Originally Posted by
ZTCrawcrustle
The theory does not rely on the VI aspect. At all. You can point out VI to anyone, anyone you want. If they bother to look at socionics, they will see it is not an integral part. The founder of socionics had a lot of interesting ideas, but not all of them are that clearly hashed out or were effectively transmitted into the West. Personally, I do not even know what to begin to look for in a profile of a face to VI someone.
However, you mentioned subjective bias one would get from photographs, which I would say is VI, in effect. Ever meet, just see a person and get the sense that you were not going to get along with them? To the question "was there anyone you thought you would not like just from looking at them," I actually had a college friend (SEI) point out a person we both knew in high school (LIE or EIE) even though he almost never even talked to him.
Earlier forays into facial trait psychology were marred by genetically inherited facial traits (such as "square jaw" = "criminal"). But looking at a still picture of a person, you get impulses, suggestions as to what type of person he is. Everyone does. You may disregard those impulses, but there is something to them. Are these impressions always accurate? No, but sometimes they are.
As I said before, no rookie can jump into socionics and start using VI. Most people do not consider it a useful tool, given the availability of other sources of information. Most people here would not even be able to tell you what to look for in VI (which for some reason does not stop them from using it).
As for the rest of your anxieties, categorization is a big part of the life you live in. I see no problem in categorizing people on certain traits present in every single individual, barring some extraordinary cases of mental disability. I see certain trends in science and psychology deny actual human characteristics (the propensity for force and, yes, violence being one), which then (illogically) are converted into public policy. Several years ago, they banned recess in my state claiming that it provoked dangerous activities and behaviors (sports and exercise, I guess). What I'm trying to say is that, aside from socionics, which gives everyone equal say, all other outlets for determining human behavior are biased, if not at heart, then at the questions and conclusions they are willing to consider.