What is Psychosophy?⊹ ࣪ ˖ ໒꒱
Psychosophy (PY) is a psychological typology system created by Russian author Alexander Afanasyev in his 1993 book The Syntax of Love.
While popular personality systems like MBTI and Socionics focus on how you process information (perception, cognitive processing, decision-making), Psychosophy focuses on your priorities, energy allocation, and emotional/physical boundaries. It maps out where you direct your energy, where you feel confident, and where you experience insecurity.
1. The Four Aspects ⋆˙⟡
Afanasyev proposed that human priorities fall into four distinct aspects, corresponding roughly to spirit, mind, body, and soul:
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Will / Volition (V or W): Goals, personal agency, power, responsibility, ambition, and identity.
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Logic (L): Intellectual thoughts, analysis, reasoning, arguments, theories, and ideas.
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Physics (F or P): Material world, physical comfort, body health, money, possessions, and beauty.
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Emotion (E): Internal feelings, mood, artistic expression, empathy, and emotional connections.
2. The Four Positions (Functions) ₊˚⊹ ᰔ
Every person ranks these four aspects in a unique hierarchy (1st to 4th place). The position determines how you engage with that area of life:
1st Position: The First / High / Confident (Result-Oriented)
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Characteristics: Monologuing, self-focused, stubborn, abundant energy.
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Behavior: You do not look for feedback or compromise in this area. You know what you need/think, and you push your preference onto the world effortlessly without needing outside validation.
2nd Position: The Second / Flexible / Gift (Process-Oriented)
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Characteristics: Collaborative, process-focused, healthy, non-defensive.
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Behavior: This is your “playground” and tool for helping others. You love dialogue and interaction here. For instance, 2nd Logic loves debating for fun without needing to win, while 2nd Emotion enjoys helping others process feelings.
3rd Position: The Third / Insecure / The “Ulcer” (Process-Oriented)
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Characteristics: Hyper-sensitive, vulnerable, ambitious yet self-doubting, defensive.
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Behavior: This is your primary area of growth and neurosis. You care deeply about it, but you are insecure and constantly seek reassurance or engage in internal conflict over it.
4th Position: The Fourth / Lazy / Careless (Result-Oriented)
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Characteristics: Low priority, adaptable, passive, indifferent.
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Behavior: You treat this aspect as a non-essential background detail. You easily defer to others or follow external input without putting much personal energy into it.
Psychosophy vs. Attitudinal Psyche (AP)
You will often see Attitudinal Psyche (AP) mentioned alongside Psychosophy. AP is a modernized, western adaptation of Afanasyev’s system created by Rob Zeke Collopy. It uses the same 24 four-letter codes but redefines the structural logic using a clear self/others grid:
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1st Function: Self-positive, Others-negative (+S, -O)
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2nd Function: Self-positive, Others-positive (+S, +O)
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3rd Function: Self-negative, Others-negative (-S, -O)
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4th Function: Self-negative, Others-positive (-S, +O)
NOTE: Check out other posts for description of the 24 types! ๋ ࣠â‘
