The Enneagram of Consciousness and Jungian Psychology 1- 1997
Introduction
First, we define Jung's four functions of consciousness (sensation, intuition, thinking, and feeling) and show the dynamic polarity between sensation and intuition in the perception dyad, and between thinking and feeling in the judgment dyad. Second, we introduce Jung's two attitudes of extraversion and introversion, and show that they lead to eight Jungian function-attitudes or processes of consciousness. The Jungian psychological Persona, and the Gurdjieff physical moving function are introduced to model Enneagram Point Three. Third, we introduce a detailed Jungian structure at each Enneagram Point. The structure has two dyads for the dominant attitude of Persona, and two dyads for the unconscious attitude of Shadow. Fourth, we then use this model to give insight into Enneagram of Personality Types, and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
The Four Jungian Functions
The four Jungian functions 2 of consciousness are shown below in four quadrants of a circle. The sensation function receives physiological
information from real objects. We see, hear, taste, touch, and smell real objects outside the body, such as apples. We sense real objects inside the body, such as muscle states and impulses. Sensation tells us that something is, but not what it is. The thinking function recognizes and tells us what that something is. The feeling or valuing function evaluates something and tells us what it is worth to us, and whether we like or dislike it. The intuition function perceives possibilities for real, subjective or intentional objects 2 in a situation. Intuition makes up for what you cannot sense or think or feel because it lacks reality at present. Sensation and intuition are an irrational function dyad, but thinking and feeling are a rational function dyad, according to Jung. The dyad members are shown on opposite sides of a circle.
The Jungian functions form triads with a first function from the first
dyad, and a second and third function from the second dyad. Jung's great
insight was that the fourth function from the first dyad is excluded.
For example, if the sensation function is dominant, then the triad functions are sensation, thinking, and feeling, but intuition is excluded. The fourth function has a use deficit. It is difficult to differentiate and bring into consciousness because it can oppose the work of the first dominant function. A Psychological Type forms when the first function and attitude has excessive use. The second or third functions can support the first function's goals if they have an intermediate level of conscious use between deficit and excess.
The Jungian Function-Attitudes, Jungian Persona, Mind places conscious attention on objects outside the body with an
extraverted attitude, and on objects within the mind and body with an
introverted attitude. This creates two Jungian processes for each Jungian
function for a total of eight conscious processes on the Enneagram of
Consciousness below. The Persona 3 is a ninth extraverted Jungian
process that is assigned to Enneagram Point Three along with Gurdjieff's moving functions. These nine assignments are not arbitrary. The first or
dominant Jungian processes of consciousness for Point One, Two, Five, Six, Seven agree exactly with Don Richard Riso's Jungian Type assignments. 4
Notice that four extraverted processes of sensation, thinking,
intuition, and feeling are located at Points Seven, One, Four, and Two on the enneagram circle. The Enneagram Law of Seven prescribes that these four extraverted processes are connected by three enneagram arrows to form the 7-1-4-2 line sequence. For example, extraverted sensation (Se) is the superior process at Enneagram Point Seven. Here you taste fruit from a tree of good or bad apples. But before you taste the apple you must move your mental and physical attention to Enneagram Point Three. You pick real fruit, move it to your mouth and then chew it using Three's moving functions. The fall comes if the apple cannot be chewed or digested easily. Then a tooth-ache or stomach ache might signal pain to consciousness with introverted sensation which is Point Eight's superior Jungian process. Point Eight is the fifth Jungian process in the sequence 7-1-4-2-8, and is connected to Point Two by a fourth arrow. Point Five is the sixth Jungian process in the 7-1-4-2-8-5 event sequence. Five is a rational reflective thinking point that is connected by a fifth arrow to Point Eight, and by a sixth arrow to Point Seven. The four introverted processes of thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition are located at Enneagram Points Five, Six, Eight, and Nine. Enneagram Points Five and Eight are included in the Law of Seven hexad pattern, but Points Six and Nine are included with Point Three in the Law of Three equilateral triangle pattern.
It is important to remember that Jung defined any felt internal
physiological state of the body to be a sensation, and not feelings. A
head, heart, or stomach ache is a sensation and not a sentiment or
feeling. Point Eight monitors background internal body sensations or states. Point Three is where emotions move out and appear as facial expressions or body gestures, and where physical control is executed after a volitional action decision. Point Three expresses the psychological Jungian Persona and the physical Gurdjieff moving function Jung contributed to the language for values with the feeling function (not feelings) that is extraverted at Point Two and introverted at Point Six. Feeling and thinking are rational functions if used consciously. Preferring strawberry ice cream instead of vanilla ice cream can be a rational value judgment.
