An instinct is an automatic reaction to certain stimuli.
Conditioning creates an automatic reaction to certain stimuli.
If you see a large animal with sharp claws and teeth then your instinct is to run.
Some run some stand frozen when surprised. Fear can produce probable and sometimes predictable outcomes. There are stories of people dying from a heart attack when coming across a piece of rope, thinking its a poisonous snake. Obviously the instinct to survive can be overridden by a need to die because of a lack in perception. Which brings up an interesting idea.
If mans perception is unreliable, just how does instinct become effective?
If you see a stranger your instinct is to be cautious.
Children (prior to conditioning by their parents warnings) will smile and openly approach a stranger. It's why its such an issue with adults to pound it into their children, that they should instinctively fear what they don't know. Perhaps if they were of the same mind as yourself they would simply trust in the child's instincts, rather than say anything at all.
Prejudice is an instinctive reaction to the world around you.
A reasonable assumption when duped by an authority who (like an ambulance chaser would, when presenting a case) would stack information in favor of something without presenting all the details.
We are not as controlled by instinct as the other animals in the world, but it is still there. We are fortunate that we can learn to override out instincts and thus do not necessarily have to give in to prejudice.....(paragraph truncated to get to the point).. Some people of course refuse to take this attitude and maintain their righteousness in the face of all evidence to the contrary.
Bill Gill
Yes I've heard of these types of people. Sometimes they're called visionaries. Reminds me of the story a doctor told me one time about the guy who came up with the pap smear. All of his peers in the medical community told him he was crazy to step outside of normal procedures and take a thought that wasn't stamped and approved by the majority. Now his idea is standard procedure. Go figure. Who in the hell would ever stand up for themselves in the face of the opposition when they as a majority are stuck within beliefs rallied around isolated data and experience?
