Meet Your Mind Volume 1: The Interactions Between Instincts and Intellect and Its Impact on Human Behavior

By Mark Abraham

The Interactions Between Instinct and Intellect and its Impact on Human Behavior
Length: 420 Pages
Mark Abraham came to America as a student in 1973 bent on finding the hidden causes of perpetual human conflicts. He devoted 25 years of his postgraduate studies to understand the mind and has discovered that a growing imbalance in every human mind dominates all aspects of human conduct that also includes human conflicts. This discovery took him far beyond his original quest and unveiled a few major human mysteries. For example, we learn that the inner contradictions between instincts and intellect create the psychology of spirituality that finds reflection in different religions. It also shows what renders humans incurably political and why Aristotle called man political animal. We learn what in the mind longs for art and also sport. As this stance also shows why of all beings humans alone are at the same time polygamous and monogamous that renders our species alone, sexually confused and much more.

Three human instincts are universally accepted, and Mark has identified 14 more each of which drives its own brand of behavior more forcefully than does our intellect. Ignoring this mental force had created a missing link in studying humans that is responsible for the persisting human enigma. Placing this missing link in its rightful place in the equation of studying human reveals that the contrasting natures of the progressing intellect and stagnant instincts have resulted in a growing imbalance in the mind. Our stagnant instincts impair our intelligence, hinder our success and happiness and also are responsible for all manmade disasters. However, because of its subtle nature it continues to escape attention. This work shows how to disengage your instincts and intellect, boost your intelligence and happiness. This is a unifying theory of the mind that deals with all these subjects and a great deal more covered in six books.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 15, 2010
• ISBN: 9781456810078

Mark Abraham

Mark Abraham came to America as a student in 1973, bent on finding the hidden causes of perpetual human conflicts. By1982 he acquired two degrees in international politics, and in 1987 invented an item, founded a company, produced and distributed his product. In America he learned much about the world affair, but did not find his answers. For postgraduate he studied philosophy, seeking ideas from the thinkers of the past, but to no avail. However, he learned that these thinkers being so fascinated by human intellect had observed humans from the stance of intellect alone, while ignoring the mighty forces of instincts. Three human instincts are universally accepted, and Mark has identified 14 more each of which drives us more forcefully than does our intellect. Ignoring this mental force had created a missing link in studying man that is responsible for all human riddles. Placing this missing link in its rightful place reveals that the contrasting natures of the progressing intellect and stagnant instincts have resulted in a growing imbalance in the mind. Your stagnant instincts impair your intelligence, hinder your happiness and are responsible for all manmade disasters. However, because of its subtle nature it continues to escape attention. This work shows how to disengage your instincts and intellect, boost your intelligence and happiness, while it also resolves some major human enigmas. For the first time we see why humans are so spiritual; what makes man so incurably political; what makes us worship arts and also sports. Why, of all beings, humans alone are at the same time polygamous and monogamous that renders humans alone sexually confused. Mark Abraham came to America as a student in 1973, bent on finding the hidden causes of perpetual human conflicts. By1982 he acquired two degrees in international politics, and in 1987 invented an item, founded a company, produced and distributed his product. In America he learned much about the world affair, but did not find his answers. For postgraduate he studied philosophy, seeking ideas from the thinkers of the past, but to no avail. However, he learned that these thinkers being so fascinated by human intellect had observed humans from the stance of intellect alone, while ignoring the mighty forces of instincts. Three human instincts are universally accepted, and Mark has identified 14 more each of which drives us more forcefully than does our intellect. Ignoring this mental force had created a missing link in studying man that is responsible for all human riddles. Placing this missing link in its rightful place reveals that the contrasting natures of the progressing intellect and stagnant instincts have resulted in a growing imbalance in the mind. Your stagnant instincts impair your intelligence, hinder your happiness and are responsible for all manmade disasters. However, because of its subtle nature it continues to escape attention. This work shows how to disengage your instincts and intellect, boost your intelligence and happiness, while it also resolves some major human enigmas. For the first time we see why humans are so spiritual; what makes man so incurably political; what makes us worship arts and also sports. Why, of all beings, humans alone are at the same time polygamous and monogamous that renders humans alone sexually confused.

