The Fantastic 4

Everyone has inherited qualities - like height, hair color, gender, and intelligence. What most people don't realize is that we all also have inherited preferences, and the combination of these inherited preferences largely determines adult identity.

Why should you learn about this? Because it takes a lot of energy to be someone you're not - and that's energy you need for your life.

THE TEST
There are 4 categories, and in each category there are 2 options. Remember, it's about preferences; nobody is all one or the other in any of the 4 categories. Also, in each category, the preference can be strong or mild. Try this simple test:
1.) When feeling drained, what do you need to do to re-charge? If sitting quietly and reading or writing energizes you more, then write down "I"; if walking and talking energizes you more, then write down "E".
2.) If you have a tendency to be sensible and practical, write down "S"; if you prefer possibilities and meanings, write down "N".
3.) If what you think about something is more important, write down "T"; if how you feel about something is more important, write down "F".
4.) The last is about schedules: if you want to explore and discover, write down "P"; if making a schedule and sticking to it is more important to you, write down "J".

THE KEY
I = Introverted, E= Extroverted, S = Sensible (or Sensation, as in physical sensation, as we will see), N = iNtuitive (because the I is already taken by Introverted), T = Thinker (or Tough-Minded), F = Feeling (or Friendly), P = Perceiving, J = Judging.

So, you now have you 4 letter code. (For example, I am an INTP.) The combinations automatically form into certain groups.

THE DIVIDING LINE
The main difference is between iNtuitive types and Sensible/Sensation types.

The S can stand for Sensible - as in Practical - which is generally a good thing, but can lead to certain problems; there's nothing "practical" about resisting The Evil. The S can also stand for Sensation - as in physical sensation. Sensation types are concrete in word and thought; abstract thought is thought of as something to be indulged in only after practical considerations are taken care of, and even then not too much. This group is further divided into 2 groups, depending on whether they like to stick to a schedule (SJ) or not (SP).

The SJ's are people who have a strong, fundamental faith or trust in the institutions of society: marriage, church, government, even any company that has been around a long time. Even though they are Sensation types, the Judging preference makes them resist physical pleasure, which causes the creation of "work-arounds" - sanctifying sex via religion, for example. They cannot choose whether to have these feelings or not, it is their identity. SJ's have a strong need to see themselves as good people. Can have a tendency to worry.
Pros: Bring stability to society, thereby making order possible.
Cons: Inherent trust in institutions and society causes failure to love the truth; generally not very interested in learning about themselves (like this subject, for example).

The SP's are free of that SJ reticence, and revel in physical sensations (esp. pleasure) in a way that the SJ's find both alluring and immoral. SP's who have a preference for Feeling are artists - composers and performers . SP's who prefer Thinking are promoters and sculptors.
Pros: Entertaining, fun, beautify and inspire with artful touch.
Cons: "In the moment" consciousness can make them unreliable; no inherent resistance to the Evil Culture.

The iNtuitives have an inherited preference for possibilities and meanings, whereas being practical or sensible is less important to them. This disdain for practicality can cause friction with the Sensation types. Abstract ideas are appealing to the iNtuitives; concrete words and thoughts seem "heavy"/restrictive. The iNtuitives are further divided into 2 groups, depending on whether they prefer Thinking (NT) or Feeling (NF).

The NT's are calm, rational, scientific and objective. Their relationship with their feelings - both physical and emotional - is conflicted, not because of morals (like the SJ's), but because the feelings are not rational. This affects their sex lives and emotional relationships in a way the Sensation types can't understand. The love of an NF is potentially life-changing for an NT.
Pros: Objectivity makes them very fair; remain calm in the face of problems; science improves the lives of all.
Cons: Other 3 types are not Rational, so NT's have a hard time respecting their rules or ideas; obsession with possibilities makes them forget practical considerations; can be ruthless.

The NF's are deeply caring and compassionate in a way that the other 3 types will never experience. Seek to actualize the self/become the ideal or "true" self. Make great counselors, healers, and therapists.
Pros: See the potential in everyone; love me, love you, love us, love them, love life, love love.
Cons: subconsciously project their essential goodness onto others (even when others don't deserve it); deep connection to spirit makes them forget sometimes that all non-NF humans have a long way to go before we get there; strong emphasis on love can make them susceptible to the "attack on standards".

