look at each of the aforementioned aspects of perception. We will try to explain what kind of information each of them provides to an individual, and what kind of special qualities the individual possesses when the corresponding aspect is leading in their psyche. It should be noted that the leading aspect of perception determines the individual’s type of intelligence; this is due to the fact that it allows the individual to recreate everything they had ever learned through this aspect specifically.
We assigned symbols and conventional names to all aspects of reflection of the world. These names were created after some changes in terms used by C.G. Jung:
— Extraverted Intuition — Introverted Intuition — Extraverted Ethics — Introverted Ethics — Extraverted Sensation — Introverted Sensation — Extraverted Logic — Introverted Logic
Extraverted Intuition
Information about potential energy of objects – for example, someone’s physical and psychological abilities and capabilities. This perception provides an ability to understand the structure of objects and phenomena, to figure out their internal content. It determines one’s ability or inability to see real potential forces of the environment.
When this aspect of perception is in the leading position, the individual has pronounced cognitive interests. They are constantly busy studying profound phenomena, which they quite successfully explain to others by making complicated things simple. Such an individual likes to explain to others what they themselves understood. In favorable conditions becomes a scientist or a writer. Able to find optimal ways of increasing the object’s potential energy. “Charges” others with their own understanding of the surrounding objects’ capabilities.
Extraverted Ethics
Information about processes occurring in objects – primarily emotional processes occurring in people, people’s state of excitation or suppression, and their moods. This aspect of perception provides an ability to e.g. understand what inspires people and what suppresses them. It determines one’s ability or inability to control one’s own emotional state and the emotional states of others.
When this aspect of perception is in the leading position, the individual has an ability to transfer their own moods to others, induce their own moods in others, infect others with their own emotions. They are able to activate other people’s spiritual life and emotional readiness for action. Such an individual has an ability to infect others with their moods, and a tendency to impose specific emotional states on them (those emotional states being what the individual considers beneficial for others’ activities).
What we usually call human emotions or emotional displays is merely a way to directly release this internal excitation without using most of it for muscle activity. A cheerful, laughing person releases an emotional charge (excitation) through certain movements of face and body muscles. This can be a way of relieving overexcitation when the tension cannot be used for the intended activity. But it can also be a way of consciously transferring one’s excitation to other people, inducing one’s internal arousal in the psyche of others. Anger is also a way of relieving one’s overexcitation, but instead of emotionally arousing other people it is usually intended to emotionally suppress and drain them, reduce their activity or direct this activity in a very particular way.
Extraverted Sensation
Information about what one could call “kinetic energy” of objects. For example, how externally organized someone is, their physique and energy-related qualities, their ability to successfully exercise their will and use their official position. This perception provides an ability to see how much “kinetic energy” a particular person has and how useful they can be in action. It determines one’s ability or inability to exercise their will in opposition to the will of others, and use their energy against the energy of others.
When this aspect of perception is in the leading position, the individual has volitional qualities and is an excellent organizer of any new activity. They have an aptitude for mobilizing people towards achieving the goal, and know how to utilize and manage animate and inanimate objects. Such an individual knows how to handle physical things, how to recreate almost any object based on existing samples. This demonstrates their aptitude for organizing physical matter. They seek to exercise their volition, energy, strength, to subordinate others’ will to their own.
Extraverted Logic
Information about actions and deeds, physical activity, the activity of animate and inanimate objects. This perception provides an ability to assess situations one gets exposed to. It determines one’s knowledge of possible methods of action, and an ability or inability to personally come up with such methods. It also determines one’s ability or inability to direct others’ work and to distinguish rational actions from irrational ones.
When this aspect of perception is in the leading position, the individual has an aptitude for planning their own work and the work of others. They have an ability to understand how logical a process is, to adjust others’ workflow in accordance with this understanding, to use the most rational methods of action and to communicate these methods to other people.
Introverted Intuition
All processes occur in time, which means they have roots in the past and continue into the future. Time is a relation between events occurring in sequence. This aspect of perception provides information about the sequence of events and people’s actions, their causal interdependence, and people’s own feelings that are caused by this interdependence.
One perceives direct outside information that is obtained through the first signal system as feelings about the future, the past and the present. Examples include a sense of haste, calmness or fervor; a sense of something being timely or premature; a sense of whether the pace of life is proper or improper; a sense of future danger or safety; a sense of anticipation; a fear of being late; a feeling of knowing what will happen in the future; an anxiety about what is to come; etc. One has some sense of time at any moment of one’s life. It is impossible to live outside of time or lack any feelings towards it. Therefore a certain sense of time is an integral part of one’s spiritual state at any given moment. This aspect of perception determines one’s ability or inability to predict the future and plan for it, to avoid possible problems and erroneous actions, and to learn from past experience.
When this aspect of perception is in the leading position, the individual has strategic abilities and knows how to choose an optimal moment for a particular activity. For example, giving battle when it is necessary and avoiding it when it is a better course of action, just like Mikhail Kutuzov always did.
Interaction in time could be called an ability to avoid collisions with objects, thereby avoiding their reflection in oneself.
Introverted Ethics
This is a subjective relation between two carriers of potential or kinetic energy, showing how much a certain object or subject is attracted or repelled by other objects or subjects. Thanks to this element of IM an individual feels which objects attract them and which repel them. This aspect of perception provides information about whether an object needs another object, about presence or lack of mutual or unilateral needs.
One perceives direct information about this aspect of the objective world (the information obtained through the first signal system) as a need for other people and for specific objects that satisfy one’s physical, cultural and spiritual desires. In other words, this aspect covers one’s desires and interests that are directed at animate and inanimate objects. This includes feelings of like-dislike, love-hate, a desire to acquire some kind of object, greed or lack thereof, etc. Higher feelings of this kind are called “ethical” due to the fact that the interrelations between people’s needs are mostly regulated by ethical norms.
When this aspect of perception is in the leading position, the individual has an ability to see, evaluate, shape and change their own desires and the desires of other people. They always know who wants what from whom. They are able to set their own knowledge of the subjective world in opposition to the knowledge of others, and their own desires – to the desires of others. They also have an aptitude for providing themselves with necessary relationships, and confidence in their ability to influence other people. Their accurate assessment of others’ needs allows them to avoid risky collisions while satisfying their own needs. It also creates an ability to manipulate others’ attachment to oneself, and an ability and striving to manipulate others’ ethical feelings and others’ striving to bring these feelings in line with the social ideal.
Introverted Sensation
We view an object’s internal state as a relation between events that condition each other. Through this element one perceives information about the way processes affect the internal state – the way a person is feeling*, and the specific feelings caused by this interdependence.
* Rus. “самочувствие”, “a general mental indicator of the physical and spiritual state of the individual at any given moment; consists of specific sensations and general feelings.”