Book preview

MEET YOUR MIND

VOLUME 1

The Interaction Between Instincts

and Intellect and its Impact on Human Behavior

MARK ABRAHAM

Copyright © 2010 by Mark Abraham.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010916528

ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-4568-1006-1

ISBN: Softcover 978-1-4568-1005-4

ISBN: Ebook 978-1-4568-1007-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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87557

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

The Use of A Practical Philosophy

The Marks of A Good Philosophy

Introduction to the Growing Imbalances in the Human Mind

On the True Lessons of History

On Human Instincts

Classification of Instincts

The Origins of Instincts

The Instinct of Survival (Will to Live)

The Instinct of Language

The Instinct of Fear

The Instinct of Greed

The Instinct of Territoriality

The Instinct of Tribalism

The Instinct of Aggression

The Instinct of Chauvinism

The Instinct of Being Social

The Parental/Maternal Instinct

The Instinct of Curiosity

The Instinct of Laziness (Rest and Relaxation)

The Instinct of Adventure

The Instinct to Divulge

The Properties of Instincts

Comparing Instinct and Intellect from Another Perspective

More on the Two Segments of Intellect

If We Are Made of the Same Substances, Why Are We So Different?

Humans Are Neither Equally as Intelligent Nor Equally as Instinctive

Intelligence and Weaponry

CHAPTER TWO

The Anatomy of Religion

How And Why People Follow Leader?

Identifying The Roots Of Religion

Is The Human Mind Wired For Religion?

The Psychology of Religiosity at Individual Levels

Similar in Image, Disproportionate in Scale

Is Religion the Essence of Evolution, or Is It in Contradiction to it?

Is Human Intelligence Enough to Guarantee Human Progress?

Why Humans Alone Have A Sense Of Morality?

Identical Forces Produce Like Results

Why Are Religions So Similar, Yet So Different?

Religion and Morality

The Correlation Between Sin and Crime,Religion and State

On Humans’ Social Evolution

Misconceptions Lead to Misconduct

The Twin Sisters of State and Religion

Why Do We Need Both State and Religion To Control Human Conduct?

On Sustaining State and Religion

On Separation of Church and State

On Tribal Spirituality

CHAPTER THREE

The Anatomy of Politics

An Illustration of The Anatomy of Politics

Why Politics and True Civilization Are Incompatible

Why Politicking and True Civilization are an Irreconcilable Contradiction

Another Imbalance in Human Mind

Civilized or Just Intelligent?

More on Why Politicking and True Civilization Are Incompatible

Bibliography

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to start this book with a quote from my father, to be friends you need no reason, but to be enemies, you must have a good reason. I wish and hope that at least some people will remember and observe it in the way they relate to other people at all levels. Having said that, I would like to dedicate this book to my beautiful and beloved wife, Firoozeh, who tolerated my persisting retreat to my office to relentlessly read, write and rewrite for decades until my books were finished. I feel much indebted for her endless patience through the years. Also, I wish to express my most sincere thanks to my wonderful cousin, Jamshid for his endless support and encouragement in difficult and tiring times. Finally, I wish to express my greatest gratitude to my very dear Friend, Dr. Reza Kamarei who has endlessly contributed to my work in different ways with his very practical suggestions.

Chapter One

THE USE OF A PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY

If you ask one hundred people to elaborate on their understanding of the term philosophy, you will probably get a hundred different answers. Not having a unified understanding of this phenomenon, it is worthwhile for each philosopher to depict what his or her perception of philosophy is and what it is expected to do. Often in real life, we observe that certain thought systems acquire widespread acceptance, and create opinions that sway vast numbers of people in a certain direction. This can start trends that are good and constructive, if the philosophy is practical and correct, and very destructive, if incorrect. The spread of Communism on a universal scale is one example of this reality.

From my perspective, a good philosophy should serve multiple needs and satisfy a few requirement. On one level, a philosophical approach might unveil certain important factors that, had passed unnoticed up until that point. Detecting such phenomena might reveal valuable realities about important things. Not knowing that which can be known can best be described as negligence, which can cause momentous and preventable harm if not detected on time. On another level, it could unveil significant understanding of complex and seemingly inexplicable phenomena from which the world would otherwise be deprived. For example, in their early stages, the concept of gravity and the fact that the earth circled around the sun were philosophical discoveries. To use yet another example—the correlation between musical notes and what is now the periodic table of chemical elements began as a seemingly bizarre philosophical observation. Thus, detecting such hidden phenomena through philosophical study that ultimately develops into science is beneficial to humanity and the world at large.