The Fantastic 4
All 4 types bring good qualities to society; the problem lies in members of some groups trying to pretend they're in other groups (like when SJ's try to be scientists, for example). The comic and movie "The Fantastic 4" illlustrates this beautifully:
Ben Grimm is an SJ - gaurdian, protector, solid as a rock.
Johnny Storm is an SP - fun-loving, entertaining, always looking to "party", but in his element he is truly brilliant.
Reed Richards is an NT - the scientist who invents fantastic technology.
Sue Richards is an NF - caring and compassionate, these qualities are not valued in our society so that she feels invisible at times (but she has invisible power also).

All 4 types must work together to defeat the Dr. Dooms of our world - the Psychopaths.

Psychopaths, Sociopaths, and other sensation types

PSYCHOPATHS
A psychopath is an individual who has an inherited neurological disorder which makes it impossible for them to grow a conscience. It doesn't matter whether the psychopath has good, loving parents and a middle-class socio-economic background (e.g. Jeffrey Dahmer) or suffered some abuse or psychopathic or sociopathic training; the psychopath only turns out one way no matter what you do - biologically human, psychologically monster. The point that seems to be most difficult to grasp for those just learning about this subject is that the psychopaths have all the faculties of human consciousness (including the Interpreter and Projection) except one - a conscience.

The conservative estimate is that they make up 1% of the population; in the U.S.A., with a population over 300 million people, that's at least 3 million psychopaths. Most of them are not recognized as such - except by their victims (and sometimes not even then).

The Psychopath derives pleasure directly from harming others, as an end in itself.

An SJ can be a psychopath, and will have all the qualities of an SJ and all the qualities of a psychopath. This is a real trap for the vast majority of SJ's, because they will focus on the way in which the psychopath is like them; their SJ-ness (faith in institutions and belief in the inherent goodness of everyone - "God don't make junk") will make them "refuse to see" the ways in which he or she is unlike them.

An SP can be a psychopath too, in which case the SJ's will much more easily recognize the fact; the SJ's will see that the psychopath SP, being an SP, is already unlike them and therefore the "psychopathy" will be easier to admit. For all others (SP's, NT's, and NF's) the psychopath SP is very dangerous; he or she can be very charming, and the lack of self-consciousness can seem like confidence to the un-burned.

SOCIOPATHS
The sociopath, as the name implies, was socialized to be that way. It is a man-made fact, and therefore could have been different, and (maybe) can be changed. There is a genetic component, in that all sociopaths are "sensation types" (specifically SP's), but they did not have to turn out that way, unlike the psychopaths.

The SP's - having an inherited preference for physical sensation instead of intuition, but not a preference for sticking to a schedule - have no inherent resistance to an Evil Culture (a Culture of Lying and of leaving people to fend for themselves). Not all SP's are sociopaths, but the phenomenon seems to be increasing with each generation.

In some ways, the Sociopath is like the Psychopath, only less so: lying, cheating, stealing, making promises to get what he/she wants then promptly forgetting what was promised in return.

The Sociopath uses others callously as a means to an end, but does not derive pleasure directly from harming others.

Anyone who feels free to do whatever they want - and is not a psychopath - is a sociopath. How many sociopaths are there in the U.S.A. right now? Could it be 10 million? Could it be more?

There are no SJ Sociopaths, but the SJ's very SJ-ness can make them support The Evil if the psychopaths and sociopaths can get control of the political and economic institutions. This is what has already happened.

EVOLUTION
There are no NT or NF psychopaths or sociopaths. The inherited defect of the psychopath precludes being Rational or deeply compassionate; whereas the inherited preference for intuition over being practical gives an inherent resistance to the "sociopathic training" of the Evil Culture.

SUGGESTED READING
The Mask of Sanity by Hervey Cleckley - the classic work on the subject - is out of print but available free online. Thank God for the internet! (And thank you, you krazy kassiopaeans.)

Available at libraries and bookstores everywhere:

Without Conscience by Robert Hare.

Snakes In Suits by Paul Babiak and Robert Hare.

The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout.

Cleckley, Hare, and Babiak all refer to both psychopaths and sociopaths as "Psychopaths"; Stout refers to both psychopaths and sociopaths as "Sociopaths". Every experience in this world is an opportunity to practice discernment.

Update 10/28/11!

The Heritability of Psychopathy: Implications and Considerations