Information Dichotomies

Rationality / Irrationality

Information can be meaningfully divided into either rational judgments or irrational perceptions. A judgment is a normative statement about what a person thinks or feels, while a perception is a descriptive statement about what is or is not physically present. This can be better articulated as an extension of the “is-ought” problem in philosophy, wherein David Hume famously articulated in A Treatise of Human Nature that it is impossible to infer normative (evaluative) statements from descriptive (non-evaluative) ones. Broadly speaking, the Logical information elements make judgments about the external accuracy (Te) and internal consistency (Ti) of factual information, whereas the Ethical information elements make judgments about the moods (Fe) or character (Fi) of people. By contrast, the Sensory information elements deal with the intensity (Se) or balance (Si) of our physical environment in relation to our five senses and the Intuitive information elements deal with the imagined possibilities (Ne) and future outcomes (Ni) of what is not physically present, but could be.

Abstract / Involved

Both rational judgments and irrational perceptions can be further subdivided according to whether they are viscerally experienced (invoking feelings of pleasure or pain) or interacted with mentally (removed from feelings of pleasure and pain). It should be clear enough that the Sensing and Ethical information is derived from visceral experience and the Intuitive and Logical information, from detached thinking.

External / Internal

A similar subdivision between the rational judgments and irrational perceptions can be made by examining whether the type of information originates from the outside world or in own minds. It should be similarly clear that Sensing and Logical information is more specific and explicit, while Intuitive and Ethical information is more general and interpretive.

Extroverted / Introverted

One of the most important modifiers to information metabolism is the information dichotomy of Extroversion/Introversion. The abstracted definition, per Aushra, is that Extroverted elements are about phenomenological objects whereas Introverted elements are about their interrelationships. A simpler, more salient definition is that Extroverted elements expand the quantity of information by accumulating more of it and Introverted elements refine the quality of information by filtering out what is unnecessary from what has already been gathered. This is also similar to the idea that Extroverts get their energy by interacting with the outside world and are more easily drained from a lack of stimulation, while Introverts get their energy by spending time in their inner world and are more easily drained by the over-stimulation. Each of the four Jungian categories (Sensing, Intuition, Logic and Ethics) has its own Extroverted and Introverted manifestations, thus accounting for all 8 information elements.