In this brief guide, we will look at the question “Can an ENTP be an empath”, and answer some more queries about ENTPs like the ENTP personality, ENTP narcissism, and so on.
Can an ENTP be an Empath?
An ENTP can be an empath, but it may pretty rare for the ENTP personality to be an empath as they tend to think of things in a way that is not dictated by internal logic and analysis, which is their forte.
The ENTP is, however, very intuitive and according to a lot of theories about empaths, these are essentially just people who are very intuitive about the people around them and that is what gives them the heightened perception they require.
An ENTP might argue that even though they are more logical and analytical, and not dominated by the feeling function of thinking, they are still perceiving and intuitive, which are the reasons behind being an empath in the first place, and empathy involves the feeling function, which may not be necessary for someone to be an empath.
Being an empath means to be able to intuit and feel what someone is feeling or have feelings about what might happen by the perception of the environment that is better than other people’s, and this is something that the ENTP might be able to do.
The thing to look at when discussing whether or not an ENTP can be an empath is to remember how they work and what their cognitive functions are.
According to the Jungian theory of cognitive functions, their first two functions are:
- Extroverted intuition
- Introverted Thinking.
This tells us that the ENTP tends to gather information in huge chunks and creates networks that connect them according to what they are related to, and the introverted thinking analyzes them when needed to come to logical conclusions.
To figure out if an ENTP may be an empath, think of it this way, the ENTP may have internalized, from intuition, the fact that people around them make a certain face when they start getting into one of their arguments, but this may be internalized in them so intuitively they may not even realize that they know it.
The next time they are getting into an argument their introverted thinking may tell them that hey, people made this face last time about this, and they might react preemptively by not getting into the argument, which to the other person may feel like they are being an empath because they understood without the person complaining about it, but the ENTP actually analyzed it in their mind without knowing.
ENTP Personality
ENTP is a Myers Briggs personality type and it stands for Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving.
ENTP is also known as the Debater, as they can think logically about everything and give merit to their own thought processes over emotions, thoughts, or beliefs, and this gives them the unique ability to think about all aspects of a situation without judgment, which is why they are also often known as the “Devil’s Advocate”.
The ENTP always loves to talk about things and discuss them due to their extraverted tendencies, and they have the intuitive sense to pick up on interesting things in their environment and their thinking does the necessary analysis that they need in order to discuss it well.
An ENTP has a very amazing talent to break ideas down and assess them, and this process of deconstructing and reconstructing ideas is what makes them very intellectual and to other people, they may seem like formidable opponents in an argument or discussion, which, in all fairness, they are.
The ENTP thoroughly enjoys debating, as is evident in their name, as it allows them to exercise their effortlessly quick wit and the broad accumulated knowledge that they are constantly working on.
At the same time, it is important to remember that the ENTP does not argue or discuss so as to show off their quick wit and amazing communication skills, on the contrary, they do it so they may learn about other points of view and they genuinely want to learn from every argument they have.
What the ENTP may not realize sometimes, unless they are an empath, is that most people do not want to learn things by this process, and they may not appreciate the ENTP trying to get them involved in a spirited conversation that will benefit both parties.
The ENTP may also love connecting distinct ideas to prove their points in an argument, which may sometimes get slightly annoying to people when they just want to have a simple conversation, but one needs to remember that the ENTP does not do this on purpose, or to annoy, they simply do it sort of as a means to hone their skills and because it comes so naturally to them.
The ENTP has as their dominant function extroverted intuition function Ne, which helps the ENTP find distinct patterns and underlying principles of a certain concept of belief that has been presented to them by their external environment, and which enables them to see future possibilities clearly, which, as discussed before, is a good reason why an ENTP may be an empath.
Neuroscientist Dario Nardi’s description of how an intuitive person’s mind might work is a good example of why an ENTP with their amazing intuitive be an empath:
“Regardless of the kind of stimulus that enters the brain — sights, sounds, smell, sensation, or so forth — the brain responds by rapidly processing that stimulus in multiple regions, including regions seemingly not applicable to the stimulus. For example, for most people, hearing the words ‘dog’ and ‘cat’ will evoke auditory regions…and perhaps some visual or memory regions…Perhaps we recall a beloved childhood pet. However, the Ne types get busy using all regions to tap relationships across situations, perhaps suddenly imagining a story about two brothers, one of whom is faithful and sociable (like a dog) while the other is independent and quiet (like a cat). They might wonder about dog and cat writing styles too!”
