Do human beings really have instincts?

Question

The dictionary defines instincts as follows:

1. an inborn pattern of activity or tendency to action common to a given biological species.

2. a natural or innate impulse, inclination, or tendency.

3. a natural aptitude or gift: an instinct for making money.

4. natural intuitive power.

As far as that is concerned, I have this example to discern as instinct or just reaction.

Dogs will circle a spot on the ground before they lay down, whether it be carpet, gravel or dirt because over the course of time, dogs had the instinct to mat down the grass to provide a little cubby hole to sleep in. Now mothers inherently have certain maternal "instincts" to take care of their children, but as times and technology have changed those actions have changed, therefore, evolving that has taken place removes the idea that it could possibly be INSTINCT in and of itself. Or at least, that is my understanding. Can anyone shed more light on this subject?

Answer 1

Instinct is a synonym for common sense, good judgements, habits, interests, favourites, preferences, liklihoods, obligations...

Do you know why they categorize these differently?

Answer 2

Uh, you've given 4 distinct meanings or uses of 'instinct' but you don't say which one you're asking about.

The reason dicitonaries give a numbered list of definitions is that those are DIFFERENT possible uses or meanings.

The dog example suggests you're talking about the first definition, so why did you list all the others?

Not all mothers have always had "maternal instincts" -- and those who have, haven't had them in the same sense of 'instinct' as the dog example, or the first definition.

Answer 3

Once I had a child, I realized how deep human instict is actually ingrained in our DNA.

Make no mistake, we are a species of instinctive behaviors.  Love, hate, indifference.... where do all these things come from?  They are our form of instinct.  Sure, we don't have the same instincts as dogs - but we're NOT dogs.  We are a species all our own with seriously evolved behavioral patterns.

Have you ever wondered why humans are the only species of our kind?  Well, our instict is to be competetive and murder off all the other species.  Which is exactly what our ancestors did.  Other primates or dogs, or crabs, or fish do not operate on this level of "instinct."

Answer 4

Your question, as exemplified by the dog scenerio, refers to the first dictionary definition.

Yes, humans are certainly born of instincts. Watch a newborn baby turning to find a nipple, then you'll know. Newborns also push out their arms when the have the falling sensation, and they do many other things instinctively. These are called "reflexes".

That said, humans rely less on their instincts than (other) animals, and more on learned behaviour. Monkeys, which in intelligence are between dogs and humans, rely more on their instincts than humans, but less than dogs. Rabbits are less intelligent than dogs, and rely still more on instincts than dogs, at the expense of learned behaviour. Another way to see it, is that all animals (including humans) have strong instincts, but we define the more intelligent ones by their ability to adapt to use acquired knowledge as well.

Not all human instincts are as obvious, or only manifest as early, as those observed in newborns. The urge of a mother to care for her baby is also an instinct. With humans it is just so complex, because learned behaviour become intertwined with instincts over time. The urge to explore and understand can be seen as a very strong instinct that all humans are born with. Dogs just do not have that instinct to try and fit missing pieces into a simple puzzle.

Talking about dogs, cats and rabbits. We sit with them today because of the universal human instinct to care for small furry animals. The instinct is found in all populations, but of course lacks in some individuals.

Temperament is also an instinct. Siblings with the exact same upbringing develop distinct temperaments, while identical twins at least have similar temperaments. It seems that temperament is genetic, but whether the individual is functional and fullfilled in it, is environmental. Some people (probably the likes of you and me and the other respondents) are quite content to theorize, while others have little interest in something that is not immediatly practical. You ask their mother, and she will tell you: "Pete was allways very different from John. I remember when he tried to fix..". Some poorly understood meganism distributes varying instincts among all populations, in similar ratios.

Answer 5

To start out finding an answer in a dictionary is useful indeed, but not always enough, specially if you don't search similar words. Take for instance E.L.L.E's answer. It seems to comply with the first meaning given by your dictionary. But let's see what Wikipedia says about another word:

Reflex action:

"A reflex action is an automatic (involuntary) neuromuscular action elicited by a defined stimulus.[...] Reflexes may be trained, such as during repetition of motor actions during sport practice, or the linking of stimuli with autonomic reactions during classical conditioning."

In other words, E.L.L.E's examples are "all reflex actions my friend". Otherwise, according to E.L.L.E applying electricity to a dead frog's leg (a very old experiment that used to be done in High Schools long time ago) would demonstrate the presence of "instincts" in dead frogs. Strange idea don't you think?

Well, let's admit that E.L.L.E. got one out of six examples right, but that still does'nt solve the question.

"A mother can't help but love her baby" is believed by E.L.L.E. to be the same as breathing, that is an "automatic neuromuscular action". But no one I've heard of has ever been accused of breaking the laws of breathing, whereas breaking the mother-love-your-baby instinct (as when a mother kills her offspring) has happened. So how can E.L.L.E's conviction explain such behavior?

If instincts are automatic then such thing cannot occur, as I connot voluntarilly stop breathing. But your dictionary says nothing of automatic, it says "an inborn pattern of activity". So your dog example is nowhere similar to "lifting your foot when your knee get's hit". It is a "pattern of activity" a series of actions linked to a need.

A baby suckling might comply with this definition of instinct, but the fact it is present in babies does not mean adults have instincts too. At least not that one because it disapears. But, are you shure it's not a reflex action?

Answer 6

We definitely have instincts.  You are correct that culture has taken over a lot of our instincts- would we, for instance, figure the s*x thing out?  It is instinctual for us, or do we have to learn how to mate?  But the basic urge is still there.  We also still have the suckling instinct; babies know how to feed.  Food cravings can also be instinctual urges to replenish nutrients.  Companionship is instinctual; people feel better with a few others around, and everyone tries to find friends in new groups.  We instinctually pick up on people's moods based on their bearing and facial expressions.  We laugh, we cry.  I think a lot of our very basic behaviors, the ones so basic we hardly even think about them, are, in fact, instinctual.

And now the word "instinct" has lost all meaning to me.

Answer 7

If I'm playing basteball, and I see one coming my way, my hands go over my head. I hate doing that because I look like an idiot, but i have no choice, my body just does it. That's instinct...

You're not usually thinking about breathing 24/7, but you do it automatically 24/7 anyways...

when you're cold your teeth chatter...

your foot goes up when your knee gets hit

we get tickeld if someone touches us in the right place.

a mother can't help but love her baby, and want to take care of it..technology hasn't "changed" this at all! what are you talking about?

all instincts my friend.