Interaction in space is nothing more than a reflection of one object in another. Objects reflect each other and evoke certain feelings in one another. An individual perceives direct outside information as feelings evoked by things happening around them. For example, a feeling of pain is nothing more than the brain’s reflection of a relation between one’s body and a process taking place in some part of the body and interfering with its functioning.
When this aspect of perception is in the leading position, the individual is able to change the properties of the environment and the way people in this environment feel. They know how to avoid physical discomfort and how to protect others from it, which is determined by an ability to recreate once experienced aesthetic feelings. An excellent example of this is Peter Paul Rubens, who did not paint from life, but rather from his own memory of once experienced aesthetic feelings. When he was making a painting, he sought to give the viewer a specific aesthetic experience by recreating it. Such art is a revival of the object that provides the viewer with aesthetic feelings intended by the creator. Likewise, when an individual with this type of IM is cooking, they start by imagining how the dish will taste. Such people can distinguish once experienced aesthetic feelings from new ones, and know how to collect and remember them. This is probably why there are a lot of people with this type of perception among the so-called “psychic diagnosticians.”
An individual with this type of IM is able to set their sensory aesthetic needs in opposition to the same needs of others. They know how to fight for the fulfilment of said needs, and can shape and refine their own and other people’s aesthetic tastes and habits. They have an ability to impose their understanding of aesthetics and comfortable life on others.
Introverted Logic
The feelings that arise when two objects are being compared based on some objective property, e.g. a sense of distance, weight, volume, value, strength or quality, we classify as logical. These are the feelings of objective evaluation; in certain cases this evaluation contributes to either activation or passivation of the person experiencing said feelings.
One perceives direct information that is obtained through the first signal system as a sense of proportionality or disproportionality of the objects, a sense of balance or imbalance between them, and a sense of understanding or not understanding the advantages one object has over the other. This includes all feelings that arise from objects and phenomena being known or unknown: curiosity, respect, fear, a sense of something being logical or illogical, a sense of power or powerlessness over a certain object.
All of these feelings we will call “logical”. Together they form an individual’s sense of logic. The degree of development of this sense of logic varies from person to person.
Logical feelings convey information related to whether or not the objects are known, whether or not they are in equilibrium, and whether or not they are comparable. They also carry information about the space and the position of the object within it.
Logical feelings are objective because they only take into account the ratio of objective properties rather than one’s own interests and needs. This aspect of perception determines one’s ability or inability to see objective, logical relations between the objects or their components.
When this aspect of perception is in the leading position, the individual is notably logical in their assessment of the interrelations in the objective static world, or world of objects. They have an ability to alter the relations between the properties of different objects, changing these relations in a desired direction. By doing this they are also able to impact the objects possessing said properties. Their accurate assessment of their own relations with other objects lets them know which objects should be avoided and which can be “hunted”.
An individual with this type of IM has an ability to set their logic (i.e. their cognition of the objective world and of its regularities and proportions) in opposition to the knowledge of others. They can shape and improve their own and other people’s cognition of the objective world. This gives them a sense of power when faced with the logic or illogicality of others.
Set and representation
Only more or less known and familiar objects and phenomena can evoke certain feelings in us. It is impossible to feel anything about something one does not know or understand, until a set is established in relation to it. It appears that a set, either determined by an individual’s own experience or transferred to said individual by others, is the foundation of any feeling. We believe that the set plays the same role in the emergence of feelings as the representation of an object does in perception of said object. Although perception is primary to representation, if we did not use existing representations in our daily life, perception and evaluation of objects would take a lot of time. It seems that representations of objects and processes, and sets established towards relations between objects and processes, are used by humans as past experience, lack of which most often impedes functioning.
However, Dimitri Uznadze’s research showed that, for example, not all people have sets related to a sense of weight. We noticed that some people very easily form sets related to actions and deeds, i.e. in a repeating situation they act in accordance with the set, without thinking. For example, if they are used to turning left at a particular spot, when circumstances change and they need to turn right at the same spot, it is very hard for them to give up the previous set. This happens with (leading ), while people with never acquire such a set.
It is quite possible that the same pattern could also be noticed in usage of representations, i.e. that some types of IM use them in concrete reality, while others do not. It seems that those who completely trust the corresponding IM element are the ones who do without a pre-established representation.
Sets can be more or less “correct.” “Incorrect” sets lead to feelings and actions that are an inadequate response to reality. For example, recently people of China had a set, according to which sparrows were considered pest birds. Under food shortage the set got activated and turned into a feeling that getting rid of sparrows would lead to a significant increase in the harvest. This set got replaced by a different one only after all sparrows were killed and the harvest decreased.
Human condition
When we talk about human condition we tend to reduce this condition to physical, or physical and spiritual at most. However, a different point of view is possible. In a broader sense, human condition consists of four independent forms, or states, which correspond to four field phases (see fig. 3).
If we metaphorically match four aspects of perception of bodies with four strokes of an internal combustion engine, we can say there are four phases of the organism’s energy metabolism, or four body phases, as shown on figure 2.
Potential energy (bottom dead centre); the object’s mass and internal picture, its structure. Excitation (compression); a process of potential energy conversion to kinetic energy – a change of the object’s internal micro-structure, including fluctuation. Kinetic energy (top dead centre – ignition); internally mobilized object, its micro-structure and external form. Work (working stroke); the object’s kinetic energy expenditure, a change of its coordinates and entropy resulting from a reverse change of its micro-structure, the object’s demobilization, return into the idle state.
An organism is always in the state of one of four body phases, otherwise its life would end. Because of their constant presence body phases can be considered stable properties of the organism.
Since every change in the body’s state leads to a change in the field’s state, each body phase corresponds to a particular field phase. A complete phase of energy metabolism (EM) is formed from one body phase and one field phase. Everything I know points to the idea that at the basis of each field phase there are fundamental natural phenomena – gravitational and electromagnetic fields and waves. It seems that potential energy corresponds to gravitational field, kinetic energy – to electromagnetic field, excitation – to electromagnetic waves, and work – to gravitational waves.
Gravitational field; a field that bends space and other objects’ trajectory, or time as an interaction between processes occuring in sequence. Gravitational waves. Electromagnetic field; a field inside which other objects get repelled or pulled in, or space as an interaction between processes occurring simultaneously. Electromagnetic waves; alternating attraction and repulsion of other objects.
Four phases of EM and four phases of IM
All living organisms are alert to things happening to objects inside their field of view. Whether these objects are idle (dead centre – potential energy), agitated and getting ready for action (compression), tense and ready for action (dead centre – ignition), or moving (working stroke). Every change in the organism itself or its position is not only an act of energy metabolism, but also an information signal to other living beings. Energy metabolism is also information metabolism. Four phases of EM correspond to four phases of IM. One cannot exist without the other.