Furthermore as such facts are detected and explained through philosophy, we increasingly find this chaotic world of ours more orderly. Through philosophy, we find answers to questions, which, at one point, seemed impossible to understand.

For instance, just before Sir Isaac Newton discovered the force of gravity, the inquisitive minds of the day were utterly confused in observing the different ways objects behaved in relation to earth. For instance, when an elevated object was released, it would travel toward the earth flawlessly. Yet another object, such as water in the form of a gas, would rise. And then, the same object, water in the form of a fluid, or a hard object such as snow or hail, would fall back to the earth. Furthermore, some objects, such as specks of dust, would float in the air. Such diverse behavior between different objects seemed utterly chaotic and beyond explanation at the time.

However, when gravity was identified as the force that pulls all objects to itself, it became easy to understand why some objects fell. And with the discovery of density, it made sense that some objects rise, others fall, and others float in midair.

Thus, what begins as a philosophical observation soon becomes a scientific discovery, and in time, not only explains ambiguities in the world around us, but also allows us to progress as humans. To put it differently, the simplest parts of philosophy ultimately gets explained scientifically, while the more complex parts of it continues to remain as philosophy until it gets resolved scientifically. This is my understanding of what purposes philosophy could and should serve, and throughout the course of this work, these objectives will be pursued accordingly. From this perspective I have come to firmly believe that momentous phenomena exist in the form of mental forces that drive human conduct, and that such phenomena continue to pass unnoticed with profound implications at all levels of human function and the future of human civilization as we shall see.

THE MARKS OF A GOOD PHILOSOPHY

A good philosophy must display a few important characteristics including relevance, accessibility, and accuracy. Much in the field of philosophy is reduced to meaningless assertions devoid of any useful applications, such as the question if a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it fall, did it ever make a sound? However, to be a worthy philosophy, it must be relevant and lend itself to solving practical problems or clarifying ambiguities and instilling wisdom in individuals to better human condition.

Second, it needs to be accessible. One often reads philosophical material imbued with abstract thoughts difficult to wrap one’s head around. And while philosophy by nature can be complex and even difficult to fully grasp, it is incumbent upon the philosopher to simplify their philosophy and make it accessible to the widest number of people possible.

In many philosophical writings, words are treated as if they are the best-known phenomena. However, unlike concrete objects such as cars, houses, shoes, etc, terms such as wisdom, politics, rhythm, instincts, arts, love, hate terrorism, civility, civilization, knowledge, consciousness, will, and so on, are not as finite in definition or as universally understood. When philosophers use these terms as cornerstones of their thoughts and presume they are well-known terms, they fail to effectively communicate and their philosophy becomes inaccessible.

We know this because when people are asked to elaborate on their understanding of any such words, they will give various different answers that show various different understandings of the concept. And in philosophy, where an exact understanding of terms is a prerequisite for grasping the entire concept, any communication that uses such terms without first defining them, fails to be accessible.

Finally, a good philosophy needs to be accurate. As it was alluded to before, accuracy in philosophical observation exacts philosophical treatises and renders them pragmatic and useful, and its absence produces exactly the opposite. Such accuracy is first measured by the soundness of logic that supports it, and second, by how well the different aspects of it fit together. The more accurate a philosophy is, the less hypothetical and the more scientific it becomes. This is why many claim that good philosophy is the mother of all sciences.

To expand, in philosophy, you first make an observation about the realities that surround you. When this is done correctly, the observation can be supported by many different empirical examples which can verify the validity of the observation. Then you try to formulate an explanation of the subject by using the most sound and relevant logic, facts, trends, data, and so on—all of which, in unison, support the argument. In this regard, all the pertinent material begins to make up loops in your philosophical chain, and any weak loop in this chain renders the whole chain weak and useless.

To put it differently, drastically wrong conclusions can be derived from an improper reasoning in any of the steps used in constructing a philosophy. To use another analogy—suppose you begin to draw two parallel lines starting at point A. Furthermore suppose there is an exceedingly insignificant flaw in one of the lines that make it technically, although not noticeably not parallel. Although this tiny flaw may be unnoticeable at the start, as your line is further drawn out, the flaw will become so obvious, that no one will be able to ignore it.

