A few days earlier , i wrote about impressions and in a few comments i came across the word instinct . Now that made me curious to know if they are both related and i found out that they weren't . People said that instinct , intuition all go hand in hand with impressions . I think differently . Impressions are responses of the brain that are driven by certain benchmarked analysis and has nothing to do with instinct which is an involuntary function . So , then i wanted to discuss about instincts , and here it is . Believe me ! This gave me a serious headache , esp when i tried to differentiate instinct from impulse .
Instinct - this word is used by people to refer unexplainable feeling , action or impulses . Dictionary says its an inborn pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a species and is often a response to certain specific stimuli . A simple example would be , the tendency of newly hatched turtles to move towards the ocean . It is a fixed pattern of behavior for a stimuli .
Do Instincts go with evolution ?
I dont think so . The most important thing in human evolution is the discovery of fire . There are many articles around the web that points out instinct drove them to the discovery . I deny it . It was just an accident . A guy playing with two stones in a cave would have found sparks , which then lead to fire and obviously its not the same everywhere . In some places it is dry sticks and in some iron and quartz and even lighting may have influenced . Hunger and fear are the next important things about evolution . When you are hungry , you eat . But its an urge than can be controlled . So is fear and violence . These are impulses and not instincts which are completely involuntary . Its like when you grow you start to walk with your legs and not your hands - thats instinct .
Is Language an instinct ?
Language is one of the very important things that led to cultural evolution .Every child starts with noises to communicate . It is slowly moulded and developed by the societal and parental influence . Language in general , when considered as a way to interact , may be an instinct , but what about nouns ? verbs and adj ? .
Can Instincts be developed ?
Yes , many are . Its goes with maturation . A young bird caged in , right from its birth and when let go at the right age , can fly .(without any experience) . A painter , by default paints the hair in black and not green . Though it may be a result of cognitive response and learning , it happens almost involuntarily . You do not think to choose the color of hair . So that proves that instincts need not be a "born-with" kinda phenomenon and can be learned or developed . Most of our behavior may have instincts as roots .
Societal influence and Instincts - Are they related ?
These influences define our habits and behavior . These get transformed into memories and gets imprinted in the gene . So a gene pool , largely influenced by the society or culture may develop a set of unique instincts . Cant they ?
How is instinct different from Impulse ?
Instincts are uncontrollable automatic responses , just like the turtle thing i said before .Impulse is an urge - a biological response or reflex that can be controlled .
I believe this is enough to make you think . If you think differently about this , please drop in your comments and lets discuss . Hope , you dont get a headache .
Instinct - this word is used by people to refer unexplainable feeling , action or impulses . Dictionary says its an inborn pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a species and is often a response to certain specific stimuli . A simple example would be , the tendency of newly hatched turtles to move towards the ocean . It is a fixed pattern of behavior for a stimuli .
Do Instincts go with evolution ?
I dont think so . The most important thing in human evolution is the discovery of fire . There are many articles around the web that points out instinct drove them to the discovery . I deny it . It was just an accident . A guy playing with two stones in a cave would have found sparks , which then lead to fire and obviously its not the same everywhere . In some places it is dry sticks and in some iron and quartz and even lighting may have influenced . Hunger and fear are the next important things about evolution . When you are hungry , you eat . But its an urge than can be controlled . So is fear and violence . These are impulses and not instincts which are completely involuntary . Its like when you grow you start to walk with your legs and not your hands - thats instinct .
Is Language an instinct ?
Language is one of the very important things that led to cultural evolution .Every child starts with noises to communicate . It is slowly moulded and developed by the societal and parental influence . Language in general , when considered as a way to interact , may be an instinct , but what about nouns ? verbs and adj ? .
Can Instincts be developed ?
Yes , many are . Its goes with maturation . A young bird caged in , right from its birth and when let go at the right age , can fly .(without any experience) . A painter , by default paints the hair in black and not green . Though it may be a result of cognitive response and learning , it happens almost involuntarily . You do not think to choose the color of hair . So that proves that instincts need not be a "born-with" kinda phenomenon and can be learned or developed . Most of our behavior may have instincts as roots .
Societal influence and Instincts - Are they related ?
These influences define our habits and behavior . These get transformed into memories and gets imprinted in the gene . So a gene pool , largely influenced by the society or culture may develop a set of unique instincts . Cant they ?
How is instinct different from Impulse ?
Instincts are uncontrollable automatic responses , just like the turtle thing i said before .Impulse is an urge - a biological response or reflex that can be controlled .
I believe this is enough to make you think . If you think differently about this , please drop in your comments and lets discuss . Hope , you dont get a headache .
Comments
Post a Comment