Without feedback, i.e. until one receives information about the auspiciousness of internal and external conditions for EM continuation, there’s danger that the process of adapting to the environment will turn into the process of being rejected from the environment. Because of this an active organism observes all energy and information feedback signals from other organisms and inanimate nature.
Body phases
As follows from the aforementioned, every act of physical activity of the human body consists of four energy metabolism phases. It should be noted that two of them are static and two are dynamic:
* From Wikipedia: “In physics, a moment is a mathematical expression involving the product of a distance and physical quantity. Moments are usually defined with respect to a fixed reference point and refer to physical quantities located some distance from the reference point. In this way, the moment accounts for the quantity’s location or arrangement. For example, the moment of force, often called torque, is the product of a force on an object and the distance from the reference point to the object. In principle, any physical quantity can be multiplied by a distance to produce a moment. Commonly used quantities include forces, masses, and electric charge distributions.”
Every body phase is reflected by the psyche, or the mechanism of information metabolism. For this, the mechanism of IM has four elements reflecting things happening to the body.
Since information metabolism is merely a reflection of energy metabolism (EM), we will assign the same symbols to body phases of EM and IM:
Four half-phases of IM perceive information about four different sides, or stages, of bodies’ own EM. Recall that from the psyche’s perspective one’s own body is also an external object. Let us also underline the fact that for now we are only interested in IM signals the individual receives through the first signal system. These signals reach the psyche through the organism’s sensory systems, as concrete sensations.
Field phases
Every act of physical activity of the human field can also be divided into four phases. Two of them are static and two are dynamic:
Every field phase is also reflected by the consciousness, or the mechanism of IM. For this, the mechanism of IM has four elements perceiving information about four different sides, or stages, of fields’ EM. We will assign the same symbols to field phases of EM and IM:
Homogeneous elements
Material world consists of material bodies and fields. They are the components of the objective world and matter. To each of these components human psyche allocates four phases. It was known from the very beginning (C.G. Jung’s works) that body phases and field phases form homogeneous pairs, which is why our symbols are also paired. We have our own evidence of their twoness. For example, can be called a moment of , as much as can be called a moment of . Because and are dynamic, a process, while and are static.
Each body phase has a field phase homogeneous to it, one that is a different side, or a reflection, of the same reality:
Two orders
The sequence of body phases shown above seems to be the only logical one: potential energy, its excitation, conversion to kinetic energy, work. I.e, it seems like human interest and its activity can only have one direction. At first the object’s potential properties are studied and it’s determined whether this object is needed or not. If it is, the subject enters an excited state and mobilizes energy in order to take possession of the object, or remove themselves from it.
However, the opposite order is also possible:
➜ ➜ ➜
In this case everything starts from taking possession of an unknown object, and ends with studying its internal properties and determining whether the object is needed or not. The first of these two orders of action and thinking might be more relatable to some types of IM, the second – to others.
3. Blocks of IM
Formation of blocks
As we established earlier, each organism has eight stable properties: four body phases and four field phases. Together they form four phases of EM, which means they form four phases of IM as well. Each EM phase is reflected by a separate block of our model of the mechanism of IM, which we call model A. There are four of these blocks. In other words, human mechanism of IM is formed from eight blocked IM elements. Each block corresponds to one body phase and one field phase.
To understand the rules of element blocking, recall that all IM elements are divided into static and dynamic:
static elements
dynamic elements
Static elements only get blocked with other static elements, dynamic elements – with other dynamic elements. For example, with or : every object is considered from a perspective of a relation between its objective properties and objective properties of other objects ( or ), or from a perspective of one object’s need for another ( or ). is blocked with or because every process can be considered from a perspective of its relations with other processes occurring in space ( or ), or from a perspective of its relations with prior or subsequent processes ( or ).
Below we present a diagram, showing all possible combinations of elements in blocks of IM. The arrows connecting the elements have two directions, because in a block every element can come first or second. Four static elements form eight static blocks, and four dynamic elements form eight dynamic blocks.
Some blocks start with a body phase and end with a field phase. In these blocks, extraverted information about a certain state the object is in transforms into information about the object’s relations with other objects. I.e, something that exists within the object is converted into something that exists outside of the object, or it gets “extraverted,” as C.G. Jung called it. We will call such blocks extraverted blocks.
Other blocks start with a field phase and end with a body phase. In these blocks information about certain relations between objects transforms into information about something happening within the object, or to the object, i.e. it gets “introverted.” We will call such blocks introverted blocks.
In total we get four extraverted static blocks and four introverted ones:
extraverted static blocks
introverted static blocks
In total we get four extraverted dynamic blocks and four introverted ones:
extraverted dynamic blocks
introverted dynamic blocks
In extraverted blocks the object’s properties and states are the root cause of specific relations with other objects. For the block, the object’s own properties, its power, beauty, volition, serve as a cause of positive or negative attitude toward this object. For example, respect or contempt: someone who wants to change another’s attitude toward themselves has to change their own properties. For the introverted the opposite is true. Attitude toward the object, respect or fear, determines how the object is seen, what it turns into. If this block is leading in the mechanism of IM, the individual is changing as a result of roles they perform: a role is a relation, and a relation determines the object’s properties. For example, while such a person is a common teacher, they are quiet, modest and diligent. If they get appointed as a principal, they turn into a dictator.
Accepting and producing elements
Elements forming blocks of IM fulfill different functions. The first element of the block reflects, photographs, and reproduces reality, providing the psyche with objective information. This information is always something from outside of the psyche itself. The amount of information may not be sufficient, but the information itself is never subjective. It is always a reflection of the objective world and of oneself as a part of this objectiveness. We should note that the first element always has a sense of empathy, or a certain oneness, with that which it reflects. We will call this first element accepting, i.e. perceiving that which exists on the outside.
The second element of each block is producing. Its production is what the individual extracts from the information received through the first element. The second element can also be called creative due to the fact that, among everything that it extracts from the information provided by the first element, there is something that is not and was never a part of the objective world. This “something” is the element’s own conclusion, its idea of the corresponding aspect of the objective world – what the element thinks that aspect is, can be, or must be. Producing elements are instrumental rather than empathetic. This instrumentality has two sides: the first is the subjective way in which the individual adapts to the objective reality, and the second is creativity. This creativity is defined by fully objective information gathered through the first element, by the skills of the second element, by the presence or lack of duals and requesters*, and by other specific circumstances leading to the individual making one decision over another.
* Or “benefactors”.
There is no doubt that in their activity producing elements also consider corresponding aspects of reality, i.e. they do not just produce, but also reflect reality to a degree. However, the real fulcrum of the individual’s thinking is in the aspects of reality corresponding to accepting elements. It is also clear that the individual does not associate producing aspects of their surroundings with identical aspects of their self, therefore producing elements lack the sense of empathy accepting elements have.
