Zombies Ruin Everything

Also known as “Dudeness,” “Duder” or “El Duderino” if you’re not into the whole brevity thing. But never Mr. Lebowski.

I did not get this movie when I was younger. I didn’t get why he was making a big deal about a rug even if it tied the room together, I didn’t understand what the nihilists had to do with anything, and Maude’s role seemed to be added in just for some weird effect.

But I get it now. I get that as complicated as it all was, none of it mattered. Least of all, to the Dude; a man so simple he might be a genius. No, he’s not. But you’d rather know him than any of the other wackos in the story.

Almost seen as a posterboy for fictional ISFPs, the Dude really isn’t like the other ISFPs that have been typed here. While most have carried a sword or a bow and arrow (Sometimes both!), Dude only carries with him a strong sense of purpose and a checkbook. And when I say strong sense of purpose I really mean lethargically persistent. As in “Eh. Might as well.”

This picture kind of sums him up.

How is the Dude a posterboy for ISFPs? Stereotype might be a better word. ISFPs are often known for being in tune with nature and by proxy very naturalistic in their approach to life. Meaning he’s a stoner.

The Dude and the ISFP must have a lot in common with their views on life. There’s a hurricane of greed and stupidity swirling around the Dude and all he’s trying to do is keep from getting sucked in. But it’s hard to not get involved when people are constantly breaking into your place and shoving your head in the toilet.

ISFP’s first function is Fi (Introverted Feeling). Morals and values subjected to one’s own view of it rather than balancing it with the people you’re with like Fe (Extroverted Feeling) is. Often times with strong Fi users, how they talk or react seems to be a bit…off.

Not necessarily rude or weird, although that can be the case. It’s just that the ISFP is so in line with their feelings are certain subjects that when they decide to speak up, it can come off like they’re putting their foot down, when really it’s just a matter of Fi and their inferior function, Te (Extroverted Thinking). In fact, the ISFP doesn’t like arguments or people who frequently cause them because like the Dude, ISFPs are all about peace and love. And White Russians.

And his homies.

A major difference between the ISFP and the INFP is their auxiliary function. While the INFP’s secondary Ne (Extroverted Intuition) can make them play the devil’s advocate or seem like they’re putting their foot down, then for that moment, they really are taking up that cause. Try telling an INFP what not to do or say and they want to question the morality of it. You can’t hold them down! It’s got its good qualities and bad to it, no?

But ISFPs will generally just go on about their way, and just hope that you don’t come back to them. Their auxiliary function is Se (Extroverted Sensing) which puts them in touch with their surroundings.

They don’t wanna fight the system man, they just want to be. While their Thinker cousins, the ISTPs, are breaking their surroundings down into how it all works with dominant Ti and auxiliary Se, the ISFP is just moving through it all, trying to accept the way the world is with they way they feel about it. No changes need be necessary which is probably why so many ISFPs are thought of as hippies. The Hippy says not to touch mother nature and would probably be most likely to leave things as they found it.

There’s no evidence of any kind for that last bit but of all the types running around mad and scrambling to make a difference (even if it means destroying), the ISFP just glides through it all like the Dude in Gutterballs.

The real draw of the Dude is that while everyone else has got an agenda or something they want to take from others, he’s just trying to awkwardly finesse his way out the backdoor so he can just be done with the world’s crap. Let him have his rug, his drink, and his bowling ball.  Other characters can be argued but the Dude’s ISFP-ness (heh) is inarguable.

So the next time you’re thinking of doing something destructive, just ask yourself if the Dude would do it.

This entry was posted on 02/12/2015 at 1:03 pm and is filed under MBTI Artisans, MBTI Stuff with tags isfp, mbti in fiction, The Big Lebowski, The Dude. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.