o_19kdfsn0q18e31dfraas1esh19vta.pdf

moral reasoning skills.
And here we come to a very interesting difference between Judgers and Perceivers. Generally
speaking, Judgers see fewer moral grey areas than Perceivers. This is most obvious when you
contrast Guardians (rule followers) with Artisans (rule evaders). But it also applies when you
compare INTJs with INTPs. INTJs are more likely to follow rules and refuse to make exceptions
for themselves or others; INTPs are willing break rules whenever their moral compass points
elsewhere. (I'm going to give a caveat here—if the rules are clearly arbitrary, NTs as a group will
ignore them.) This does not mean that one type is actually more moral than the other. At least one
survey of a prison population has found equal numbers of Guardian and Artisan criminals (read
here), 159 so I don't believe that the J/P difference dictates "goodness" or "badness" despite the
difference in each preference's attitude towards the rules themselves.
At any rate, Bowditch's peers considered him above average in the area of morals. As such, he
makes an excellent case study for how the INTJ moral sense works. Before we go on, however, it is
worth noting that INTJs have three of the four letters considered to be influences on higher moral
judgment. This means that INTJs are among the types most capable of dealing with tangled moral
dilemmas. We will see evidence of this in the examples to follow.
A judge recalled of Bowditch, "I have known Dr. B. intimately for more than fifty years, and I know
no faults. This may seem strange; for most of your great men, when you look at them closely, have
something to bring them down; but he had nothing. I suppose all Europe would not have tempted
him to swerve a hair's breadth from what he thought right." A shipmate remembered, "He never
manifested any moral failings whatsoever, and was always remarkable for his strict principles of
conduct, and for the utmost purity of mind and character; detesting any thing of an opposite nature,
even in word." Dr. Bowditch's renowned uprightness is the product of the INTJ willpower,
objectivity, and orientation towards principles applied to a moral context. Not that all INTJs are this
moral, but this is what the best specimens tend to look like. Let's examine some of the facets
underlying this idea a little more closely.
INTJs are objective when it comes to applying the law/rules. Though generally avoiding public
office, Bowditch was elected to the Executive Council of Massachusetts. In this position he had
influence over the justice system. As can be seen in the following statement, he was noted for his
objectivity and refusal to make exceptions, even in cases of a personal nature:
At this board, upon more than one trying occasion, he gave his vote and exerted his influence in support
of the law, and refused to screen from its penalties the murderer and other criminals who had deliberately
violated its provisions without any palliating circumstances; notwithstanding the strong and urgent
appeals in their behalf, made by many excellent and benevolent citizens, among whom were some of his
own personal friends. He considered that a capricious exercise of even the prerogative of mercy, would,
in effect, convert a government of law into a government of men.
INTJs are the impartial servants of justice; they recognize that even mercy can be a form of abuse
since it can shield those with power and influence. Bowditch's objectivity could not be swayed by
anything: "Undeterred by fear, uninfluenced by any prospect of advantage, he followed truth, and
obeyed conscience; and the popular clamor, and even the coolness of some whose friendship he
valued, were alike unheeded." It is not difficult to understand, of course, why many types consider
INTJs too strict. People can be frustrated by what they perceive as the INTJ's "black and white"
view of moral issues.
Truth be told, INTJs have a mathematical view of moral issues. Bowditch was known for his
159 Mitchell, 2009