What is animal instinct?

The animal instinct is the body's primal intuitions and reactions to certain stimuli from the environment. However, man is able to some extent to control his instincts precisely thanks to thinking. Therefore, instinct does not exclude thinking, thinking helps us to use our instincts positively, which often save us in difficult situations. However, in less dangerous situations, they interfere, so thinking is crucial to making valuable use of your innate instincts.

The instinct is one - or major - of the ways in which the limbic system and / or the reptilian brain work. According to my personal understanding, it is based on subconscious and reflexive decisions and actions. Daniel Kahnemann would use the term "quick thinking" (in the case of decisions) here. I would distinguish activities as something even faster, completely reflexive, not requiring a decision. We use our instincts not only for mundane activities, such as tying shoes or even turning the steering wheel reflexively when going into a head-on collision. We also use it by looking at the USD / PLN or Bitcoin price chart and making an impulsive decision that "you have to buy" (or sell). But these are two different functions ... More on that later. Note that we also use instinct to define intuition, and we know about it that it comes from experience, i.e. it is a generalized set of experiences, not necessarily aware of it, which conditions that, for example, we feel that we like or dislike another person and we want or do not want to. work with him. Also in my opinion, the instinct can be divided into decisions and actions, reflexive and intuitive: reflex actions - breathing, swallowing, moving the hand when we feel pain; instinctive decisions - we like someone and we decide to become more familiar with them (e.g. continue the conversation); we observe the chart and decide to buy or sell without much thought; perhaps the aforementioned steering angle or brake application is in the category of decisions, or perhaps above, activities - and possibly depending on the situation; intuitive decisions - we like a piece of clothing or an object and we instinctively want to buy them, we think for a while, but emotions prevail; This differs from the above instinctive decision, e.g. in the context of getting to know a new person, in that the decision above was an instinctive deepening of the conversation, and here it will be intuitive to kiss a girl or suggest an exchange of contacts with a met businessman; I believe that in this distinction it is crucial that the intuitive decision passes through a certain filter (acceptance) of the cerebral cortex (rational system) and can be rejected, and emotions are more important than reflexes. So we come to the conclusion that decisions and actions can be made in three ways: Totally reflexive (reptilian brain) - the emotion appears basically after a reflex, and is not its cause (e.g. we are stuck - we feel pain - it's not an emotion yet - we take hand towards each other - and only, for example, we start to worry). Emotionally with the filter of the rational system (or without it) - the emotion appears first - e.g. we see dangerous looking guys in a dark alley - we totally involuntarily start to sweat (point 1), but emotionally we decide to e.g. turn around or look away. Totally rational decisions - we implement the decision-making process (procedure), perform analysis, compare pros and cons, look for reasons, grounds, make calculations and ... usually we return to emotions that are "convinced" by such an analysis. Here, I would also enter non-intuitive decisions, e.g. in the above situation, we know that it is safest to behave naturally and walk next to men with confidence, not to provoke them, but rather to give the impression of a familiar or at least someone who was not in this place with case. Totally rational activities - making calculations, conscious learning (studying literature, taking notes, listening to a lecture but active), the implementation of the procedure itself - all this is an expensive process that activates the cerebral cortex. Recently, I have been wondering how it is that some people are more or less reflective. But isn't she - and the predispositions themselves - not also a reflex, instinct, a natural need? Do we sometimes come subconsciously to reflective conclusions? Such an approach also calls into question our higher cognitive functions and makes us ask ourselves whether, by chance, a significant part of our thinking does not happen instinctively. To what extent do we actually use conscious cognition? In my opinion - it costs us a lot and the vast majority of humanity spends the vast majority of life carrying out almost exclusively subconscious processes, and very occasionally leaning towards the conscious ones. Sources: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uk%C5%82ad_limbiczny https://wylecz.to/uklad-nerwowy-i-psychiatria/gadzi-mozg/ https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki / Instinct According to sources, many of the theses written by me will also be unscientific; however, I have decided to share my personal experience and gut feeling on this matter in order to deepen my understanding of the subject from a more psychological than biological point of view.

In ethology, instinct is defined as the innate and hereditary ability of animals (including humans) to perform a series of instinct-driven behaviors induced and directed by appropriate external stimuli, leading to outcomes necessary for an individual's life or for the maintenance of a species.

In ethology, instinct is defined as the innate and hereditary ability of animals (including humans) to perform a series of instinct-driven behaviors induced and directed by appropriate external stimuli, leading to outcomes necessary for an individual's life or for the maintenance of a species. Trigger and effector (e.g. motor) mechanisms are involved in instinctive behavior. Such behaviors consist of two stages - the preparatory phase (appetizing behavior) and the final phase, i.e. satisfying (consuming behavior). Basically, instinctive behaviors are triggered by a key, specific stimulus, but can also occur without it, as release actions. There may also be metastatic actions, i.e. behavior from an instinct other than the one currently performed (e.g. rubbing the face, i.e. behavior from the body care instinct during escape. An example of behavior resulting from instinct is feeding of chicks by birds, where the trigger is a gaping beak. is so automatic that it is triggered not only by the view of the beaks of one's own offspring, but also by the view of the models. other material), which is referred to as the plasticity of the instinct. In animals with a more developed nervous system and behavior system, the abilities to perform instinctive activities are inherited, which are developed with learning and experience [

The animal instinct is the body's primal intuitions and reactions to certain stimuli from the environment. However, man is able to some extent to control his instincts precisely thanks to thinking. Therefore, instinct does not exclude thinking, thinking helps us to use our instincts positively, which often save us in difficult situations

Simply an instinct, something that lies dormant in us from the very beginning of human existence on earth. Natural reflexes and behaviors are also often seen in animals. For example, a man during a threat, the first thing he will want to do is run away or hide from the threat, but if there is nowhere he will have to fight. It is believed that adrenaline activates the "animal instinct" in man, that is, turns off thinking, then the man is guided by this instinct, that is, as I explained before, something that has always been in man, something that was passed on to us by old, very ancient ancestors.

Rather, the animal instinct is a reflex that you have programmed by nature to deal with conditions typical of the species, such as looking after children or looking for food, and whether the animal is thinking is another matter, if it has the intelligence to do so without a problem, you may wonder whether what he is doing is doing it correctly or not, whether it will make him survive or not, etc.

Animal instincts do not preclude thinking, but when it arises, it has a greater causative power. Instincts developed to help us survive. Humanity has been carrying these instincts in its DNA for hundreds of thousands of years. Instincts are so-called "quick thinking", stimulating to action, not requiring thinking (they operate subconsciously).

Animal instinct is the innate ability of animals to react to specific stimuli in a way that helps them survive and reproduce. It is a set of automatic behaviors that are genetically inherited and do not require learning. Instinct does not necessarily exclude thinking, but it may dominate it in life-threatening situations, when a quick and automatic response is crucial. However, many animals also show the ability to learn and adapt their behavior based on experiences, suggesting that instinct and thinking can coexist.