o_19kdfsn0q18e31dfraas1esh19vta.pdf

The rock belonged to your neighbor and you took it without permission. But the Rationals look
beyond the legal definition of theft and observe that only reason the rule exists in the first place is to
prevent harm to one's neighbor. So to the Rational, the complete rule actually reads, "I may take
my neighbor's possessions for myself, so long as this does not harm them." (Indeed, a Rational with
high moral reasoning skills could probably make a list of twenty reasons why it would be morally
justifiable to take away a neighbor's possessions without permission.)
While this sort of reasoning can lead to a certain amount of sophistry (more among NTPs than
among NTJs) Rationals seldom go to prison for it. They conform their behavior strictly to the
moral principles that they have intuited, and this is usually enough to get them by in a nonRational
world. Indeed, INTJs in particular may be praised for their moral courage.
Now we come to a very important distinction. Although all Rationals will obey their own derived
moral principles, they are not all alike in their respect for the actual law written in the actual law
books. As it happens, INTJs are the most "rule conscious" of the Rationals and the fourth most rule
conscious type overall. 172 INTPs and ENTPs, by contrast, tie for being the second least most rule
conscious type overall. What this means is that INTJs will typically obey the rules laid out by the
powers that be, even if those rules are a misfit for their personal code, while INTPs and ENTPs will
try to get around the rules.
Picard was admired by fans for his moral character. One fan praised Picard as "the most moral and
admirable character ever," while another called him, "The most decent man and honorable on
television history. [sic]" Another said, "This character is the moral compass of a generation."
Let's look at Picard's relationship to the most famous Starfleet regulation of all, the Prime Directive.
This rule states that no representative of Starfleet shall interfere with the development of a
nonspacegoing civilization, or even reveal the existence of aliens/spaceships/etc. to said civilization.
Picard explained the purpose of the Prime Directive like so: "The Prime Directive is not just a set of
rules. It is a philosophy, and a very correct one. History has proven again and again that whenever
mankind interferes with a less developed civilization, no matter how well intentioned that
interference may be, the results are invariably disastrous."
Note the NT emphasis on the philosophy underlying the actual set of rules. But we must note also
he had respect for the rules themselves as written.
One on occasion, Picard was confronted with a situation in which his INTJ resolve would be tested.
The situation was initiated, naturally enough, by the rule-breaking tendencies of his ENTP third
officer, an android named Data. Without permission, and apparently on the spur of the moment,
Data broke the Prime Directive by initiating communication with a young alien girl named Sarjenka
who had accidentally managed to "telephone him" from the surface of a planet in distress. As it
turned out, the girl's planet was about to blow up due to some geological problems. The question
was—should the Enterprise try to fix the planet, thus violating the Prime Directive?
Picard called together his senior officers and invited them to give their opinions on the matter: "It is
no longer a matter of how wrong Data was, or why he did it. The dilemma exists. We have to
discuss the options." The resulting discussion was a fascinating exploring of the role of type in
decision-making.
Now as it happens, ISTJs are slightly more rule conscious than INTJs. The Klingon Worf, ISTJ,
was the first one to express an opinion: "There are no options. The Prime Directive is not a matter
of degrees. It is an absolute." (This is what ISTJs say to themselves as they audit your taxes.) By
172 McPherson & Hindmarch, 2004