This can best be illustrated through simple mathematical functions. As all of those who understand the basics of mathematics know, we can multiply and divide both sides of any mathematical equation by the same factor. Let us practice this mathematical principle on the following simple equation:

X²-X² = X²-X²

We can write the same equation as (X-X).(X+X) = X.(X-X). If you multiply the parenthesis and simplify the results, you would get the equation we started with. Now if we divide both sides of this equation by the factor of (X-X), this would be eliminated from each side of this equation. Then we would end up with (X+X) = X or 2X = X. If again, we divide the two sides of the last equation by the factor of X, we would end up with 2 = 1. If this were true indeed, it would turn the world as we know upside down. Of course, as we all know 1 does not equal 2.

Although every step in this mathematical practice is perfectly accurate, there is a simple flaw that escapes the attention of most people, in that, while we are allowed to multiply or divide both sides of an equation by the same factor, we cannot multiply or divide the sides of any equation by 0. This is because any number divided by—0—becomes infinity, and thus makes all numbers equal.

Likewise, any number multiplied by—0—becomes—0—and this too, makes them equal despite the infinite differences between them. Thus, a single wrong step in a range of steps can lead to a drastically wrong, misleading, and unacceptable conclusion. Hence, in addition to the whole philosophy, each of the links in the entire structure of a philosophy must be logically sound. And the more this is maintained, the more the philosophy is elevated to the realm of science.

INTRODUCTION TO THE GROWING IMBALANCES IN THE HUMAN MIND

In introducing my own philosophy, I will start with a question. Do you ever wonder, with progress increasing on all fronts, why the human entity itself remains a mystery? In the past 2,400 years, great minds have diligently tried to demystify man, yet many aspects of the human remain unanswered.

Some of this failure to answer stems from the fact that great thinkers have often been fascinated by a particular mental faculty of the human and have tried to understand the whole being through this single mental element alone. That element, of course, is human intellect. Being mesmerized by this, many continue to disregard another mental force, that drives our conduct at all levels much more forcefully than intellect does.

Ignoring this mighty force has created a missing link in most of their works, and renders them inconclusive, if not misleading. Thus, the human enigma continues to present itself in many aspects of human affairs. But restoring this missing link to its rightful place renders man nakedly clear and easy to understand. Instinct is the missing link, and three types of it are universally acknowledged and accepted. This study presents fourteen more, each of which induces its own brand of behavior. Correct treatment of these instincts is essential in accurately understanding humankind, and as we shall see, even the three accepted instincts are not properly taken into consideration in studying man.

When we learn the properties and the missions of each of these mental forces, we clearly see how these forces have created the human condition from inception. And these mental elements, being unchanging, have permanently solidified this human condition, making man mostly incapable of departing from this base mode of conduct, in which he has constant conflict. Although this is only one of many different human conditions frozen in time, it affects other major aspects of human affairs in most profound ways. For example, war by becoming a permanent and hugely costly human condition molds the over all economy of the world into shape. Also, war as the ultimate form of competition demands the cutting edge science and technology. This in turn, drives a great aspect of humans’brainpower and largely gives direction to a huge portion of the progress of science and technology. Moreover, war being exceedingly destructive; it psychologically afflicts those who are subjected to such conflicts that violently claims the lives of many of peoples’loved ones. And it is only in recognizing these mental forces that have permanently trapped humanity in this undesirable condition and taking the required steps to compensate for them, that we can hope to break free from this perpetual cycle.

The first principle that needs to be recognized is that the human mind is not a single polar entity consisting of intellect alone, but it is a bipolar one consisting of instinct and intellect. These two mental forces are distinctly different from one another, and each is responsible for a particular and vast category of human affairs. Thus, when we do anything (individually or collectively), it is crucial for us to know which part of the mind is driving such behavior. This is because of the contrasting natures of these two mental forces (one stagnant, the other growing), which causes an increasing imbalance in the function of the human mind. This widening divide has been accelerating from the dawn of humanity to the modern time, and left unchecked, it will ultimately determine the future of the human civilization in the most unpleasant ways.