Accepting elements tend to mimic others, those who are smarter or have more experience, which is the individual’s way to indirectly orient themselves to objective reality. Producing elements tend to get adjusted constantly; the individual does this when their original conclusions or decisions cannot be implemented.
As we could notice, when the individual speaks “on behalf” of an accepting element, they talk about flaws, something there’s not enough of, something lacking from the “complete picture of the world.” Because of this their speech seems critical and denying. In turn, when one speaks “on behalf” of a producing element, they talk about something that is already there, that is present, complete, and so it is taken by others as praise and acceptance. Therefore, when the individual gets criticised for their achievements related to any accepting element, they see this criticism in a positive light. However, when criticism is related to achievements of a producing element, it feels annoying and is perceived as an attempt to ruin one’s mood.
Rationality and irrationality
Following C.G. Jung, we can divide all IM elements into rational and irrational:
rational elements
irrational elements
The blocks are divided accordingly. Blocks whose accepting elements are rational we will call rational blocks:
rational introverted static blocks
rational extraverted dynamic blocks
Blocks whose accepting elements are irrational we will call irrational blocks:
irrational extraverted static blocks
irrational introverted dynamic blocks
Dividing blocks into rational and irrational makes sense because all types of IM are divided in the same way. Mechanisms of IM belonging to rational types (schizothymes) are built from rational blocks, while those belonging to irrational types (cyclothymes) are built from irrational blocks. For this reason the world of a schizothyme, and their behavior in this world, significantly differ from the world and behavior of a cyclothyme.
Blockings
Each model A of IM is built from four blocks. We will call these four blocks a blocking. There are four such blockings: two irrational and two rational.
Irrational, cyclothymic blockings
“Aristocratic” cyclothymes
“Democratic” cyclothymes
Rational, schizothymic blockings
“Aristocratic” schizothymes
“Democratic” schizothymes
Each of these blockings forms four models of IM. Overall, four personality types can be formed from one blocking. They include two opposite dyads, forming one of the axes in rings of social progress.
Because of differing order of blocks, it is hard to notice something similar in personalities of four individuals from the same blocking. More often than not one would see something in which their personalities are opposite, instead. However, when all accepting and producing elements are the same, the individuals must also have something in common. This commonality manifests itself in what we, perhaps, should call “perception of the world.” Only this commonality, a certain “commensurability,” makes complementary relations and relations of extinguishment possible.
What is this “same perception of the world,” or “commensurability”?
To understand what types from the same blocking have in common, what unites them, we need to figure out what differs one blocking from another. First we will set two irrational blockings, from which models of all irrational types of IM (cyclothymes) are formed, in opposition to rational blockings, from which models of all rational types (schizothymes) are formed. I.e, we will set the rational in opposition to the irrational, the cyclothymic in opposition to the schizothymic.
Look at the elements coming first in blocks for rational and irrational types, and you will see that they are different. A schizothyme’s accepting elements are producing for a cyclothyme, and vice versa.
“Aristocrats” and “democrats”
We assign the “aristocrats” nickname to those types of IM in whose blocks the element of time is blocked with emotions, and state* – with labor, actions and deeds**. The former leads to consistency in emotions, the latter – to seeking pleasure from work. Work itself needs to be pleasant, if possible, and its result needs to provide aesthetic delight.
* Rus. “самочувствие”, “a general mental indicator of the physical and spiritual state of the individual at any given moment; consists of specific sensations and general feelings.”
** Ni blocked with Fe and Si blocked with Te.
On the contrary, emotions of the “democrats” are short-lived and determined by their general state, but such people approach promising activity, the kind that will provide safety in the future, with tenacious persistence. This is due to the fact that the element of time is blocked with the element of physical activity*.
* Ni blocked with Te.
Schizothymic “aristocrats” differ from “democrats” in their producing element. This is true for cyclothymic types as well.
The world of a cyclothyme
Cyclothymes’ blocks start with irrational elements:
For this reason, their emotions and actions are always a result of something – for example, danger, or being in a certain state*:
➜ ➜ ➜ ➜
* Rus. “самочувствие”, “a general mental indicator of the physical and spiritual state of the individual at any given moment; consists of specific sensations and general feelings.”
For a cyclothyme, objects and subjects are valued and evoke certain feelings because of their external or internal properties. The object’s properties are primary, and attitude toward it is secondary:
➜ ➜ ➜ ➜
The world of a schizothyme
For a schizothyme the opposite is true due to their blocks starting with rational elements:
For these types external and internal processes, for example people’s actions and emotions, always cause a certain state and a sense of danger or safety, rather than being a result of it:
➜ ➜ ➜ ➜
Feelings and relations connecting the individual to objects cause certain qualities of those objects*. The individual’s feelings and attitudes toward the object are what determines the object’s properties:
➜ ➜ ➜ ➜
* Augusta likely meant that the way objects are perceived by a shizothyme is based on their feelings towards and relations with those objects.
Cyclothymic blockings
For people from the blocking of aristocratic cyclothymes, someone’s e.g. volitional qualities are the cause of logical feelings this person evokes, and an attitude toward this person. Their potential spiritual qualities are the cause of ethical feelings and attitudes:
➜ ➜
Being in a good or bad state leads to physical activity, while a lack of aesthetic feelings and delight leads to passivity. Any danger, any possible future troubles create internal tension, which either gets released through emotions, or mobilises to action:
➜ ➜
For people from the blocking of democratic cyclothymes the opposite is true due to the fact that their perception of the same accepting phases leads to different producing phases. Someone’s volitional and physical qualities always cause ethical feelings and attitudes, while their potential spiritual qualities cause logical feelings and attitudes:
➜ ➜
Aesthetic feelings, i.e. feelings caused by sensations, are what leads to internal excitation and positive or negative emotions. If sensations are pleasant, the individual is cheerful, if they are unpleasant – angry. Without sensations there is no internal excitation manifesting in readiness for physical activity, and no emotions. A feeling of worry for the future leads to physical activity, i.e. the individual only gets seriously active when they see what this activity will bring them, or what it will rid them of:
➜ ➜
Schizothymic blockings
The only thing left is to figure out how aristocratic schizothymes differ from democratic ones. The essence of this difference is also in producing elements.
For people whose models belong to an aristocratic blocking, certain actions always lead to a certain state and certain aesthetic feelings. These feelings are a result of an action or an objective process. Therefore, to provide oneself with proper sensations, one needs to study proper processes, forms of human activity. At the same time, emotions cause a sense of danger or safety. This means that the only thing capable of providing the individual with a sense of safety is proper emotions, their own and other people’s:
➜ ➜
Logical feelings determine how objects are evaluated and what they “turn into”. Attitude toward the object is primary, its qualities – secondary. In turn, ethical feelings determine how spiritual qualities are perceived. People we love, whom we feel positive ethical feelings towards, have higher spiritual value and better spiritual qualities*:
➜ ➜
* This is talking specifically about our perception of people we love as possessing better spiritual qualities.
