niin Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 humans most definatly have instincts. this is backed up by adreniline rushes. you cannot control these rushes, so they are instincts I would call this a reflex. You brain got a danger signal and your body released adreniline...like a reflex In my opinion, Eclogite is very constructive - he is trying to help you see that your definition of instinct does not hold water. There is no personal attack, and your response is needless. I didnt mean to say he was never constructive.He did try to argue constuctively with me in his post before the one i didn't like. My arguing point is that instincts does not exist. If they do not exist, how can my definitions be wrong?When Eclogite told me his definitions i tried to argue that it was just reflex behavior.I guess you (Tormod) *** well as Eclogite dont agree with this?Why is it wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chamilton333 Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 niin, are reflexes not insticts?:lol::hihi: reflexes are uncontrolable. there is even proof that your spinal cord responds to some things, like if you touch your hand to a hot stove, your hand moves away before you even think about it.instinct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niin Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 niin, are reflexes not insticts?[/b]instinct.If you have no choice, I call it a reflex.If you have a choice, I call it intelligent respons.If you belive we have no choice but to follow our instincts...then you could say it was the same thing. there is even proof that your spinal cord responds to some things, like if you touch your hand to a hot stove, your hand moves away before you even think about it.instinct. What kind of proof? I would think that even if you dont really think about it....a signal would still come to another part of the brain. If the brain is involved...then you would react with a reflex like behavior (pulling hand away from heat), but it would be a learned respons.You have learned that everytime you experience pain from an physical object...best respons is to move away from it instantly without thinking about it. If the brain is not involved...it would be a reflex unless the spinal cord could learn...like the brain. which i dont think it can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 I believe the definition of INSTINCT could have many different meanings depending on who you talk to And how it is used in context, Sixth sence, Premonition, Learned experience, intuitive insights. Witch to me are all completely different catagories from instinct. I think instinct is The brains way of warning you something is not right or there COULD be danger ahead., I also think its much more stonger in environments we are used to, And the physical changes that are ocurring in that environment as we interact with it. Our subconscious plays a major roll in that to. If youve been walking down the same street to work you have allways walked and one day your brain went on alert, It did it for a reason, The subconscious either saw something heard something or smelt something that was out of the ordinary or could pose a danger to your well being even though The conscious detected nothing. I could be wrong, But I do listen to my instincts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boerseun Posted April 25, 2006 Report Share Posted April 25, 2006 They panicked and died of exposure and dehydration. They were unable to access the instincts of the underlying primate that lies in all of us. All they had to do was pull up a root and suck on it. Common sense, not scientific proof is what makes the world go round and makes humans dynamic.The enumeration of favourable circumstances, yet again.Bushmen suck on roots. Western Man don't, because certain plants are poisonous. This might explain why Bushmen are almost extinct, and Western Man not. I have had my fortune told several times and have experienced the exact events that were predicted, years later - yet I cannot share the wonder and the great mysery of it with you - for I have no proof to offer except my word of honor.Exactly the same as above. When people tell you something regarding your future that does happen, you tend to remember it. But we also tend to forget the myriad of other fortune-tellings that did not materialise. It doesn't mean anything.Much as I respect all that science has done to develope our intellect and our technology, I will continue to trust my instincts first, and check the book of proof second.Hahaha... good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagnetMan Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 The enumeration of favourable circumstances, yet again.Bushmen suck on roots. Western Man don't, because certain plants are poisonous. This might explain why Bushmen are almost extinct, and Western Man not. Only heavily indoctrinated minds allow their bodies to die in the wilderness because of something they read in a magazine - or, conversely, because they do not have a magizine handy. Very few plants are poisonous and any survivor in the wild tests everything for an adverse reaction before consuming too much of anything. Bushmen can never become extinct, since all cultures on the planet are their offspring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zythryn Posted April 29, 2006 Report Share Posted April 29, 2006 I do not believe reflexes (quickly pulling back your hand if it gets burned) are instincts.I do believe instincts exist.For example, I would describe 'maternal instinct' as a bona-fide instinct. Fear of the unknown and/or dark is another. Now, I also believe the same instinct can be stronger or weaker in different individuals.Male agressiveness in humans would also be an example, although that one is a bit more nebulous. