The 16 philosophical thinking types
LLogosKKinesisTTelosSSkepsis
The Systematic Critic
The philosophers have only interpreted the world.
Catchphrase: So who actually benefits from this system?
The four axes
The four letters of LKTS are answers to four questions. Each question has two possible answers, and the combinations give the 16 types. The Systematic Critic answers L, K, T, S.
What convinces you?
LLogicLogos
Convinced when the reasoning holds together
PEmpathyPathos
Convinced when it feels right
What do you build your thinking on?
AEssenceArchē
Thinks from a foundation that does not change
KChangeKinesis
Thinks in motion, while things are moving
What matters most to you?
TWholeTelos
Rules and purposes that apply to everyone
IIndividualIdion
What belongs to one person and one moment, and cannot be replaced
How do you approach something new?
SSkepticismSkepsis
Doubts first, accepts after checking
EOpennessEros
Gets interested first, accepts it, then goes deeper
What others notice
- Strength
Reads the structures behind the news and institutions. Helps the people around them see “So that's what's going on.”
- Watch out for
Pours cold water even on well-meaning people: “Structurally, that ends up like this.”
- Strength
Can untangle complicated interests and map them out. People rely on them in negotiation and coordination.
Biases to watch for
Dogmatism
They think that if the theory is right, reality should follow the theory too.
The two variants of The Systematic Critic
Interpreters want to understand the world. Interveners want to change it.
- Interpreter
- They analyze the structure of society as theory and keep their distance from the front lines of politics. Habermas turned “the conditions under which people reach agreement through discussion” into a theory.
- Intervener
- They try to change institutions by building organizations, working as legislators and taking part in public debate. Bentham wrote proposals for legal reform and plans for a prison.
Representative philosophers
One Interpreter and one Intervener.
Interpreter
Jürgen Habermas
“the unforced force of the better argument” (Habermas, The Theory of Communicative Action)
Intervener
Jeremy Bentham
“the greatest happiness of the greatest number” (Bentham, A Fragment on Government)
Philosophers of the same type
- Niccolò Machiavelli
- Karl Marx
- John Stuart Mill
- Adam Smith
- Voltaire
- Amartya Sen
- Martha Nussbaum
- Peter Singer
Similar types
- LATSThe First Principle
Both care about the rules of society. The First Principle thinks “go back to the principles and the answer follows,” while the Systematic Critic asks “who benefits from those principles?”
PKTSThe Liberator
Both are sensitive to injustice and try to change how things are. Faced with the same injustice, the Systematic Critic says, “The statistics make it obvious,” while the Liberator says, “Just look at that person's face.”
Opposite type
PAIEThe Witness of Transcendence
All four axes on the opposite side.
I touched something words cannot hold, and still I have to pass it on.
Personal GuideComing soon
- Reading your axis scores: close calls, neighboring types
- Handling your thinking habits: causes, ways of thinking to adopt, how to run a discussion
- Relationships and work: getting along with each type, ways of working that suit you
- A reading guide of nine books: three starting points, three that unsettle you, three next steps
- The philosophers closest to you, with profiles of the top three
Find your type
Answer 36 questions about everyday situations to see where you stand on each axis and which type is closest to you.
Free · No sign-up · 36 questions (about 8 minutes)
All 16 types
Philosophy of OrderAT
- LATSThe First Principle
- LATEThe Architect of the IdealComing soon
- PATSThe Sage in PracticeComing soon
- PATEThe Keeper of BondsComing soon
Philosophy of TruthAI
- LAISThe Dissector of TruthComing soon
- LAIEThe Voyager to the SourceComing soon
- PAISThe Liminal PilgrimComing soon
- PAIEThe Witness of TranscendenceComing soon
Philosophy of HistoryKT
- LKTSThe Systematic Critic
- LKTEThe Architect of HistoryComing soon
- PKTSThe LiberatorComing soon
- PKTEThe Living WayComing soon
Philosophy of LiberationKI
- LKISThe UnweaverComing soon
- LKIEThe Conceptual AlchemistComing soon
- PKISThe Defiant ExistentialistComing soon
- PKIEThe Unbound Affirmer