For democratic schizothymes, people’s work activity and deeds lead not to aesthetic feelings, but rather to a sense of safety in the future. Emotions, excitation, lead to aesthetic feelings and aesthetic delight:
➜ ➜
In turn, objects’ and subjects’ spiritual qualities are determined by logical relations. Their abilities are measured based on how the individual understands the logic of interrelations in the objective world, i.e. the quality of their “logical feelings.” This is probably why people who have this block in the leading position are attracted to philosophical understanding of the world. People’s volitional and physical qualities are determined by ethical feelings and interpersonal relations. Someone whose relations with others are stable and sensible is a strong person, not a weak-willed wimp:
➜ ➜
The degree of reflection’s objectiveness
Just how relations between objects are determined by their properties, so too are those properties determined by the relations between objects. Knowing the objects, one can project relations, knowing relations – project an image of the object. These two components of the world are strictly interdependent: fields are determined by bodies to the same degree as bodies are determined by fields.
Each individual block only reflects one side of reality. Extraverted blocks reflect the properties of objects, and project – produce – relations, attitudes and feelings towards those objects*. Introverted blocks reflect relations between objects, i.e. properties of the field (or a feeling) connecting those objects, and produce the objects’ own properties.
* For extraverted blocks, accepting (first) element is extraverted, and producing (second) element is introverted. The opposite is true for introverted blocks.
Each block of IM only reflects one of the two components of the objective world, and sort of figures out the rest. This “figuring out” would fully correspond to the objective reality if the first element was getting information about all objects or all relations of the world. However, such a thing does not happen.
As a result, each extravert, even if they have the best knowledge of the laws of physics, is convinced deep down that the material world’s origin and starting point is a body. Each introvert envisions this origin as a field.
Let us go back to what we said about blocks and . Block “sees” objects exactly as they are. However, it envisions relations between objects as what those relations would be if the only objects existing were the ones this block is aware of. For this block, relations are always a derivative of properties of the objects entering those relations. I.e, what those relations are envisioned as is not a reflection of the world itself, but rather an opinion, a projection. The way such an individual sees relations between objects, and feels about objects, is determined by the nature of objects said individual is aware of. The conclusion about relations is only objective insofar it relies on objective information. It is subjective, because the amount of information the individual has is subjectively limited. How accurate this conclusion is depends on the individual’s level of knowledge and erudition in this area. As the level of this block’s erudition, or awareness, rises, the objectiveness of conclusions rises as well. But since it’s not possible to become aware of every single object, it’s also not possible to have a completely accurate mental representation of factual relations between them. It’s impossible to avoid a certain rift between factual, objective relations, and the individual’s conclusions about them.
Block , reflecting logical relations between objects, gives us the opposite picture. This block gets full and accurate information about every relation between two objects. Therefore, it cannot have a completely objective mental representation of real objects, even though the objects are no less tangible than relations between them. The block reflects a material relation – one of the properties of fields connecting objects. Objects themselves it projects and produces in a somewhat idealised way. Because of this, the objects this block produces are always different from actually existing objects.
Production of the producing element has an objective and subjective nature. It’s objective insofar it relies on objective information. It’s subjective because this information is limited by subjective reality, subjective possibilities.
Contradictions are a driving force of progress
Every person’s mechanism of IM only reflects half of all aspects of reality (four aspects) with its accepting-reproducing elements. For this reason, a reflection of the objective world in the individual’s psyche is not completely objective. The rest is figured out and guessed. Let us also consider the fact that out of four accepting elements, only two are aware, “thinking”, able to prove and show where they got their knowledge. The knowledge of the other two is at the level of what we usually call experience or skills. This lowers our score of the single person’s “objectiveness” even more.
At the same time, this is exactly why a human is a creature able to create something that objectively did not exist before. Due to its subjectiviness, its inability to be objective in all aspects, a human is able to bring its own, new objectiveness into the world.
The contradiction between what objectively exists and a person’s mental representation of this objectiveness is the driving force of progress, the origin of creative capabilities (as well as mistakes) of human intelligence. It is the reason human mind can break away from what objectively exists. If it was impossible to break away like this, human creativity would not exist.
Management of IM and EM
Every block of IM is managing the organism’s EM and IM, and all of their external manifestations. This management consists, at the very least, of these parts:
- management of the organism’s functional systems, due to which the organism functions as a self-reproducing energy system;
- management of actions, due to which a person functions as a social creature, and the main purpose of which is supplying the self with necessities of life;
- management of gathering and usage of information, including its usage in programming the activity of people with other types of IM.
4. Mechanism of IM. Model A
Formation of model A of IM
Blocks of IM form rings of IM. However, let us go back a little and say that rings of IM are formed just from elements of IM. Moreover, one of the rings (static ring) is formed from static elements, the other (dynamic ring) – from dynamic elements. The function of the static ring is to reflect the world’s static phenomena. Likewise, the function of the dynamic ring is to reflect the world’s dynamic phenomena. The rings reflect two simultaneously existing sides of material reality. What we know about studies of brain asymmetry, including Roger Sperry’s research, suggests that the two rings are located in different cerebral hemispheres. Inductive thinking is inherent to the static ring, deductive thinking – to the dynamic ring. In each individual’s psyche one of the rings is more active and more aware, the other – much more passive and less aware.
In the rings of IM the elements of IM are connected by an impulse of energy which can have two directions: “+” and “–”. Those are two possible directions of transfer of information from one element of IM to the other. For this reason, on generalised fig. 4, arrows connecting two elements of IM are two-directional.
“Impulse of energy” is what we call changes in the psyche that occur as a result of information being received. It is quite possible that the arrival of information should be viewed as an energetic provocation.
On figure 5 we show the same model in a more expanded form. In model 1 the direction of information in the static ring has a “+” sign, and in the dynamic ring it has a “-” sign. For model 2, the opposite is true: the static ring has a “-” sign, and the dynamic ring has a “+” sign. Mechanism of IM itself is, in its form, analogous to inductively connected rings.
Notice that for each model, positions of homogeneous elements in the two rings are mirrored: is positioned against , against , etc. The model is “antisymmetric.”
Both model 1 and model 2 are generalised, and each serves as a starting point for the formation of eight specific models of IM. Let us use model 1 as an example and see how it happens.
As we already know, elements of IM are blocked, and each of them is either accepting or producing. Moreover, in the blocks of cyclothymic types accepting elements are always irrational, and always rational in the blocks of schizothymic types. Based on this, we can derive two models from model 1: a cyclothyme’s model 1-1 and a schizothyme’s model 1-2. Since accepting elements perceive information, we will mark them with arrows from the outside.
