The Truth of the Fragility of the type 8

Introduction

In the topic of romanticization, there are not many types that are romanticized as much as the type 8, by both the community and authors, there seems to be a disconnect between the everyday understanding of individuals and the portrayal that the type 8 exhibits in typology, this disconnect shows a stark gap between how we as humans understand our personalities and how these very same personalities are explained in typology. If a layman was to read the descriptions of the type 8, they will not be able to apply this to others since the disconnect is so significant, there is an element of lack of realism, this makes the typological understanding of the type 8 or what we can call the antisocial personality rather whimsical and extraordinary, something akin to a fairy tale and devoid of true humanity.

In this document, I attempt to breakdown the type 8 in a way where it's more inline with the reality of personalities, stripping away the elements of romanticization and exaggeration and leaving behind the true human interpretation of such a personality. After reading this, one will better understand the psychology of this personality and see it for how it truly is.

What is the Portrayal of the type 8?

The type 8 is portrayed as a unique and extraordinary character, they seem to transcend human nature itself and exist in an unattainable state, such an individual is devoid from all complexes and is antithetical to all insecurities and shameful traits, they in a sense do not know what neuroticism feels like and they exist in an emotionally stable manifestation. The type 8 is the individual that does not feel any insecurities, they can live life with such a stable idea of self and self esteem that it makes them different from the rest, they are assertive without it stemming from overcompensation, rather it is just who they are, they are invulnerable not because they are running away from vulnerability but rather because they are innately stronger than most. In the psyche of the 8, there exists no self doubt, no fear and no anxieties, only complete contentment and confidence exists, they in a sense, are non emotional people, they feel no pain and do not know of the common human struggles that us as humans face.

They can be leaders, extraverted and social people who obtain respect and recognition readily, they harbor no envy, shame nor any of the negative emotionality that plagues most. The type 8 is ambitious, a workhorse and likes to challenge themselves, they protect the weak and stand up against tyranny.

Naranjo on the other hand, describes the type 8 as an unruly aggressor, they are criminal head hunchos, mobsters, mafiozas, dictators and historical tyrant, they posses a sort of unrivaled power that no other personality type has, they are hyper masculine as a rule but does not explain the insecure attachment to concepts such as masculinity, in the works of Naranjo, the type 8 exists as a glorified outlaw and rebellious figure, far from the true expressions of such a personality in everyday life.

In essence, all of this romanticization creates a certain reputation and admiration for the type that is unfounded and built on false portrayals, when individuals dig deeper and read about the truth of such a character, they may go to the lengths of disbelieving such insights and equating the type with the counterphobic six, since how can the type 8 be so human? The thought is that the counterphobic six is the weaker, more human manifestation of such a personality, reserving a certain inhuman status to the “true type 8”.

The truth of the type 8

So beneath all of this romanticization, what is the type 8? Who are they truly beneath all of the stereotypes and romanticization? They are perhaps, and contrary to what some might think, one of the most human of all the types.

The type 8’s self perception views themselves as inherently weak, they in an unconscious and deep level, view themselves as inherently fragile and vulnerable, they observe the world around them and see in the binary of the strong and the week, they think to themselves, that they are not made from the same cloth of the strong, how could I be of the same cloth when I was exploited as a child? There lies a certain helpless realization that “I was never a rebellious kid”, “I was never a mean kid”, “I was innocent as a kid”, they in an unconscious level, realize and affirm the fact that they were subjugated as kids, exploited or abused, in a sense, they are “broken”. This specific “complex” never leaves the type 8, the type 8 understands this complex so well, that they can even observe it in others, as a mirror to their own insecurity, in a neurotic fashion, they will attack this insecurity in others as a desperate attempt at “distancing” themselves from their own weakness. Now, a type 8 will not accept this about themselves, they will proclaim that they are free from any complexes or such insecurities, since the mechanism of denial is inherent in every type 8, the truth is, the type 8 nonetheless lives with this profound type of a complex, the truth is, this complex is so pervasive in the type 8’s psyche, that it will solely fuel most of the individual’s behavior. The type 8 is not driven by passion or a vision, rather they are driven by the profound reaction to the world they perceive.

A type 8 may appear “macho” or boisterous, not because they are inherently this way, but rather because they force themselves to adapt such concepts, does this mean that the type 8 artificially builds their strength? The answer is yes. The type 8 underneath all of the ego and facade, morph themselves to any concept that affirms their power, such as masculinity or the macho culture. Does the type 8 do this to leave an impression on others or to attract a mate? Do they do this to fulfill a fantasy? In truth, no, they do this as a means of psychologically surviving, in the psyche of the type 8, there are no other options of being, they either “become” powerful or their whole life mission fails, in other words, they will experience what they experienced as children. This tells us that the type 8 can be classified as the toxic masculine stereotype, in many ways, this is not far from the truth, since the crux of the behavior does stem from insecurity. Its very important to note that this not a surface level insecurity or image centric insecurity, because of this, the type 8 will not seem like they are mimicking masculinity in an image centric fashion, rather it is their true personality, in other words, they actually do embody such concepts and will appear to be fully inline with them, rather than it being an obvious facade or ploy, this is because they adopt these concepts as a practical means of survival, rather than to leave an impression or attract the other.

The question lies, is the type 8 revolved around the motivator of fear or anger? Since the type 8 is always equated with anger, while this is true to some degree, this anger is an artificial emotional layer that conceals the true emotional motivation behind it, that of true, irrational fear. What is this fear? Why does the type 8 experience such a thing and how is this manifested in their expression?

