PHI 3400

Hermeneutical Lens I - Personality Types

 

The first purpose of this exercise is to help you become aware of your own personality type using the Meyers-Brigg personality typology. This is a dichotomous assessment (meaning you will probably find that you fall into one category of traits or the other in most cases) that measures four different areas of human personality as defined first by psychologist Carl Jung and later  by his students Catherine Myers and Isabella Brigg. The typology will be fully discussed in class.

 

The second purpose of this exercise is to help you become aware of how personality type influences the way people perceive, interpret and understand the purposes, nature and operation of the law and legal systems. The goal of this process is to help us understand why people see "the law" differently and what might explain this.

 

1.  SELF-EVALUATION: Please go to the online site http://www.universityoflife.com/personalitytests.htm. Click on the Myers-Briggs Jung Type Test. Take the inventory. Get your scores. (NOTE: As a back up, you may take the Keirsey Temperament Sorter II inventory at the following site: http://www.keirsey.com). Print out your results. Then,

 

2. READING: Go to www.keirsey.com the bottom of the home page and

 

            a. Read the link which correlates with your two letter type (either SJ, SP,

                         NF, NT) under "The Four Temperaments."

            b. Also, find your four letter type at the bottom of the page and click on

                         that link. Read your  type's description.

            c. Then, read the dichotomous pairs in each of the Dimensions of

                        Temperament section (E/I, S/N, T/F, J/P)

            d. Finally, read Presidential Temperaments.

 

3. WRITING: You are to write a 1-2 page paper that includes the following points:

 

            a. What is your four letter type? Do you agree with this assessment?

                        Explain.

            b. What is your two letter Temperament? (e.g., NF Idealist) Who

                        historically has personified this temperament? Does that include

                        any American presidents?   Does this sound like you? Explain.

            c. What difference has Temperament made in the American presidency?

                        What might this say about the electorate?

            d. What difference do the Dimensions of Temperament make in the way

                        people perceive, understand, create, execute and interpret the law?