A person’s cyclothymia or schizothymia are innate. According to our data, the right hemisphere of a cyclothyme’s brain is static and the left is dynamic. The opposite is true for a schizothyme.
We should note that accepting elements are homogeneous between both rings of each model. Therefore, if one ring is built of extraverted blocks, the other is built of introverted blocks.
In each ring one block plays the role of a “volitional” block, the other – of a “suggestible” block. Outer blocks are formed from paired elements: one of the blocks is positioned at the top of the model, the other – at the bottom of it. Middle blocks are also formed from paired elements and are positioned between outer blocks. Based on this, model 1-1 can be split into two:
As was mentioned in the beginning of this section, in specific models of individual types of IM one of the rings can be called active, the other – passive. Based on this, we can, again, derive two models from model 1-1-1: models A of specific types of IM. For one of them the static ring is the one that’s active, for the other – the dynamic ring. We will place the passive ring at the bottom:
These models A of IM belong to individuals with complementary, dual types of psyche. One of them is an extravert, the other is an introvert. In this way, we can derive 16 specific types from generalised model A shown on fig. 4.
According to our hypotheses, for extraverts the active ring of IM is positioned in the right cerebral hemisphere, for introverts – in the left cerebral hemisphere. This is often noticeable in the individual’s facial asymmetry.
Model A is formed from four blocks of IM according to strict rules. There are 16 blocks of IM, and each of them is the first in one, and only one, model. Similarly, it’s also the second in one model, the third in one model, and the fourth in one model, and one model only. This is what conditions the fact that 16 models A of IM are formed from 16 blocks of IM. This means that it’s enough to only know one of the blocks, given you know where it’s positioned in the model, or which function it performs, to reconstruct the model in its entirety.
First two blocks (active ring) always share their static-dynamic and extraverted-introverted dichotomies. This is also true for the other two blocks (passive ring), but the dichotomies they share are opposite from those of the first blocks. All four blocks necessarily share their rational-irrational dichotomy. For this reason, to label specific types of IM, we can use symbols corresponding to the type’s first block of IM. Fig. 8 shows complete models A for two types of IM: and . This way of labeling types takes the sign of the leading ring into account.
Interaction of rings in model A of IM
Rings of IM are “charged” with information received through accepting elements. Ideally, all of them are charged with the same intensity. In this case there’s no friction between the organism’s IM and EM, because all links of the organism’s EM get “warmed up” with the same intensity. But this is only possible in perfect conditions, when the passive ring gets “charged” by other people to no lesser an extent than what the individual themselves can achieve when they “charge” their active ring. We will have to go back to this idea many times.
In model A one ring has a “+” sign, the other – a “-” sign. Do they induce energy in each other? Here’s the only thing we know so far. If the passive ring is the first to receive information, i.e. the first to get “charged”, the individual feels a rush of power and energy, and easily finds information needed by the active ring. Such a person is simultaneously active and calm, and is usually held up as a positive example by everyone else.
When the passive ring does not receive a certain program, things are worse. Information received by the active ring demands realisation and induces activity of the passive ring. The individual feels unrest. For an extravert, this unrest makes them act without regard for real circumstances. For an introvert, it makes them do nothing, also without regard for circumstances. And the reason people pay their circumstances no mind is the fact that they do not see and do not understand them.
Interaction of duals’ models A of IM
Models of IM belonging to duals can, to some extent, be called opposite models, because the elements one has in the active ring the other has in the passive ring.
Studies of interactions of such models matches what’s shown on fig. 9. The active rings provide the passive rings of the duals with conscious information. This leads to optimal social realization of both individuals and increases their vitality. When we observe them it seems like, rather than activate each other, such people mutually align the lines of their activity. This alignment leads to noticeable balancing of the extravert’s energy, and higher openness of the introvert’s activity. Information the first individual’s active static ring provides to the second’s passive static ring helps the second individual navigate the world of surrounding objects. Information the second individual’s active dynamic ring provides to the first’s passive dynamic ring helps the first individual understand which actions and emotions particular feelings should lead to.
In absence of their dual the extravert shown on fig. 9 acts thoughtlessly, chaotically, and does not receive the needed charge of positive emotions. This leads to uneven activity, volatile mood, a lot of “downtime” when they do not know what to do, what to occupy themselves with. So, even though at first glance it may seem that the undualized extravert is more active, this is not actually true. They are just less balanced, but, like any static type, they most often lack in physical activity and internal “emotional” activity. They are also not good at assessing their own state*. They never really know what ruins this state, what affects their health. Because of this any physical ailments, especially those of the digestive system, lead to incurable chronic diseases.
* Rus. “самочувствие”, “a general mental indicator of the physical and spiritual state of the individual at any given moment; consists of specific sensations and general feelings.”
In absence of their dual the introvert shown on fig. 9 does not know their own physical and mental potential capabilities. They are unable to compare themselves with other people, and are certain that everything they themselves are capable of others can accomplish as well. They also do not know how to evaluate other people, so they hustle around a lot and aimlessly, establishing all sorts of connections. It cannot be said that undualized dynamic types lack in physical activity, but this activity is fussy and does not lead to a goal. This creates constant tension that cannot be relieved without the dual and naturally leads to chronic diseases, especially heart and kidney ones. Later we will talk about the connection between chronic diseases common for different types of IM, and positions of different elements of IM in the model of IM.
Interaction of activators’ models A of IM
Every type of IM is in a relationship of activation with one other type of IM, as fig. 10 shows.
If we compare the activator’s model of IM with the dual’s model of IM, we will see that their main difference is in the direction of the impulse of energy in identical rings. The dual’s dynamic ring has a “-” sign, the activator’s dynamic ring – a “+” sign.
What does this difference give us? An actual activation. All observations confirm this. The effect of activation is usually noticeable during first interaction of people who did not know each other before then. It seems that one person’s active ring does not provide the other’s passive ring with information as much as it induces energy in it.
16 models A of IM
For fuller visibility we show all models of IM on fig. 11. The models are grouped in accordance with the sign of their static ring, which determines the model’s position in the rings of social IM. We already talked about these rings in the introductory part of the monograph. Here we will only give a reminder that the rings of social IM, or social progress (SP), are formed from rings of social supervision, each of which rings consists of four models of IM. New social experience, information that’s qualitatively new for the given society, is transmitted through the ring of social progress and flows only in one direction. Four rings of social supervision form the socion – social inductive rings, or just “rings of social progress.” The emerging inductive connection between rings suggests the idea that development of society follows laws that are similar to laws of physics. It also suggests that knowing how those laws manifest makes it possible to consciously accelerate or slow down this development. This issue is examined more broadly and sequentially in our earlier monograph “Theory of intertype relations.”
On fig. 11 models A of IM that supervise each other are positioned next to each other in a sequential order. The duals’ models are positioned next to each other vertically: extraverted ones at the top, introverted ones at the bottom. Each model is assigned its dyad’s sequence number with the letter S (static) or D (dynamic).