If you take a child and raise them in a certain environment, given they are a healthy child, they will develop a certain constellation of traits, fears and defense mechanisms that can be labeled as the core of the type 8. This constellation of traits and fears is the common denominator to all individuals of the type 8. This is not a choice nor is it a formulated and well thought out strategy, it rather a desperate adaptation to a certain type of environment, a cry for help that is rooted in desperation and stemming from a profound fear of the world, a fear that is irrational and lifelong, a fear that stems from the overwhelming fragility they faced in their formative years, a fragility that, in the mind of the type 8, warrants the most extreme of defense mechanisms, they perceive the world as inherently antisocial and cruel, thus, they have to become antisocial and cruel as a response, the world is dangerous and unforgiving, justice does not exist and no one will offer a helping hand. The type 8 does not form their personality around the typical concepts of communal belonging or acceptance, rather they form it around the concept of subjugation and survival, this extreme paradigm is what marks their extreme nature. They do not act this way for acceptance or belonging (the common motivators), rather they act to keep exploitation, abuse and harm at an arm's length. In this understanding, the type 8 is but a pawn in the reality of life, they are reactionary centric and are significantly formed and affected by their environment.

There is a certain imitation that is observed in the type 8, this is a non conscious or intentional one, it is rather coincidental in nature, this mimicking is best explained in psychiatry. From the lens of psychiatry, the type 8 can be likely classified under secondary psychopathy, this type of psychopathy is marked by its mimickry to primary psychopathy, this mimicry is not intentional, as mentioned before, it is rather coincidental. The ideal that the type 8 tries to attain is summed up in the psychopathic traits, being emotionally unaffected, lacking fear, being fearlessly dominant and interpersonally aggressive. These are the idyllic traits that the type 8 tries to attain, by coincidence, these traits are found in primary psychopathy, so in some sense, the type 8 tries to mimic and imitate psychopathy to no avail since they are in truth, are not psychopaths. The type 8 in a psychiatric sense, lives their whole lives trying to live by this type of psychopathy but will always fall short given their truly human nature.

This is seen in how sociopathic individuals try to mimic psychopathy, in essence, both sociopathy and psychopathy can look similar from the outside, the difference is that psychopathy is truly inherent and genetic while sociopathy is a reaction to the environment, in this lens, the type 8 falls inline with sociopathy, they are made rather than born, thus retaining an inner child and humanity within themselves that they try to hide and deny.

The ways in which each behavior uncovers an insecurity

Almost every action that the type 8 takes can be analyzed to uncover their deep-seated insecurities. They are dominant in reaction to their internalized fragility, they are loud since they were once timid and shy, they are expansive since they were once expanded on and they are aggressive because they were once aggressed upon. The common saying of “the abused end up abusing” rings true to the type. The type 8 regulates their self esteem and emotions based on the oppressive actions they take, since if they are the aggressors, they can psychologically rest since they will not be subjugated, almost all of the type’s actions are nothing but an overcompensation to their perceived weakness.

In truth, the portrait of the type to the observer is not that of an indomitable and admirable figure, it is rather that of an insecure and overcompensating character, in neurosis, the individual does not inspire admiration, but rather is looked at as pathetic, low and revealing. This is the truth that many type 8’s never face, the fact that their neurotic actions scream of the inner fragility and weakness that they try to hide. In reality, such personalities in our society are looked as unfortunate, weak and broken. This only makes sense, there is no personality type that is admirable in unhealth, the type 8 is no different.

This reinforces that the type 8 is not a greater than life figure, but rather a human riddled with insecurity and overcompensates by their antisocial behavior, the truth of the neurosis of the type is not glorified nor is it admirable, it is rather unhealthy and unappealing.

The commonality and difference between type 8 and SX6

After reading all this, one might raise the question of: What is the difference between the SX6 and the type 8? In truth, the difference is significant, firstly, the type 8 exists and operates within the sensoric realm, their fears revolve around tangible oppression and subjugation rather than conceptual uncertainty and oppression, secondly, the type 8 overcompensates by solidifying and weaponizing their somatic aspects, they become physically violent or imposing, they take on antisocial traits while the SX6 overcompensates by becoming hyper methodical and utilize their intellectual abilities in deterring harm.

In essence, the SX6 counters authority by arming themselves intellectually and ideologically while the type 8 counters oppression by arming themselves with sociopathic traits. In other words, the SX6 is a rigid, intellectual and compulsive character while the type 8 is a sociopathic one.

Another difference is that the SX6 has an arsenal of preformulated tactics, because of the use of their intellectualism and cerebral nature, they have strategies and tactics that they employ at the face of uncertainty, they are in many respects, true strategists. This is in complete contrast with the type 8 that is a true impulsive character, since they are not as intellectually oriented, they rather use the body as the vehicle for their actions and are much more somatically oriented than the SX6.

In contrast to each other, the type 8 does not think of their actions consequences, they fail to plan ahead and are impulsive as a rule, while the SX6 is hyper methodical, intellectually armed and rigid.

In everyday layman terms, the SX6 is an intellectually disagreeable character while the type 8 is a purely antisocial one.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I hope that this document helps outline the true nature of the type 8, rather than it being an idealized type, it should be looked at with an objective and non biased perspective. It is essential for all type 8s to acknowledge the true aspects of their types, since this is the first step towards transformation.