This description means that when the ENTP sees or hears something seemingly different in the environment, they may not even realize that they have noticed it and when it gets processed in their brain it may evoke all the necessary information they need about that thing, giving them an idea of how to act in a situation before things have even become clear.
The extroverted intuition function may also constantly keep the ENTP mind busy because it is constantly picking up things from here and there.
The second function that makes the ENTP who they are in such a major way, is th introverted thinking.
This auxiliary function makes the ENTP hungry for knowledge and deeply philosophical and intellectual, and this function is why the ENTP tends to love connecting with people on an intellectual level more than anything.
The introverted thinking function helps the typical ENTP to do further analyses on the ideas and concepts that the dominant function Ne comes up with out of thin air.
The introverted thinking function makes the ENTP able to make a logical framework and use all the data gathered by the Ne as reference material to determine which ideas are logical and can be used to further their thinking and planning, which is how any action plan of the ENTP comes to any fruition.
ENTP and Narcissism
Narcissism is at the opposite pole of being an empath, as it is common knowledge that where the empath feels everything that everyone is going through, the narcissist cares only about themselves and their love for themselves is far greater, which is why they simply can’t notice things around them.
ENTP and narcissism have been linked often, and many people say that ENTP tends to have something of a narcissistic tendency, even if they are not full-blown narcissists in the sense of a personality disorder.
While some people insist that the ENTP cannot be a narcissist because they have an inferior introverted sensing function, others imply that that might be the exact reason why an ENTP may be narcissistic.
Some theories also suggest that the ENTP has a lack of empathy in general and some people may see them as narcissists because they tend to be extremely logical and analytical in their assessment of their environment and that of the people around them.
The ENTP narcissist may exist, there is no doubt about that, but it would be wrong to assume that all ENTPs have narcissistic traits because as mentioned before, the ENTP argues not to show off, but to hone their skills further and genuinely learn new things and see new perspectives.
An ENTP in a discussion with someone that does not care or has no point of view will be bored to death, and they will stop it right there, which is not something a narcissist would doo, and they would get more boisterous as they realize that they are superior in that conversation.
If you’re facing this, it may be a good idea to seek the help of a therapist or other mental health professional. You can find a therapist at BetterHelp who can help you learn how to cope and address it.
What might an ENTP Empath look like?
An ENTP empath might look like someone who has extreme intuitiveness and is able to anticipate the needs and motivations of everyone around them.
To get a sense of what an ENTP empath is like, read this excerpt from an ENTPs description of why they think they might be an empath:
“I’ll have some seriously strange reaction to the completely normal experience, and I’ll just pick it apart. Logic tells me I’m nuts, which is my utmost deepest fear, and I used to believe that. But I’m usually spot on with my reads on people. Sometimes I meet seemingly normal ppl that just like scream at my with their eyes, their minds. Like they’re drowning in bad water and I’m their sparkling life raft. Usually, they just want to sink me bc they don’t understand happiness nor do they care to learn.”
“I have intuitive thoughts often, once I was driving down a country road at night, hadn’t passed any other cars until I saw approaching headlights in the distance. I thought, “I bet if a deer jumped between us as we got close it could do serious damage. Fireballs!” So I slowed down. As the car was almost to me, a deer jumped between us. Had I not reduced speed, there could have been fireballs.”
Conclusion
In this brief guide, we looked at the question “Can an ENTP be an empath”, and answer some more queries about ENTPs like the ENTP personality and ENTP narcissism. Please feel free to send across any questions or comments you may have.
If you’ve enjoyed the ”Can an ENTP be an Empath?” mentioned above, I would recommend you to take a look at ”7 ENTP Secrets You will Love” and ”ENTP-T” too.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Can an ENTP be an Empath?
Which personality type is the most empathetic?
The most empathetic personality types are assumed to be INFP, and ENFP or ESFP.
What personality type goes best with Entp?
The personality type that goes best with ENTP is INTJ, due to the fact that they have the complementary function stack.
ENTPs function is best matched with introverted intuition, which may be found in INTJ and INFJ.
How are ENTPs viewed by others?
ENTPs are viewed as argumentative about things and they may seem somewhat annoying sometimes, but to people who like this sort of thing.
ENTPs love ideas and they love talking about them even more and some people may view the ENTP as lacking in warmth and love, but this may not necessarily be true.
Citations
https://cognitivepersonalitytheory.com/the-entp-empath-a-different-perspective-2019/