Has anyone ever really considered and researched where these notions come from? I have read through Jung's work and he never references to Si being past oriented and Ni being future oriented. He only says that both functions use images and impressions, not giving a time line. However both Ne and Se are present-oriented as are all extraverting types because you must be present oriented to deal with an object. Once we get past considering the possibilities, reading threads of meaning, etc we're no longer using Ne, but another function because we are no longer engaged with the object in the present. Ne will consider future possibilities, but there is no time line connected. The fact that Se will actually act on the possibilities is what makes it appear more present oriented. But these terms are relative if one considers a possibility to actually take three weeks from now, and the other four weeks from now. I know that Berens and Nardi makes the claim of past and present, but I have yet to determine where that may have originated.
For the record, my original post about SP, SJ, NP, and NJ time orientation was not based on Jung. I derived it peripherally from something I read about the cognitive processes (although I have theoretical objections to them now) and from something on 'time and SJs' from another great researcher.
These were my observations based on function descriptions and personal experiences. Si is always about comparing the present to past experiences. Ni-- I don't have it, but the descriptions make it sound like it is future-oriented. (almost like a psychic ability). Ne is present oriented only in the sense that it is dealing with information being presented in the present moment. If the present moment is reading a history book, Ne might start looking for patterns in the past. Likewise it may look for patterns in future-oriented data.
Yeah, I no longer think it's accurate to break down type into cognitive processes but I will say that my time orientation realization came from studying a notecard I wrote that had the following on it:
notes said:
for Si users, energy comes from staying with the recalled image (SJ)
for Se users, energy comes from following new sensory stimulation (SP)
for Ni users, energy comes from staying with the vision (NJ)
for Ne users, energy comes from following emergent possibility (NP)
So, I was staring at this notecard one evening this summer, and I had this moment of clarity where I realized the following:
A person who directs energy toward 'staying with the recalled image' is going to have a time orientation where lines of information converge in the present moment. So, if you think of it in terms of a Cartesian plot, energy comes from extending the same function into the present coordinate.
A person whose energy comes from following sensory stimulation doesn't have a function to follow. That person is a dot on the plot because they are contained within the present moment.
A person who directs energy toward 'staying with a vision' is going be energized by taking in information in the present moment that converges at a specific coordinate that occurs in the future. Energy comes from registering the current point (Xo, Yo), quickly determining what function will lead you to destination (Xf, Yf) and most importantly, sticking with that function.
And finally, a person whose energy comes from 'following emergent possibilities' is not going to be anchored on either side, somewhat like an SP. Unlike an SP (who absorbs info from within the kernel that represents the present), however, the NP will be absorbing and integrating information from past, present, and future. Any piece of information is relevant regardless of where it occurs in time because energy comes from absorbing the 'whole context' and inferring. That's what I mean, when I say 'divorced from time.'
The question that all of this information answers is "how do NJs, NPs, SPs, and SJs determine what is 'relevant' to their world?"
I'll think about how to elaborate on this, particularly NPs and time.
This is very true.
The most obvious example of this is when I get angry, and then a few hours pass, and I'm not angry anymore. It's in the past. It's like the emotion never existed. What's hard about this is that in my state of anger I feel motivated to either confront or resolve the issue, but if I wait, I run the risk of losing the anger, losing the motivation, and changing my mind in the meantime. If something that really needs to be addressed, I need to force myself to follow through.
This may indeed be related to SPs and time orientation. I know an ESTP who hates the news feed on Facebook because she thinks it's annoying to get information about people that aren't in her daily life. I have no such problem. Even though many of the people aren't in my daily life anymore, they are still relevant to me and passively inform my world view because they're part of the global context that I'm focused on. It's difficult to describe. (Sidenote: this is not just because I'm NP; it's partially because I direct my energy outwardly.)
It describes my relationship with time perfectly.
