by Brian Harrington

Created on: January 10, 2009

Since the beginning of time all species have survived by using their instincts and natural ability's to further their agendas, from the of procuring food, to the elimination of threats. Humans are animals by definition and it would therefore stand to reason that we use instincts as all animals do. Some would have you believe that because humans where graced with reason and an abnormal intelligence level in relation to the other species that inhabit the earth we are able to apply our logic and sense of rational to all situations, effectively overriding our more primitive instincts. This however is fundamentally incorrect. Yes, we have a higher level of intelligence and the ability to reason, but this does not mean that we are capable of using these traits at all times. Imagine if you will, a stranger entering your house and assaulting your family. What would your reaction be? Would you stop to THINK about the situation? would you logically process the information that was being sent to your brain before acting, or would you INSTINCTIVELY have the reaction to protect your family from harm and neutralize the threat? It is two o clock in the morning and you awake to find a group of men attempting to light your house on fire. Would you really stop to determine whether or not it is worth the fight to save your home while the scoundrels set it alight? The answer would usually be no. Humans are creatures of habit and order and when our cycle is broken suddenly or to our disadvantage, we usally react in an aggressive manner indicative of our own agendas. No amount of psycho babble bull crap can take away the fact that although we are an intelligent and reasonable species, we are still creatures of instinct driven by the most primitive of fears. Fear has the power to override all coherent thought, which is why humans have instincts that can allow them to react in dire situations that do not allow the time for such thought. If such a system did not exist, we would not have been able to survive long enough as a species in order to develop to the point where we can reason out certain problems, allowing us as a people to avoid many unnecessary conflicts that otherwise would have developed. I suppose my point is that humans fight each other in certain situations because we are unable to react any differently. We must find a middle ground on this issue, realizing that we aren't completely instinctive beasts, nor are we all guru's able to sort out the worlds problems in a single meditation session. For as long as mankind exists there will always be conflicts, both locally and globally, because it is our nature. This however does not mean that we cannot use our reason to eliminate all conflicts unnecessary to the preservation of ourselves and our personal dignity. If one where to think about all the conflicts in the world and try to match them to the to the criteriaof preserving personal dignity and life stated above, you would find that few fit the profile. We must all learn to accept a world where reason and instinct go hand in hand because neither one is going away anytime in the near future.

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