On Detachment

[heinel]

INTPs are a quiet bunch, isn't it :P

This is probably only relevant to people who liked reading. 

I have a question.  People had always described INTPs with detachment.  While I generally agree with the statement, I think I found an exception (maybe), at least for myself.  When I read an angsty piece of fiction, and especially if the author is vivid when describing psychological or physical distress, I tend to get afflicted by the emotion and feel really awful for it.  There really is no good reasons for it but I'd just brood over it for a bit.  (If it made no sense, This was what prompted the question)

So what was it, I am actually not as detached as I thought? I am influenced to feel something I don't? Or is this how it works?

Comments

[dracodraconis]

Quite a few lists have been quiet since the start of summer. Hopefully things pick up again in September.

As for their detached, this could refer to either of two aspects:
1) Objective analysis, something Thinkers tend to favour, involves stepping outside the problem being analyzed.
2) On an interpersonal level, INTPs' inferior function is Extroverted Feeling. Unless they work at it, they tend to be least comfortable with emotional displays so may favour a certain detachment in relationships until they feel "safe" with the other person.

You (like me) may be a person for whom fiction comes alive internally. The world and it's characters are recreated inside your head. This is a highly subjective experience so it's not surprising that the INTP detachment might not hold in this situation. In fact, there are some non-fiction books that I can't read because I have a strong emotional reaction to them. For example, I picked up a book on the Blackwater mercenaries and had to put it down after the first chapter because it was making me angry. The author had vividly described a scene in which almost a dozen unarmed people were gunned down on a city street.


Differing opinions? Other ideas? Let's get some discussion going!

[heinel]

Ah, that made sense.

Though I am usually okay with non-fiction, even holocaust images. I did that for history class once and some people, including the instructor who no doubt had watched it more than once, actually cried during the documentary, or they left halfway through. The class was all doom and gloom afterward. It almost made me feel bad for keeping a straight face.

I wonder though, for people who have strong Fe or Fi, if they have the same frustration with not being able to cope with angsty novels or things like that.

[plaidwhispers]

i agree with the above comment that the detachment refers to decision making sort of thinking rather than.. that which is designed to rouse emotions.

when i read fiction, i get intense feelings. which is why i cannot, for the life of me finish reading Lolita in Tehran. the sense of rage against the injustice is.. extremely distracting to say the least.

even though my feelings are almost ridiculously easy to be affected, when something 'big' happens, i'm perfectly calm.
i see blood drenched cat, i clean him up and search for wounds. then deal with the floor.
thief is running away from my house, i ask for surveillance cam recordings and what is stolen.
when a friend not close to me breaks down, i demand to know details of what happened instead of letting the person create a bigger mess. unless i'm part of the picture. then.. oops. two very emotionally distressed girls.

which brings me to point out that it is relationships that (usually) cause these distressed feelings. it makes me wonder if an INTP has subconsciously chosen to avoid relating to people on personal levels to maintain their rationalizing abilities. which leads people to believe INTPs lack emotions.