Ni: In multiple of his essays, Emerson focuses specifically on intuition as a source of intelligence, also specifying that for him, it always comes before analysis. Emerson had many very specified focuses, which he was able to obsess over until he had fully fleshed out the ideas to the point where there were few logical fallacies. The structure of his arguments was always such that it’s clear he spent hours Ni-logic-jumping all over the concepts in a chaotic fashion before he organised them into an easy-to-follow Te structure.

Te: Emerson was all about implementing his ideas. He didn’t just talk; he embodied the ideas that he wrote about. His essays are incredibly organised, fleshing out each idea and neatly and then smoothly transitioning into the next, rather than jumping all over the place semi-chaotically. Emerson was disciplined and restrictive with both his personal life and his writing.

Fi: Emerson was basically obsessive about remaining true to the self. His essay Self-Reliance would tell anyone that. He believed that one should never simply follow the crowd, but that the strongest individuals were those able to maintain their individuality in the face of such a crowd. In fact, he was rather condemning of non-conformists (what INTJ isn’t?).

Se: Emerson found it pointless to dwell on the past, except for in cases of judging the self for future improvement. Rather, he finds it important to embody the truth of who you are in the moment and who you will be in the future.