René Descartes MBTI Personality Type
Personality
What personality type is René Descartes? René Descartes is an INTP personality type in MBTI, 5w6 - so/sp - 593 in Enneagram, RCOAI in Big 5, LII in Socionics.
¶ I see Socrates to be a philosophical archetype for the mindset of the ENTP. I see the same for Descartes regarding INTPs. ¶ INTPs are introverted types, so their main psychological goal is to achieve a Ti-Si consciousness. Ne is an auxiliary function, so it's purpose is to aid the dominant function. For all types, the auxiliary function is only used as a means to an end; that end is to further develop the dominant function. But the aux function also acts as a bridge between the dominant and tertiary because they're in the same attitude. • For the INTP, this manifests as a quest filled with epistemological uncertainty in order to eventually reach certainty. In other words, the INTP's Ne exists as an exploration of hypotheses to reach a solidified foundation of knowledge (Ti-Si). ¶ Each and every hypothesis that Ne conceives in a situation are as equally valid in their own right, so some tendency of skepticism is innate in Ne's psychology—one angle looks promising, but this other angle looks just as promising. • So, the INTP's solution to this problem is to build a rock-solid foundation of certain knowledge. ¶ Ti and Si have the same underlying goal in mind, which is to guarantee whether something is the case or not. But Ti does this through checking if something is "mathematically" consistent—if each element in a structure has zero internal inconsistency. Si does it through inspection, cross-checking, cross-examining, and finally solidifying their knowledge of something after verifying its reliability. • So for the INTP, Si is there to solidify Ti's principles. ¶ By now, one should see the resemblance of my previous points compared to Descartes' philosophical goal. A considerable amount of sources state that Descartes is not a pure skeptic. These sources are correct. Descartes is a foundationalist, which very much appeals to the INTP's psychology. • Of course, not all INTP's are foundationalists, because foundationalism is a belief: Jungian typology talks about mental structure rather than mental content. — But I think that foundationalism is a prime representation of the INTP's psychology. ¶ Descartes' method of doubt is what is says it is: a method—a means to an end. His end was to reach a solid foundation of truth. • As suggested before, the auxiliary function is instrumental. Aux Ne questions the possibilities of "dogmatic" knowledge to arrive at a secure foundation of knowledge (Ti-Si). Again, you will see this in his philosophy.
Biography
René Descartes (31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. Dubbed the father of modern western philosophy, much of subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day. A native of the Kingdom of France, he spent about 20 years (1629–49) of his life in the Dutch Republic after serving for a while in the Dutch States Army of Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange and the Stadtholder of the United Provinces.