Socion
Now we can, once again, present the drawing of rings of social progress, this time in more detail than the one presented above. Fig. 12 shows not only how distinct types of IM are united into rings of social IM, but also who is whose requester* and who is whose supervisor.
* Recall that “social request” refers to the intertype relation of benefit, “requester” refers to the benefactor, and “receiver” refers to the beneficiary.
Dual models of IM are positioned next to each other. Solid arrows point from the supervisor to the supervisee, dotted arrows show the relation of social request.
Fig. 12 points to the idea that the leading relation in the rings of social IM is the relation of social supervision, which is unpleasant and makes the supervisee keep a distance from the dangerous, haughty supervisor. This relation is unpleasant for the supervisor as well, but for the most part it’s only due to the supervisee’s touchiness.
The relation of supervision makes one dyad keep a distance from the other dyad, or even “run away” from it. This provides optimal conditions for the transfer of social request from the requester to the receiver. When this distance is not maintained due to lack of supervisors, the requester’s and the receiver’s mechanisms of IM somehow attract one another. Fulfilment of social request becomes impossible, and what’s more, normal functioning of the dyad, and especially of the individual, becomes impossible as well. This is probably explained by structural characteristics of models A. For example, the requester’s particular ability to attract the receiver, and their ability to instill information, should, perhaps, be explained by the fact that the requester’s active ring is very similar to the active ring of the receiver’s dual, and is only one phase “ahead” of it.
On fig. 12 solid arrows point from the supervisor to the supervisee, dotted arrows point from the requester to the receiver.
Each ring of social progress can be broken down into two rings of social supervision. If, while doing so, we reduce the label of each type of IM to only one of the paired elements, we can visually examine how rings of social supervision repeat the structure of model A’s mechanism. Essentially, if the sign of the active ring of model A is specified, showing the second element is unnecessary. It’s only needed to specify the direction of the impulse in the active ring of model A.
We see various combinations of “+” and “-”, or of the directions of the impulse of energy in one type’s model of IM, and the society’s model of IM. These are the directions of the received and transferred information. Moreover, fig. 13 shows polar (super-ego) relations. These relations are formed between types that are positioned against each other in rings of social supervision, e.g. + and +, + and +.
Plus – minus
Two directions of the reception and transfer of information signals from without (“+” and “-”) are so intertwined at all stages of the formation of models of IM, that they evoke an association with the interweaving of yin and yang in eastern philosophy. Judge for yourself:
- in model A one ring is “+”, the other is “-”;
- in a dyad one type of IM is “+”, the other is “-”;
- in each ring of social progress one ring of social supervision is “+”, the other is “-”;
- in socion one ring of social progress is “+”, the other is “-”.
And if we follow the tradition of eastern medicine, we will have to add the fact that behind every element of IM there are two meridians, one of which is “+” and the other is “-”.
The following mathematical pattern is of interest:
2 elements of IM = a block of IM
4 elements of IM = a ring of model A of IM
8 elements of IM = model A of IM
16 elements of IM = a dyad
32 elements of IM = a blocking, i.e. 2 dyads that are positioned on the same axis of the ring of social progress
64 elements of IM = 2 blockings or 4 dyads of IM – a ring of social IM
128 elements of IM = 2 rings of social IM – a coil of social IM
Schizothymes – cyclothymes
Some types of IM have the static ring in the right cerebral hemisphere, and the dynamic ring in the left hemisphere. Those are irrational types of IM, or cyclothymes. The opposite is true for other types. Those are rational types of IM, or schizothymes. Due to this, cyclothymes look at unmoving objects with their left eye, and at moving objects with their right eye. This is also why only cyclothymes are consistently right-handed. Schizothymes look at unmoving objects with their right eye (e.g. when they talk to a person), and at moving objects with their left eye. By nature every schizothyme, whether they know it or not, is left-handed.
However, as we saw earlier, for schizothymes all blocks of model A start with a rational element, and for cyclothymes – with an irrational element. This means that the fact that the former have their static ring of IM in the left hemisphere, and the latter – in the right hemisphere, is not the only difference between them. If we simply switch the right and the left hemispheres, as we can imagine on our model, nothing happens that would make accepting elements switch as well. Unfortunately, we do not yet have any hypotheses about this important issue.
Asking – declaring
Half of all types of IM we categorize as asking – people who are inclined to speak with questioning intonations. The other half we categorize as declaring – those who constantly declare something, inform others about something. In each dual dyad one type is asking, the other is declaring.
All extraverts of the positive social ring and all introverts of the negative social ring are asking. We do not yet know how to explain this through the structure of these types’ model A of IM.
During communication asking types usually tire and annoy other asking types, and declaring types – other declaring types.
Simplified model A
So far we only talked about circular model A. But its diagram is fairly complex, which is why this model can be simplified for “everyday use”. Its rings can be broken and positioned in a parallel fashion, so that in each block of every type of IM the accepting element is on the left, producing – on the right. Model A of (1S) takes this form:
It should be noted that elements of the passive ring still fully mirror elements of the active ring.
As we already established, every block of IM can perform the function of the first, the second, the third and the fourth block in model A of IM. Likewise, every element of IM can perform the function of the first, the second, the third, …, the eighth element. In order to simplify matters, and to avoid confusion, we will use the following numbering system:
For example, when we characterize the model of (1S), we can write “ (1)”, “ (6)”, “ (1)” etc.
On fig. 15 we show simplified models A of all types of IM, accompanying them with the type’s full theoretical name.
The first and the second signal systems
An individual provides the outside world with information about themselves by reacting to external and internal stimuli. All phases are present in every act of physical activity: muscle excitation, tension and relaxation. All of this is an abundant stream of information about the organism’s state and reactions, as well as processes occurring with it or inside it. As we already saw, two phases of EM’s internal combustion correspond to one ring of IM, and the other two phases correspond to the other ring.
Only the passive ring provides direct, unchanged information that does not get thought over and comes through the first signal system. The signals of the passive ring are unconscious and directly reflect things that are happening inside the body. The passive ring does not provide fully conscious reactions, which means it does not provide fully conscious information.
In our point of view, the information that can be called “conscious” is, for example, the visual information that gets “separated” from the practical, concrete situation at hand. I.e, it’s the information one can remember in order to convey to others, or to think about, rather than just to use again in a repeated practical situation. Something that was perceived and remembered can only be considered conscious insofar it can be moved to the second signal system by the individual themselves.
The most the passive ring can do is act “appropriately” by mimicking others in order to fulfil vital functions without attracting too much attention. I.e, act through memorized methods and techniques. Therefore, when this ring is programmed by the dual, words do not matter as much as the dual’s ability to instill information, facial expressions, intonation, confident tone of voice and the needed sign. In some cases the questioning intonation is needed, in others – the affirmative one. The wrong intonation is contraindicated, it’s irritating.
