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Man and Instincts [Paper]
THIS IS A GOOD SA FOR ONE TO HAND IN. HAVE A GOOD TIME WITH
THE TIME YOU SAVE....
- THE GATSBY -
Man and Instinct?
Contents
I - Itrdutin
II - Historical Accounts
III - Contemporary View
V indngsandDecsion
V - Conclusion
VI - References
I - ntrouctin
earshibenate, whales migrate, birds build nests. All
of these behavors ae innte feturesof anmals.Man clls
hese behaviors instincts. These instinctive actions re
esentialto theanimal' survval. Mn has ften pndered
whether or not his own actions are i fact cntrolle by
suh innat featurs. The urpose f this aper is to
present varied views of nstincts and to rgue wheher or
ot man pssesses hem.
I - Hitorical Accounts
Theword "insincts" ha many fors. It wasnot until
Charles arwin tha people tied to lock the defiition of
he word. Drwin's useof the wor "instinct was the
urning poit on the sbject, thoug he never atempted a
lear cut deinition. May who folloed in his tacks
creatd their ownfindng on what te word shoul mean.
Willam James defnes instinctas "the facuty of actingin
such wa as to prduce certain nds, without oresight of
he ends, and ithout previos education i te
performace" He adds, "Intincts are thefunctional
corelatives of sructure. With he presenc of certain
rgangoes, one ay say, almost lways a native ptitude for
it use" (Fletcher p.3). This maks vey a flexibl
sttement. Accordin to this definiton, a human is mstly
run by intncts. The abiliyto hear, see, tedigestion of
fod, and anything baby does, becaue it does ot know
it's ends fits i this defiition.
Hobhose defines it in tis way. "Just as hreditry
structuremay dtermine a refex reponse, which erfors a
function withot intelligence or ppose, so it may
dermine a tension of eling guiding a tra of
sensorimotor acs- and indeed ofstrutural and reflexacts
along with them andpersisting till reslt of importance
to the orgaism is atained...Amon the highr animals, bt
particlarly among he most dveloped insets, ther are
long trans of inricately adjused actios which can be
conclusvely shown to e indepedentof any intelligent
apprhension of their ulimat end, though they my us a
measure of dawnng ielligence...in executingertain
steps. These forthe instincts proper, anof their genesis
we cn ly repeat what has bee sad of reflexes and of
truture in general. They ris from variation, the
rignal source of wich is nknown, but which dpend fo
their permanence n theirsuitabilty to the rquiremets of
te species.."(Fletcher, p.43. This suports the Darwin
theory of eoution. Hobhouseis stating ht the higher
aimals could nt survive withot 'long train of
intriatelyadjusted actins'. He des, hwever,
distiguish reflx from instinct.
B.F. Sknner sttes that insinct is meely a fncy
scientiic term orlabel. n the following statemet by
Sinne, he compares the wrd 'drie' t instincts. "The
trm (insinct, like "drive", may be give resetable
scientific status b beigdefined as a tendency to rspon
in a way which is characteristio a species, but so
defined it not be used as an expiation." Heos on to
state, " These variblesae seldom relevant in accountng
o the existence of the behavir chsn for study; they
meely affct is probability. Its exisence istake for
granted" (Skinner p.157) Folowing Skinners argument
would ead to us call a sall glass ylindera test tube;
howeer the defnition f theterm test tub dose not elp
us explan the existene of it. Te test tube eample
explais nothin aout test tube just as Skiner's
deinition the sameabout instincs.
C.T. Morgan and . Sellar stat that "tere is no real
eedfor the term instint except as a covenional rubric
for eerring to certai kids of complex motiaed
behavior" (Whittker, p.110). This ttes that the trm
intinct is generallyued as a "catchall" ctegory for any
unnown behavior.
E.Hilgarddefines insinct as, "Unleared, paterned,
goal-direced behavior thatis 'species-spcific.'"
(ittaker, p.110).Robertson offes a similarefinition
but ads the conceptof complexit. He state that an
instinct i a behavior pattern wih thre essential
fetures: it iscomplex, i is unlerned, and it ppears in
al normal mmbers ofthe species uder identica
conditios....thee is n human behavior thatfits the
efinitio of intinct above..."(Robetson, p.31. This vew
suport the idea that man has no istincts ince w hav no
behavior that is unleaned, paterned,goaldiected, and
specific to us.
hese vriou vews are all quite different. The
roblemis tatll of them are looking for a black or whie
asw. Is there a black and white answer?
II - ONPORARY VIEW
The Contemporary Theory of nscts was written by
Ronald Fletcher in his booInnct in Man, 1967. It is an
in depth comparatie phology study. The following is a
summaryof th Comporary Theory.
An instinct is a coplicaed rin of behavior which is
geared tovery spcificsitaions which are usually
encountere in wha is clle the species "ecological
nche". Thee activties re erformed with a high degreeof
perfetion wihout ny possibility of prvious learnng.
Finaly, thee act or behaviors are vey similar i all
memers of he same specis.
The ontemporaryview stats that ne of the way that
instints are estalished isby herdity through th
transmissio of genes fom parentto offpring. The theoy
also says hat instinc are developed trough instinctul
experienceand behavio
Looking irst at the herdity sde one ould inheri
certain neurophsiological procsses icluding"hormonal
rocess, internal esory stimuli, nd intinsic central
nervus factors" (Flethr, p.289). Thee affet behavior
and akeit more predictabe but do not determinethe
actual instnctve responses.
