Within Carl Jung’s intricate framework of psychological types, cognitive functions serve as essential structures or patterns in consciousness, guiding how individuals perceive and navigate their inner and outer worlds. Among these, Introverted Sensation, abbreviated as Si, emerges as an introspective and memory-driven mode of experiencing reality. Unlike traits, which suggest fixed or inherent qualities of personality, Si is not a static characteristic one possesses. Instead, it is a dynamic process—a lens through which consciousness filters sensory experiences through the prism of the past, creating a rich, subjective tapestry of impressions. To grasp Si fully, we must explore its essence, its place in Jung’s typology, its expressions in daily life, and how it differs from other cognitive functions.
Jung proposed that consciousness operates through four cognitive functions, split into perceiving (Sensation and Intuition) and judging (Thinking and Feeling) categories, each with introverted and extraverted orientations, making eight adaptations in all. Introverted Sensation, as a perceiving function, turns inward, focusing on the subjective impact of sensory data rather than the external stimuli themselves. It is the function most attuned to personal history, anchoring individuals in a world of internalized experiences, traditions, and familiar patterns. For those in whom Si is a dominant or auxiliary function—such as ISTJ and ISFJ (dominant) or ESTJ and ESFJ (auxiliary) types in the Myers-Briggs system—this pattern of consciousness manifests as a profound connection to what has been, shaping their perception through a lens of continuity and stability.