What The Hell Are Instincts Anyway (733 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 0.36 on 13 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by <Evil Dictator Ruling Pants Everywhere With An Iron Fist> (View user info) at 2004-10-20 16:12:12 EDT
Life began as a chemical accident. No, wait, let me start by telling you that I'm neither religious nor do I necessarily believe in god. I've seen proof of nothing and have had nothing happen to me to believe otherwise.
Now going ahead with that preface I'll go back to life beginning as a chemical accident. Single cell organisms dividing to become more single cell organisms. Mutations, 'failures' in the dividing process, or external influences somehow caused these organisms to become different organisms with different behaviours. So on and so on until simple multi-cell organisms and then fish and then reptiles and then mammals.
Blah, blah, blah. Who cares right?
But something got me thinking last night (may have been the herbal influence, but one can never be too sure) about instincts. What are they and how did we get them? What is this automatic response we have to protect ourselves from harm? Ya dig?
Are we around because of the small difference in DNA that made one creature get out of harms way while it didn't for his buddy sitting next to him? That certainly makes sense when you think about who's genetic soup is going to get a chance to get passed along. Those without survival instincts and the instincts to procreate will simply not pass their genes.
To get where we are in the world today we've basically become a finely tuned instinctive machine. However, if you look at the way society is taking things over we're being trained to ignore or overrule our instincts to survive in today's social structure. I mean, vegetarians and vegans are a prime example of overruling instincts while restraining yourself from tearing the throat out of someone who causes your friends/family harm is ignoring them. So by listening to your instincts, which is what got us to where we are as a race, you're thrown in prison and cannot reproduce therefore we're weeding out the strong instincts that got us here.
And before you jump on that, it's just an example of the kind of thing that we're doing. Another: Erectile dysfunction pills? We're helping people with this problem? I'm thinking they should have a mandatory vasectomy before getting the pills so that kind of thing doesn't pass on until our whole race is dependant on pills to reproduce.
Before you know it we'll be useless and simply stop reproducing all together because we'll be so trained to ignore our instincts that we'll not know how to accomplish the task.
How is it that I always start writing about something and by the end I'm on a completely different topic?
Focus.
Ok.
Aw fuckit. Basically my question, when I began this, was about instincts and what they are. How is it that I know fear when I'm in danger and how does all this work?
And one more thing: if we were to ever encounter (publicly - goddamn governments) another race from another world/galaxy why would we expect them to be any different? To get to where they are they'd have to be survivors of whatever world they originated from. Unless that whole overthinking instinct thing works out for them. Or us.
K, this is just hurried now cause I know I have to get back to work. But I'll post it anyway cause I'll likely get one or two interesting thoughts in reply along with the occasional retarded 15 yr. old giving a -2 DIE.
User Reviews
Submitted by Rads_wife (user info) at 2005-06-13 23:34:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
http://www.ubersite.com/m/68315
WINNER!!! WINNER!!!
Submitted by VirtuosoDilettante (user info) at 2004-11-02 18:58:14 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Likely, greed and self-preservation have always been the dominant instincts to survive. If Grog killed a deer for dinner but Ugh is bigger and stronger, Grog loses then goes hungry and dies.
Now, we just have greedy capitalists who steal money (which works out to food and recreation) from the dumb-ass peasants. Only difference is that the peasants survive and multiply enough to keep giving more to the top-feeding motherfuckers, capitalists. My guess is that it's to their advantage to keep the low-life scum (like us) alive and working through drugs/medication. The better chance of the peasants reproducing, the better the chance there will be more dumb-ass peasants to provide for the suits...AND, they can make a profit from sales while providing "healthcare".
Ever wonder why the 1st world nations don't put more resources into helping 3rd world nations? Ever wonder why there are classes such as 1st and 3rd world nations? Because 1st world nations are the greedy motherfuckers who make a profit from 3rd world nations. If 3rd worlders were not poor and in dire need of cheap, cheap labour then who would make our t-shirts and electronics? The strong still survive, but the methods are changing.
Which reminds me, I need a second big screen t.v. for my house. Picture in Picture just doesn't cut it anymore on football Sundays. Gotta watch both games.
Submitted by Istaros (user info) at 2004-10-20 22:44:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
luddite!
Submitted by Sade (user info) at 2004-10-20 22:32:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Blah, blah, blah. Who cares right?
You ludite asshole. You act as if mother nature didn't design for us to build engines that eat the ozone. Of course she did! There is nothing that's unnatural, you sap. Some things are refined, and some things are raw, but there is nothing - including things that destroy the planet - that wasn't intended for the planet.
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2004-10-20 17:34:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
instinct: An inborn pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a species and is often a response to specific environmental stimuli: the spawning instinct in salmon; altruistic instincts in social animals.
or the instinct to not get killed in everything else.
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2004-10-20 17:32:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
good questions = +2
if we were to ever encounter (publicly - goddamn governments) another race from another world/galaxy why would we expect them to be any different? To get to where they are they'd have to be survivors of whatever world they originated from. Unless that whole overthinking instinct thing works out for them. Or us.
to get to where we are, we have had a billion billion billion chance occurances. to have another race from another world to be the same as us, the odds of the same sequence of events leading to the same intelligent life are even more astronomical than the odds that we exist.
like the simpsons episode where homer makes his toaster into a time machine - every little thing changes a lot.
however, in an infinite universe, everything is probable. and considering the size of the universe, (although its likely not infinite) there probably are intelligent races out there, which are exactly like us. its just sooo big that even if only 1/1,000,000,000 stars has a planet, and 1/1,000,000,000 planets is hospitable to life, there are still a fucking assload of planets with intelligent life on it.
its just a matter of time
and a matter of crossing unfathomable distances.
Submitted by Gnome (user info) at 2004-10-20 16:39:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
without those instincts, enter nuclear winter or the destruction of power/technology and we're hooped.
Submitted by Gnome (user info) at 2004-10-20 16:30:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Adamdidit2u: that's what i'm talking about. our instincts that got us to the top of the foodchain are now no longer desireable in todays society.
Submitted by Adamdidit2u (user info) at 2004-10-20 16:29:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Our ability to reason, to think is what separates us from animals. It's what inspires us to think to act methodically, and collectivley. Look around you, nothing you see would be created instinctivley. Buildings, agriculture, the Internet all IDEAS that have passed through communication and knowledge. While I do agree with you that we are ruining the process of natural selection, I must also say that some instincts are what causes many of societys problems. Greed,and Lust need I say more?
Submitted by Gnome (user info) at 2004-10-20 16:29:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
pills, erectile dysfunction for example, were invented because there was a market for them. things that are invented simply 'for the good of mankind' are simply rare and probably funded by billionaires with nothing better to do than spend a few million on research.
society is being driven by money and greed, not the thought of making the world a better place.
Submitted by professorfuckface (user info) at 2004-10-20 16:26:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I don't know what instincts are, all I know is what they tell me, and what they tell me goes a little something like this: AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH.
Submitted by Random Joe at 2004-10-20 16:26:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by ICO (user info) at 2004-10-20 16:19:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
The erectile dysfunction pills were invented, because people were in need of it. if people are in need of something, they are willing to pay money for it. if you deny them those pills, they will set someone to work on those. weeding out anyone is quite impossible.