We can gain insight into the unconscious behavior of each Enneagram
Personality Type by examining the dyadic Jungian structure at each point
on the Enneagram of Consciousness as shown below. Jung built the Taoist
(yang-yin) philosophy of opposing dyads 5 into his psychological
system of consciousness.
Point Three's extraverted moving function [6] can send out (Me.t) or
receive in (Me.r) matter or information. The most basic bidirectional
instinctive-moving function is breathing. We automatically breathe in
oxygen and breathe out carbon-dioxide to live. The most unique
learned-moving bidirectional function is speaking and listening, or
writing and reading to communicate information and meaning between people. Motivating people and conveying meaning with language is a psychological aspect of the Jungian Persona.
If the fourth Jungian function is unconscious, then its two unconscious function-attitudes are the fourth process in the Persona quad and the eighth process in the Shadow quad. The fourth process has a chance of contributing creatively to the Persona because it is a complementary opposite process, but the eighth process cannot complement the first process's goals in anyway. The set of complementary-opposite first and fourth Jungian processes is shown as two concentric circles. For example, Enneagram Point Seven's extraverted sensation provides information from real objects in the world. Seven's complementary opposite introverted intuition may provide information from memory that helps Seven to understand the extraverted sensations.
Discussion of Complementary Opposites
Jungian irrational sensation is the superior function at Point Seven
(Se)and Point Eight (Si), irrational intuition is the superior function atPoint Four (Ne) and Point Nine (Ni), rational thinking is the superior function at Point One (Te) and Point Five (Ti), and rational feeling is the uperior function at Point Two (Fe) and Point Six (Fi). Dyads formed by Points Eight and Four, Nine and Seven, One and Six, and Two and Five have a special relationship. Each Point's Persona contains an inside-out version of its complementary- opposite Point's Persona. For example, Point Eight's Persona Quadrant has Si, Te, Fi, and Ne as its first, second, third, and fourth processes, but Point Four's Persona has Ne, Fi, Te, and Si. The Jungian structure of each Enneagram Point contains the Law of Seven Enneagram arrows within its Persona or Shadow quads.
The Enneagram of Consciousness predicts the sensitivity of each Enneagram Point to their Jungian irrational sensation processes for physical internal body states. In the Instinctive Triad the 'felt' introverted sensations (Si) is in 1st and 2nd place for Points Eight and One, but in 8th place for Point Nine. This is why Type Nine is different from Type Eight from an instinctive point of view. The passions assigned by Oscar Ichazo 6 are shown below with their Jungian sensation function-attitudes on the Enneagram of Consciousness. The meaning of the passions is correlated with the degree of consciousness of two sensation processes at each Point.
The Enneagram of Consciousness predicts that many different MBTI Types 7 will be reported in studies of many people with the same Enneagram Type. The Enneagram of Consciousness explains MBTI and Enneagram Survey results in the Enneagram Monthly 8 and predicts which inferior Jungian 4th function-attitude would be erroneously reported as an Enneagram Point's superior Jungian function-attitude. This Typing problem is difficult to resolve if different Enneagram Typing Methods use different Type theory and different standards for designing Enneagram Type questionnaires. The Enneagram of Consciousness shows that all Jungian processes are potentially present at each point but in decreasing Levels of Consciousness. The dyad of first and fourth complementary opposite processes provides the core for Enneagram Type.
A person will not report their dominant Jungian function as their
preferred function on an MBTI questionnaire if they prefer using their third or fourth function at their present state of Jungian Individuation. This reporting error is not uncommon for people with superior sensation, and reflects individual freedom to choose. This is the natural result of
the Jungian Individuation process. It's the real pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The individuated person can freely chooses Jungian functions as they are needed by the work at hand. MBTI indirectly measures the first and second Jungian function and attitude quite accurately when these preferences are quite clear, and when the third or fourth function preferences are not reported.
Marie-Louise von Franz, the leading spokesperson for Jungian
psychology, describes individuation:
The RHETI resolves ambiguity when MBTI preferences are not clear because the RHETI predicts the relative preference for all eight Jungian Types and the ninth Jungian Persona. MBTI Type can then be calculated using definitions and RHETI data for the nine Jungian processes using the Enneagram of Consciousness as a map.