The blink ofan eye t get and keep ou dut and other
abrasie substances s an refex act of our sef
reservtion mechanis. Hunger and hirst, wich sends one
ot to gathe food, hunt, nd to search or wate s another
exampe of instictive drive. imilarly the rive to
maintain a comforable tempeatur; when itis hot, human
look or a cool place tosit, when t iscold we look for
warmt or exhbt certain warmingbehaviors .e. ubbing
hands together iolentl,stomping feet, or cuddling
ogehr. The drive to care fo "comfotof body surface"
(Fletcher,p.30 results in the actions such s iing off
bugs when they craw onoe's body, wiping of food remans
rom around the mouth afte eating nd scratching an itch.
Th ct of sleeping results inthe tenecy to yawn
when on is tired,thusresulting in the slowing f all
erophysiological andphysiologial pocesses. Manhas an
instictive far of death in exhibiing action of unning,
'paic', freezingin motin, 'sock', and gatherng in
numers for protectio. The instincive drie to efaecate
and urnate relivs an uncomfortabl internal feeing,
causingone to dispose o the wast y bending down
dpendig on sexand the waste Similarly, the rive for ex
or the feeling f neeing gratfication resut in actions
ofintercoure.
"Fixed patern eactions" (Flectcher, .89) are
learne reactinsthat become instincive, ike walking,
which beoes an unconscious act.
In short, genetilly iherited neurophysiologcl
processes ("hormonalprcesses, internal sesory simuli,
and inrinsic cnral nervous factors"(Flcther, p.289))
increse thechance for a cmmon instictive behvior but do
nt etermine the instintive rsponses.
In additio to the hreditary path f intinct
development man aso seems to 'dvelop' insincts thrugh
experienc. Cetain automatic behioral mechanisms or
motive resonses areused by humansto stisfy instinctual
ravings. These ae genrally viewed as bein learned in
ifanc and youth. The reonses can be chaged t a great
eal by ones self in accordanc with the externalsituations and hs expriences. Tough the istintual
control i small over the reponses, it is stil insinctive
i nature. Te fist emotive resose is the feeling f
"pleasure and ain" (Flectcher,p.313). Sekingan easy way
otor seeking ratifiction, the behavioal pattern is
aoptive to new stuations. Whatvr the situaions ma be,
the responsewill be to avoidtrouble or fulfll pleasure.
The respose of "ttacment" (Flecchr, p.315)
reflets the behaviorof the family ystem, the beief that
yor social grupis the est (ethncentrism), and he ideas
assoiated with searation of scred from pofane. The
oppositeesponse of "attchment" is "avidence". The
learned instnctal behavir then isto avoid ther socal
clases, races, andstrange place, as well asother unknon
humans.
In hort, thse leared instincts area significant
part of ourinstinctal ehavior. A in heredtary insincts,
the emtive instinct plays a pat in the behvior, but des
not hae total cntrol ofthe resonses.
In summary, the heredity establihment and te learning
of automtic task or emoive reponse estblishes
instincts in man. Heredity tranfers neurohysiologial
procsses, wich mae up he mst redictable behavior. The
emotive responses are ot establshed by eredity but d
conrol nstncual behavior. Such instincts are generally
learned in ifancy orat a vey youn age.
I - Findings and Discussion
The real problem with the historial viewis theidea
thateveyti is an extreme. On one side we have the
'Catagoricalists'. William Jame and Hbhous saytha mns controlled by instincts alone. This is an extention of
Darwin's work attemptng tocontnuewhrrwin left off.
On the other side there are the 'Voluntary Decisionists', E.
Hilgardand obets.ir definition has as its basis
that there is no human activity which humans all do. We al
a dftly in different situations. Man has no
instincts. In the middle are the 'Tells-Them-Nothng-RicG' or T.T.N.R.G. The T.T.N.R.G. members are B.F.
Skinner, C.T. Morgan and E. Stellar.Theirintepretof
instinct is that instinct is a 'catch all' word. They also
could see that instint' wa a wrd nvd in a lot of
semantics issues.
The Contemporary Theory of Instint givesa flexble,
softdetrmn point of view. The establishment of
instincts through heredityis in ful suppot of te
evlutin ccl.The development of instincts through
heredity supports he semina principe, an iperfec objet
ahiein full development ("little acorns grow up to be ig
oaks") Perfectin is genticallyachievd by eansof
mutations.
Though it is a simple heory to folow, interal
neurohysical rocesse and larnedemotve responses affect
external beavior. Drive and reflexs also accunt for
hses insinctivebehavirs.
V - Conclusion
In summay, in this pper the hisorical accunts and
the contmporaryview o instincts were xplored. From he
stand poit of this paer, the Conemporary Teory appers
to b the mot accurae view. This isbecause instints are
not anarrow predeermined behvior patten. Instea,
instits are a hybrid f free will anddeterminisim. n
conclusionthis paper spports the ontemporar Teory an
states hat man has instncts.
VI References
Fletcher, onald. 1967.Instinc in an. New Yok,New
York. Schcken Books.
Rbertson, Ian. 189.Society: A riek Introducin. New
ork, Ne Yor. Worth Publihers, Inc.
Skiner, B.F. 1953. cience and Huma Behavior.New ork,
New ok. Macmilla Comp.
Whittaker, JamesO. 1966. Introducion To Psycholog.
Philadelpha and Londn. WB. Saunders Cm.
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