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagnetMan Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 As I believe that all consciousness originates in the atom, and that this consciousness is essentially Divine, I therefore also believe that there is a metaphsyical force within all atoms that instinctively yearns to halt its outward bound motion through the universe and be drawn back towards singularity. This same atomic force is felt in the human heart when one meets and, at first glance, is instinctively drawn towards one's soul mate . Racoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colby Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 Yes, we have instinct. We have the instinct to reproduce, the instict to seek others of our kind, the instinct as babies to cry when we're hungry, and dozens of others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronthepon Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 Hell yeah I think so! Well it should be a little more deep rooted although. Like crying when sad, uncontrollably laughing at times(like today when our chem. teacher came bald and I could'nt help but snigger loudly), but all that's emotions... Maybe call it all the things that we do mentally, without our own wish or arousal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racoon Posted May 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 niin, are reflexes not insticts? reflexes are uncontrolable. there is even proof that your spinal cord responds to some things, like if you touch your hand to a hot stove, your hand moves away before you even think about it.instinct. I liked niin's response in post #52 here, before this one :) Reflexes are NOT instincts. Thats why they are called Reflexes. hammer to the knee, it moves. hand on a hot plate, it moves. Pain response. and quick at that Instinct?Like a Salmon returning to the stream you were spawned from and reproduce, without even realizing it. IF humans do have instincts, they are decidely few!Part of an evolutionary "opportunity cost" I theorize... My friend definitely got the better of me on this one. :shrug: There has been some wonderful discussion on this topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InfiniteNow Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 Like a Salmon returning to the stream you were spawned from and reproduce, without even realizing it.How do we know the salmon is not acting reflexively? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racoon Posted May 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 How do we know the salmon is not acting reflexively? Because they travel to the same stream. from the Ocean, far far away, at the right biological time... That is hardly a reflex. they may reflex when getting eaten by a Grizzly Bear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagnetMan Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 From Sincularity to Big Bang to Singularity to ....is that in and out Breath of God reflexive or instinctive? Just extending the poll to its logical conclusion:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 Many things have been attributed to instinct but have later been discovered to be other factors that inspired/allowed success of an action. I am not sure that the concept of 'instinct' isnt just a hold over from what was known/believed when the term became popular in usage. Example: It was believed for many years ducks/geese migrated due to instinct alone. This has been found to be false. It also includes a factor of learned behavior passed onto young from old. This is why they do the migration flights with birds of many types when reintroduced into an area that they do not currently exist. This is also why hunters (in my area anyways) are told to try not to hit lead birds in a V. Once a family group meets up with migrating birds in favorite stop-overs, a lost crew can tag along with an existing crew. Whether most or only some do this, I dont know. American Bison migration is another example, but one which we have caused to become extinct. It is a behavior that could be reintroduced. As far as salmon migration back to their stream of origin, I do not know if it is instinct or a developmental process that is chemically induced by the spawn location/water content and causes this reation in the salmon. We know sharks can detect miniscule amounts of blood in the water. Does a salmon absorb a chemical blueprint of its stream of origin that could be added to as it travels down and reaches the and through the sea. As the drive to mate occurs, it could be a sensory organ/chemical process triggered by the physical maturity of the fish that draws the salmon back to its point of origin. I dont know that an evolved method of survival is really an 'instinct' or if it is a successful survival behavior passed along as any other successful mutation in the natural selection process. Looking at wild animals in their enviroment can offer clues, but again when dealing with animals in their natural enviroment we are only seeing the success stories. We only have to show the birds the way once and they do it again on their own. But if we dont show them, their chance of survival drops greatly (not willing to say to zero). Interesting article on bird migration and memory:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/04/0429_030429_birdbrains.html But to answer the question; If mammals have instincts then humans do also. InfiniteNow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InfiniteNow Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 Supplementing Cedars' well stated post above, many animals also migrate according to the Geomagnetic pull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappytheStripper Posted May 20, 2006 Report Share Posted May 20, 2006 We are beings of instinctual light energy .. Yes :shade: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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