5.3

JPT Research Digest

Sex, Madness, and Spirituality.


Cremen, S. (2020). Sex, madness, and spirituality: The introverted intuitive and individuating with the inferior function. Personality Type in Depth, (42).
https://typeindepth.com/2020/12/sex-madness-and-spirituality/

Although not published in a peer-reviewed academic journal, a criterion for inclusion in the Research Digest summaries, this paper is worthy of note. Not only is the topic of sex intriguing on its own, but when connected to personality type, the author describes a path to individuation. With a clear grasp of personality type theory, Cremen articulates eloquently her encounter with extraverted Sensation in the inferior function position and how it has influenced her individuation journey. Writing from the perspective of someone with INFJ preferences, the paper explores the relationship between the dominant function of introverted Intuition (Ni) with inferior extraverted Sensation (Se) through spirituality and sex. Interwoven with cinema, biography, the contrasexual archetypes of anima/animus, and the mythological expression of Dionysiac madness and ecstasy, the essay presents type and archetype as forming a bridge to the unconscious, potentially healing the split between sexuality and spirituality not only for people who prefer INFJ or INTJ, but as a model for unifying the psyche in all types.

Diving deep into the inferior function, Cremen explores how Se as the inferior function seems to cause a supercharged sexual experience, positive or negative. The author articulates a novel insight: the dominant function of future-oriented Ni, which is naturally connected to the archetypal world of the unconscious, comes face to face with the inferior function of Se, a doorway to the unconscious, which is grounded in the present through the tangible world of body and matter. Vision (Ni) and experience (Se) unite through sexuality revealing not only personal shadow, but collective as well. In conclusion, Cremen writes: "Perhaps nothing spins us about so much as sex. It entails the dissolution of boundaries physically and psychically, propelling us into a union with Otherness" (p. 8). This essay demonstrates the depth of richness and novelty that can be revealed when psychological type is analyzed through Jung's structure of the psyche.


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Journal of Psychological Type® Research Digest (JPT-RD) is made available through Myers & Briggs Foundation, worldwide publisher. The editorial team includes Kesstan Blandin, PhD, Yvonne Nelson-Reid, PhD, Logan Abbitt, MLIS, and Purnima Sims.

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