Mistyping Errors and Confusion
Mistyping is a serious problem that I discussed with an MBTI
professional at the 2nd International Enneagram Conference. She was surprised that extraverted intuition is the dominant first Jungian process at Enneagram Point Four, but only the complementary-opposite fourth Jungian process at Point Eight on the Enneagram of Consciousness. 'Where are ENFP and INFP on the enneagram?', she asked. 'ENFP is at Enneagram Point Four and INFP is at Point Six', I said.
Next morning she excitedly told me that her husband had just discovered he had been mistyped as Enneagram Type Four. But he was correctly retyped as Enneagram Type Six by a panel the previous day. She said my prediction for true MBTI Type on the Enneagram of Consciousness was confirmed by his panel experience. He said his head was overloaded with information and couldn't hold anymore. This was Six's rational introverted feeling judgment preventing overload from more input with its Point Seven wing.
The Enneagram of Consciousness defines Type Four's Persona structure as dominant Ne first, Fi second, Te third, and inferior Si fourth. Six's Persona structure is dominant Fi first, Ne Second, Si third, and inferior Te fourth. Six in the Head Triad might be anxious or fearful, while Four in the Heart Triad might be melancholy or envious. Extraverted Intuition provides meaning for spoken or written languages. We can hear a foreign language with Point Seven's extraverted sensation, but we will not understand the intentional meaning of spoken words if the external meaning map from extraverted intuition is missing.
It is not meaningful to compare MBTI Type with Enneagram Personality
Type if a person is developing their third or fourth Jungian function and
report them as a preference. It is not meaningful to compare MBTI and the
Enneagram in detail because the Enneagram is a nine process system with
Jungian Persona and Gurdjieff moving function, but MBTI excludes the
Gurdjieff moving function and Jungian Persona. MBTI lacks the enneagram's
three-triad, three-brain context for grounding Jungian functions. It
lacks the Enneagram Rules of Three and Seven for modeling habitual patterns of behavior and ways of learning new information. Enneagram Personality Type and Jungian Psychological Type are close family members. Jungian Type is not contextually grounded with Instinctual, Emotional, and Intellectual Triads, or the Laws or Three and Seven, but this article shows that Jungian psychology and the Enneagram are natural partners.
The Enneagram of Consciousness, discovered by Walter Joseph Geldart,
integrates the enneagram process model of John Bennett with the structure
model of Enneagram Personality Types using Jungian psychological
functions and Gurdjieff moving functions. This extends the enneagram information system from psychology to philosophy and science, and confirms Gurdjieff's contention that the enneagram is an archetypal symbol for integrating all types of information into whole patterns. Triad patterns of information are fundamental to the Enneagram, and Fuzzy Logic systems.
In October, Walter presented a paper on Fuzzy Information, Man, and the Enneagram to a scientific audience at the 1997 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics. He is a Riso-Hudson Certified Enneagram Teacher (1997, with honors).
1. This paper first appeared in 'Full Circle', Volume 3, Number 2, in the Fall of 1997. 'Full Circle' is the Journal Newsletter of the Riso-Hudson Professional Enneagram Association. back to text
2. C. J. Jung, Analytical Psychology - Its Theory and Practice, Vintage Books, 1968, pp.1-50. back to text
3. R. H. Hopcke, Persona - Where Sacred Meets Profane, Shambala, 1995. back to text
4. D. R. Riso, with R. Hudson, Personality Types - Using the Enneagram
for Self-Discovery, Houghton- Mifflin, 1996, pp. 441-443. back to text
5. D. Rosen, M.D., The Tao of Jung - The Way of Integrity, Viking, 1996; and 6. P.D. Ouspensky, The Fourth Way, Vintage Books, 1957, pp. 53-68; and 7. W. J. Geldart, Enneagram Monthly - The Map Between Enneagram
and Jungian Type; Bennett and Understanding Wholes, Enneagram Monthly,
January 1996, page 4. Proposed Mapping Between Jungian and Enneagram Type, Enneagram Monthly, March 1996, pp. 16-17. Continuing the Search for
Common Ground Between the Enneagram and the MBTI, Enneagram Monthly, April 1996, pp.10-11; and 8. A. Issacs & J. Fudjack, Demographic Data Results: The Enneagram and MBTI Comparison Chart, Enneagram Monthly, March 1996, pp.12-13. A chart summarizing the EM findings is included on this webpage. back to text
9. M. Von Franz, Psychotherapy, Shambala, 1993, pp. 52-53.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||