Instincts, do they exist?

[Unit000]

I've been thinking this over for a very long time and I still haven't come to a conclusion. But there are examples supporting both the existence of pre-programmed instincts but there are also people who can prove many cases just to be reactions caused by stimmuli to the nerves. I just wanted to see what the people of FFR thought of it. (Sorry if this has already been done before, I haven't been on these forums in months, but if it has just tell me and don't flame my post like an ass)

[emccky]

do you think breathing is a reaction to being deprived of oxygen? no, its an instinct to breathe.

[Nonexistent_One]

Yes, emccky is correct in my opinion. What else are reactions to stimuli but pre-programmed instincts? There are many things that most would call an instinct that is merely a learned habit/rection, though. For instance; if I were to throw a ball at you, you would react by throwing your hands up and trying to catch it, am I correct? Many people assume that this is an instict to protect yourself, but really it is a learned habit. When you were very young, someone began this learning process by proping you against the couch and tossing a soft toy/ball at your face. What did you do? Your eyes widened, and you may have drooled, although probably not as a result to the ball hitting you dead in the face. Over time, you began to learn that when projectiles come in contact with your body, they have a tendancy to stimulate nerves in a negative/uncomfortable way. The best possible solution to this would be to learn how to stop the objects before coming in contact with your body, thus resulting in more overal comfort. Solution=catch the ball.

~NEO

[Unit000]

Actually breathing could easily be the nerves sending the message to your brain forcing the breathing because the lack of oxygen is sensed by the nerves. IF it was an instinct you'd have to think about it....and Ihope by all means you don't have to think about breathing.

[alextrebek]

Actually breathing could easily be the nerves sending the message to your brain forcing the breathing because the lack of oxygen is sensed by the nerves. IF it was an instinct you'd have to think about it....and Ihope by all means you don't have to think about breathing.

I think your definitions are confused. You don't have to think about an instinct.

[Unit000]

Sorry, you're right I was jumbled up there...Had other things on my mind when I was writing that. But and instinct can't be anything you learned. Then it's not an instinct. Like the first time someone throws a ball at you it hits you square in the face. An instinct is totally preprogrammed data...So anything that is learned in any way totally rules it our as an instinct. I'm kind aundecided though. Because many things people claim to be instincts are either learned from other creatures or a just simple reactions caused by stimmuli to the nerves. But An example of instinct has to involve the Great White. As you may know the Great White is born and then left alone almost immediately. But somehow they all develop the same hunting technique of cruising along the bottom and utilizing their body camouflague to ambush prey. So ruling out learning this technique leaves only one possible explanation for such a complicated manuever and that's that it knew it all along through pre-programmed data in it's brain.

[emccky]

you think your mom had to teach you how to breath?

[Unit000]

The breath is caused by a lack of oxygen in the brain. It's all a simple string shocks in your nervous system that forces you to breath. Thats why in some drowning cases the victim would lose control and end up taking an involuntary breath under water ending in them killing themselves.

[emccky]

i don't know about you but i don't wait until i'm about to pass out before i breathe. its just natural, an instinct.

[Nonexistent_One]

Anything that happens naturally like that, i.e. a 'simple reaction caused by stimuli to the nerves,' is considered an instinct. I don't understand what you are trying to find here... Anything that is merely a programmed reaction is called an 'instinct.'

~NEO

[roopert]

Consider blinking. As soon as you are born you will naturally start blinking due to lights and all these new things. No one teaches you to blink. It is totally, as you like to say, "preprogrammed". Instincts do exist.

[dontcareaboutmyid]

There are two types of instinct

There are preprogrammed "survival"instinct and then there is programmable"learned" instinct. they both exist.
Breathing, blinking, coughing when you're choaking, all that good stuff, It's plugged into your head to do in order to survive. Now if i thought that we only had survival instincts we would still be in caves eating meat off a dirty piece of stone sharpened wood.

Our "learned" instincts arn't going to keep us alive. Think about driving a car (for those that do) looking in your rearview mirror becomes second nature after a while. You're not going to live or die if you don't do it at random intervals, but you "learn" to do it

Or take school for instance. You're walking down the hall and you're talking to your friends. All of a sudden you've said good bye and turned left down the corridor to your class. didn't even think about it, just said goodbye and turned. I'm pretty sure your friend wasn't going to kill you if you didn't turn down that corridor.

So in conclusion, don't do drugs!

[Verruckter]

The "programmable" instincts are habits. When you drive, you have the habit to look in your mirror. Although instincts do exist. Let's say you are lost in the woods for the first time in you life. Nobody taught you how to survive or anything. Naturaly, you will begin to try to survive. You will try to find your way out, you will try to find something to eat. Those are instincts.