It is common knowledge that socionics elements are paired into four axis: Ne-Si, Fe-Ti, Ni-Se, and Fi-Te. These pairs of elements are intimately tied together and are unable to exist with each other – you cannot value one of them without valuing the other, and a person leading in one element is seeking the other from their dual.
However, an important question to ask is here is “why?” Why, exactly, do these specific elements necessitate each other? I think the answer must lie in the nature of the elements themselves. In order to justify this unification and make it not arbitrary, something about their very essence must be connected.
My personal suspicion is that paired elements somewhat “flow” into each other – you cannot use an element in any meaningful way without engaging with its “companion.” At the moment of writing this I feel like I do not have a clear understanding of how this actually manifests for three out of four axes. However, I believe I got close to the essence of the connection between Ne and Si, so I will attempt to summarize my thoughts on it.
I see Si as information about the interdependence of concrete, currently existing processes and factors. Through this element a person can connect a particular whole with the specific factors that go into it. Thanks to this they will know which factors can be changed or adjusted on order to bring the whole closer to its desired state. For example, when making a soup, an individual strong in Si can understand the connection the soup’s ingredients have to its taste, and how a particular ingredient will affect this taste. Thus, if they want to achieve a particular taste for the soup, they will know which ingredients need to go into it and in which proportion.
On the other hand, I see Ne as information about different states an object can be in. This is why it gets called “intuition of possibilities” or “potentialities,” since a potentiality is something that could exist, but does not yet. Returning to the soup example, Ne is the element through which an individual can understand which tastes it can possibly have.
Where, then, is the connection? I would define it as the following: information about possible states an object can be in (Ne) is impossible to utilize without knowing how to bring an object into a particular state (Si). Likewise, one cannot deliberately change the object’s state (Si) without knowing the possible states it can be in (Ne). One of these elements cannot get realized without the other.
Of course, each person uses all 8 elements in their daily life. Just as an Ne lead would utilize Si to make use of their Ne, so would an Si lead utilize Ne to make use of their Si. However, the suggestive is naturally weak, and what the person can do through it on their own is limited. This is precisely why it is so important to get support on it, especially the dual’s support. Without such support an Si lead is at risk of being locked into a cycle of monotony (not knowing what is possible beyond what they already know and are already doing), while an Ne lead is at risk of ineffectiveness (knowing what is possible, but not knowing how to reach it, often resulting in inaction or a lot of activity that does not lead anywhere).
I will end this post with a small tangent. I often see people claiming that Si leads want to maintain “homeostasis” or “equilibrium” at all times. However, I am not convinced this is the case, as it seems quite contradictory to the fact that these types are seeking Ne. I believe that, while there is indeed a tendency for some Si leading types to maintain homeostasis with very little changing in their day to day lives, this phenomenon is not a result of their desire, but rather is something they cannot avoid without support on their suggestive Ne. In other words, if they do not receive enough Ne from other people, these types do not know which changes are possible and how their life could be different from the way it currently is. Thus, they end up doing what they already know and what already worked for them in the past, leading to homeostasis. Rather than being normal and desirable, this tendency should be recognized as a sign of the individual being undualized.