The active ring comprehends the information, moves it from the first to the second signal system, and shares it with other members of society. The outputted information is controlled. Apart from rare cases of pathology, the individual says and shows only what they want to say and show. (Although, undoubtedly, partial breakdowns, caused by different degrees of neurotization of personality, are also possible).
The passive ring stores information it receives as experience, abilities and skills of the body, in the so-called “unconscious” form. The active ring stores information in the form of differentiated images, or in the form of abstract knowledge that is easily reconstructed in memory and, should the need arise, easily moved to the second signal system.
Since the active ring is consciously aware of its part of EM, and the passive ring is not, in the first case it’s what the individual does themselves (as written by C.G. Jung), and in the second it’s what happens to the individual.
Reflection and “re-reflection” of reality
In terms of information usage, the active ring is meant for the individual’s connection with the objective world, i.e. for direct reflection of reality when one perceives and processes information. It’s also meant for providing this information to other members of society. Thus, when the active ring reflects reality for its own needs, it receives information we will call primary. When it “re-reflects” reality with the help of the second signal system, it provides other members of society with secondary information.
Secondary information can be divided into secondary instilled and secondary subsidiary information.
Four types of information
In general, during information exchange between individuals in socion, four types of information emerge:
- The active ring provides the other’s active ring with indirect subsidiary information (first + second signal system). It’s only used after verifying it through one’s own experience.
- The active ring provides the other’s passive ring with secondary instilled information (first + second signal system). It’s used instead of one’s own experience.
- The passive ring provides the other’s active ring with primary information the recipient is consciously aware of (first signal system).
- The passive ring provides the other’s passive ring with primary information the recipient is not consciously aware of (first signal system).
Thus, a person receives, or can receive, four types of information about another person: two types of primary information (conscious and unconscious), and two types of secondary information (subsidiary and instilled).
Apparently, the active ring feeds on direct and indirect information. Main source of its information – direct reflection of the world. Indirect information plays a subsidiary role and is always verified through one’s own experience. This, however, is only true for information that’s provided by the other’s active ring; information that’s provided by the other’s passive ring cannot be called indirect because it’s given unconsciously and is not addressed to anyone in particular*. It serves as a source of direct knowledge about the individual it’s reflected off**.
* The indirect information is the information that’s given through the second signal system, which the passive ring is unable to do.
** The one from whose passive ring it comes.
As for the passive ring, it’s also provided with direct and indirect information. But in this case, the information that’s particularly relevant for the individual’s life and functioning is the indirect information provided by others’ active rings – the instilled information. Passive rings mimic identical active rings*.
* The active ring of the dual, which is identical.
The individual’s functioning in society is determined by two factors:
- Direct connection with reality. The ability to get enough direct signals from this reality, and to become a source of this information for someone else. For example, if not through facial expressions (first signal system), then through words (second signal system) and gestures (first signal system), “compelling gaze” (third signal system) or “energy strike” (fourth signal system).
- Indirect connection with reality through society. The ability to get enough indirect information from this society, and to be a source of this information for others.
Meridians
We already said that living organisms set themselves in opposition to the outside world. For this to be true, there must be some specific systems behind every element of a person’s IM, thanks to which EM happens in said person, and which are the only reason a person is able to set themselves, as a closed off energy system, in opposition to the EM of the outside world.
It seems to us that eastern medicine came closest to answering this question: each element of IM corresponds to two paired meridians and the body systems covered by them, or to one of the two most important extraordinary meridians*. According to our hypothesis, every phase of IM is realized with assistance of the corresponding meridians, and the organs behind those meridians, in this order:
* Governing vessel and conception vessel.
— Governing Vessel (- or yang) — Stomach Channel of Foot (-) and Spleen/Pancreas* Channel of Foot (+) — Bladder Channel of Foot (-) and Kidney Channel of Foot (+) — Gallbladder Channel of Foot (-) and Liver Channel of Foot (+) — Conception Vessel (+ or yin) — Heart Channel of Hand (+) and Small Intestine Channel of Hand (-) — Pericardium Channel of Hand (+) and Triple Burner Channel of Hand (-) — Lung Channel of Hand (+) and Large Intestine Channel of Hand (-)
* “Pancreas” in original text. In traditional Chinese medicine spleen and pancreas count as one organ.
We noticed that the body systems corresponding to elements of the passive ring of IM are the ones that are most prone to malfunction. All static types are predisposed to diseases of systems that correspond to elements , and all dynamic types – to diseases of systems that correspond to elements .
It’s not hard to notice an obvious connection between the way a person feels in society, what they lack most, and their chronic diseases. Difficulties in relationships with people – heart or small intestine are affected; constant lack of positive emotions – stomach and pancreas; hunger for physical self-fulfillment – gallbladder or liver; no opportunities to act in accordance with one’s own will – kidneys.
Why does this happen? EM is determined by IM just as much as IM is determined by EM. Because of selectivity of their IM, i.e. the fact that one ring of IM is active and the other is passive, each individual is simultaneously a physically separate creature, and an informationally connected to other people member of society, a creature whose functioning is determined not only by their own IM, but also by the smoothness of intertype relations between people. Due to selectivity of the human psyche in relation to information from without, cooperation of people in the process of IM is not the only thing that’s necessary – what’s also necessary is good organization of this cooperation. A person is simultaneously a separate unit, a half of a dyad, and one sixteenth of the socion. The psyche can integrate into the outside world selectively, but for the body such selectivity is contraindicated: it must integrate into the surrounding process of EM evenly, with the entirety of its anatomy and all its systems. This is what leads to contradictions and diseases of links of EM that are less provided with information and less sure of their own activity.
Fig. 16* somewhat confirms the fact that the above hypothesis (about specific elements of IM corresponding to specific meridians) is logical from the perspective of body functioning and the entire system of meridians. This figure shows that functioning of specific meridians in time does not contradict EM, and the direction of said functioning even corresponds to the direction of the organism’s phases of EM.
* This diagram is based on the traditional Chinese body clock.
We place and in the middle of the diagram because extraordinary meridians do not have their own time of functioning.
Knowing which aspect of the world is reflected in which meridian suggests an interesting hypothesis. Introverted meridians go through the legs, and extraverted – through the arms. Since extraverts are generally more adept at understanding introverted aspects of the outside world (the object), and introverts are more adept at understanding its extraverted aspects, it appears that extraverts have more sense “in their legs”, and introverts – “in their arms”. Perhaps this explains the more “settled” way of life of the introverts, as well as their high level of patience towards work requiring constant attention and “manual conscientiousness”. It might also explain the fact that extraverts often think better when they are in motion. Recall famous extraverted speakers who were only speaking while walking around the stage.
Classic Socionics 
