Logic (L)

1L

Known as “The Dogmatist” this attitude is often blatantly affirmative in its speech and questions are often asked in a rhetorical rather than purposeful fashion. Monologous conversations are common with the 1L, the quality of the conversation will vary and it will be exceedingly difficult for bystanders to participate. This will not always be the case of course, especially if 1L does not think that its competency is sufficient to speak on the topic. If it is something that the 1L has to take a stance on, it is not unlikely that they will think for a moment to formulate a more informed and logical response. If, however, the topic requires some knowledge of facts that the 1L does not have, there will most likely be silence or they will simply say that they do not know enough about the topic. 1L individuals often need a great degree of preparation to properly conduct a debate or discussion since they can be caught off guard by impromptu questions or responses. This is because of the affirmative thinking and the fact that they tend to approach things with the mentality that they possess the full truth. Interestingly, 1L can be extremely ignorant in some regards because they trust themselves to evaluate what is worthwhile learning and what is not. The great strengths for 1L is their ability to find casual links where most other people will not, their ability to apply available knowledge to chaotic situations and to some extent their need to validate information on their own before accepting it as reality. Just as with any other 1st position aspect, the 1L are highly confident in their logic and often take pride in their ability to use it. The degree of subjectivity that is apparent in 1L stems from here since any attacks against it are devastating to the ego. In such a situation, the 1L is going to fall back on the subjectivity to preserve their self-perception.

2L

This attitude is known as “The Rhetorician” due to its love of dialogue as well as its ability to flexibly apply logic to any new circumstances and situations. 2L tends to think out loud and this is also its style of conversation. If the dialogue is interesting enough, 2L individuals can talk for long periods of time. A popular way for them to initiate a conversation is by asking a question and unlike 1L the question is not rhetorical although it is likely that the 2nd Logic already knows the answer. They are generally sharing their sources of knowledge with others and are genuinely intrigued to discuss the arising ideas. Their 2nd way of starting a conversation is by acting ignorant in order to “lure” people into the topic and then proceed to develop the conversation from there. It is important to note that when a 2L states something, it is more-so a hypothesis than an absolute conclusion. Their interest in structural logic is different from any other Logic position. They learn systems and their rules, axioms, norms and other forms of structure, but instead of accepting these as absolute there are constant questions asked about the necessity, usefulness and quality. The 2L is constantly looking for new ways to use or develop that which is already available and thus they rarely believe in absolutes. Possibly surprising to some, 2L is not at all afraid of entering a conversation without any relevant factual understanding of the topic. Sure, they might be punished for it, but it is a risk worth taking, firstly there might be something to learn and secondly, the 2L is usually proficient enough at applying logic to survive the conversation even just with the information that is provided throughout the conversation. It is also likely that the next time you speak to them they are more than intermediate in their understanding of the topic. Another byproduct by their process-oriented logic is the ability to teach and explain. 2L are highly tolerant of a lack of understanding and often take up the role of a tutor to guide others. The only thing they might not be able to forgive is complete stupidity, especially when a topic has already been explained clearly and the lack of understanding is completely unjustifiable.

3L

This attitude is known as “The Skeptic” due to its skepticism and uncertainty toward the realm of logic. Individuals with 3L generally have a love-hate relationship with logic. They constantly question both their own and others’ logic, but they simultaneously value logic highly and many would want to go into a more certain approach to logic similar to that of 1L. The 3L attitude is often excessively accepting or ignoring ideas. This can lead to cult-like belief in certain things or complete negation of other peoples’ ideas in favor of their current opinion. In the presence of a 3L it can at times become apparent that they enjoy voicing their own opinion to an excessive extent and often fail to provide in-depth explanations for their ideas and this can lead to anxiety which further removes their intellect from the realm of logic. The 3L is most comfortable when they are allowed to think without being judged for their ideas and any response should preferably be formulated in a more diplomatic fashion to make the 3L comfortable and to allow the conversation to continue. Their way of protecting this weakness is to avoid questions and logical discussion. 3L are the most likely candidates to avoid discussions in a relationship since they do not want to be exposed on this front. This is also partly why the 3L prefers complex answers and solutions over simple ones. They are fundamentally attracted to complexity, possibly to some extent because it is easier to blame the complexity if their understanding proves to be insufficient but to an even greater extent because the 3L doubt their logic. This causes them to experience thinking as a game with infinite possibilities. Every question can be answered in so many ways that the 3L becomes flustered and well, out of a great amount of possibilities, it is more likely to find complexity than simplicity. Another factor is that a simple solution might be discarded due to the existence of so many other solutions, sure the simple one is faster and easier, but maybe it is too easy and they have missed something. For the 3L individual, such uncertainty is difficult to battle since it is the foundation of their relationship with Logic.

4L

This attitude is known as “The Schoolboy” due to its pragmatic approach to Logic and its role as an intellectual chameleon. The 4L does not really use Logic autonomously but rather, it absorbs what information it is provided with and adopts it for the time being. If another perspective or idea is introduced then the initial one might be discarded and so on. 4L individuals are usually open-minded to the ideas of others as they prefer to not participate in such discussions. They may certainly have a great deal of understanding of a subject but when it comes to the logical realm, the 4L is simply uninterested and prefers simple answers over philosophizing. Just as with all 4th position aspects, 4L is something that is ignored most of the time but utilized as effectively as possible when it is required. In such a situation it will use methodology that is already known and apply it to the best of its ability. It also welcomes feedback on this attitude which further explains its designated nickname.