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# Orientation
- URL: https://www.descentpress.com/index/orientation/
- Published: 2026-09-05T04:40:52.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-10T01:58:08.000Z
- Description: Orientation names the general principle governing a personal attitude or viewpoint. Related: typology; attitude.
- Author: Jae Botávn
- Tags: #index, #Import 2026-09-04 23:45

## 1\. Etymology

**Orientation** names the **general principle governing a personal attitude or viewpoint**. Related: typology; [attitude](https://www.descentpress.com/index/attitude/).

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## 2\. Plain summary

Psychological orientation determines how one sees and interprets reality. In Jung’s typology: [thinking](https://www.descentpress.com/index/thinking/) orients by logic; [sensation](https://www.descentpress.com/index/sensation/) by direct perception of concrete facts; [intuition](https://www.descentpress.com/index/intuition/) to future possibilities; [feeling](https://www.descentpress.com/index/feeling/) by subjective worth. Each may operate in an [introversion](https://www.descentpress.com/index/introversion/) or [extraversion](https://www.descentpress.com/index/extraversion/) way.

Samuels: no dedicated *orientation* head—language appears under typology / attitude neighborhoods.

**Examples (exhaustive house list for this Index lemma — common orientation motifs named across Jung’s essays and standard Jungian lexica; not a claim that Jung’s CW contains only these):**  
governing principle of attitude/viewpoint; four functions as orientations; introverted/extraverted modes; dual-stamp typology leaves; see-and-interpret reality.

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## 3\. Academic elucidation

In analytical psychology orientation is **typological governing principle**—Sharp short lemma. Prefer CW 6 / attitude essays; dual-stamp function lemmas.

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## 4\. Lexicon

**Sharp (1991)**

> Orientation. A term used to indicate the general principle governing a personal attitude or viewpoint. … a thinking attitude is oriented by the principle of logic; a sensation attitude is oriented by the direct perception of concrete facts; intuition orients itself to future possibilities; and feeling is governed by subjective worth. Each of these attitudes may operate in an introverted or extraverted way.

(Sharp, 1991) — no discrete CW pointer

**Samuels, Shorter & Plaut (1986)** — no dedicated *orientation* head

> *(No dedicated Samuels head.)* Related under typology / attitude

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## 5\. CW concordance — sample, not exhaustive

> ORIENTATION. I use this term to denote the general principle governing an attitude (q.v.). Every attitude is oriented by a certain viewpoint, no matter whether this viewpoint is conscious or not. A power attitude (v. Power-complex) is oriented by the power of the ego (q.v.) to hold its own against unfavourable influences and conditions. A thinking attitude is oriented by the principle of logic as its supreme law; a sensation attitude is oriented by the sensuous perception of given facts.  
> (Jung, 1921/1971, CW 6, p. 631, ¶780)

**Dual-stamp [attitude](https://www.descentpress.com/index/attitude/) ATT-1–3 (already folded — no rewrite):** CW 6 ¶687 / ¶690 / ¶691 **1921/1971**.

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**See also:** [attitude](https://www.descentpress.com/index/attitude/); [introversion](https://www.descentpress.com/index/introversion/); [extraversion](https://www.descentpress.com/index/extraversion/); [thinking](https://www.descentpress.com/index/thinking/); [feeling](https://www.descentpress.com/index/feeling/); [sensation](https://www.descentpress.com/index/sensation/); [intuition](https://www.descentpress.com/index/intuition/).

## References

Jung, C. G. (1971). Psychological types \[Definitions\]. In H. Read, M. Fordham, G. Adler, & W. McGuire (Eds.), *The collected works of C. G. Jung* (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.) (Vol. 6, p. 631, ¶780). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1921)

Samuels, A., Shorter, B., & Plaut, F. (1986). *A critical dictionary of Jungian analysis*. Routledge.

Sharp, D. (1991). *Jung lexicon: A primer of terms & concepts*. Inner City Books.

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