To explore this further, we see that instincts, which are unchanging, control our behavior each by blindly and selfishly striving for a distinct pleasure and satisfaction. The pleasures such selfish pursuits promise to all beings and humans are so strong that they frequently overcome our reasoning faculty and we act unintelligently.

Countering these instincts is intellect, which divides into two major segments, each with a completely different function and mission of its own. Through this philosophy, the two types of intellect are labeled as the utilitarian intellect and the behavioral intellect or moral virtue. While it will be elaborated upon later in more details, the instincts and the behavioral intellect affect human conduct in opposite ways. Instincts pull humans in one direction while intellect tries to force them in the other, and this tug of war becomes the source of many of life’s dualities.

The utilitarian intellect consists of the various faculties that deal with reasoning, science, technology, contemplation, imagination, creativity, inventions, discoveries, and cognition at large. These are all mental tools at the disposal of humans to achieve all their needs, wants, and desires, large and small, individually and collectively. What is important to recognize, however, is that not all of our pursuits are exclusively good or evil, but often, are a comprise of both. The faculty of utilitarian intellect is the mental element that applies itself unconditionally and indiscriminately to achieve all of them, regardless of if they are noble, evil, or neutral.

For instance, the Wright brothers used their utilitarian intellect to invent the airplane, which has immeasurably contributed to human progress. Yet Bin Laden, through his intellect, used this same invention to savagely take 3,800 innocent lives in the most horrifying way, triggering wars that have claimed an even greater more. The danger here looms in two factors: (1) The mental element of intellect grows increasingly more potent without any boundaries, and the pace of this growth becomes exponential. (2) This mental faculty totally lacks personality and character, and it does not discriminate between good and evil.

On the other hand, the sole function of the behavioral intellect, is the induction of angelic human attributes (justice, honesty, fairness, compassion, virtue, righteousness, and human decency) to all human deeds. Human decency, ethics, compassion, selflessness, and altruistic nature stem from this segment of human intellect, and this of course, is in opposition to the primitive and selfishly blind instincts that exclusively strive for pleasure and satisfaction with total disregard to everything else.

All aspects of intellect are unique to our species and are the essence of being human. In the same way, instinct, being the sole force that governs the world of lower beings, is the essence of being an animal. Because these two opposing mental elements coexist in the human mind, they inevitably co-function, and cause dualities to emerge. The drastic fluctuation in our conduct is unique to our species and renders humans alone mentally bipolar. All the rest of beings, governed by instinct alone, are devoid of any and all such dualities.

The contrasting natures of these closely associating mental forces progressing intellect and stagnant instinct result in a growing gap between them, which increasingly endangers the future of human civilization. This will become increasingly more obvious as we get to understand other aspects of the relationship between instincts and intellect. For now, suffice it to say that the progressing intellect reflected in our advances in science and technology empowers our primitive instincts and, in fact, magnifies the animal in us. The graph below provides a visual aspect of this conceptualized mental trend, which will be explained in detail later.

87557-ABRA-layout-low.pdf

To drive the point home, we see that World War I claimed 12,000,000 lives, whereas World War II, which started only some two decades later, claimed 62,000,000 lives. This astonishing difference resulted mostly from the progress of human intelligence, reflected in advancing science and technology a portion of which was translated into military industry. When we think of today’s rampant nuclear proliferation, it becomes clear how dangerous our growing human intelligence can become, if left unchecked.

On another level, we see that everything we do stem from the mind. Thus, we can never properly understand our species and ourselves without first understanding what components our mind is made of, the properties and function of each segment, and even more importantly, how they work together. For a proper understanding of humans, we need to keenly understand how people function in different realms of humanity. The fields of psychology, sociology, theology, politics, fine arts, sports and sexuality together cover every aspect of human affairs that stem from the mind.

The human mysteries that this philosophy, Meet Your Playful Mind, Vol. II, that deals with the fun loving aspects of the mind attempts to unveil include, but are not limited to the following:

1. How and why this hidden but growing mental imbalance has come into being, and how it determines the future of human civilization.

2. How the innate contradictions between instincts and intellect precipitated and perpetuated religion, and how they enable us to predict the future of faith.

3. How the same need that required the invention of religion in ancient times also demanded the creation of the state.

4. Why man is called a political animal and why politics is the worst of all human affairs.

5. Why politics and civilization are incompatible and how the progress of one demands the demise of the other. How this term—politics—is so grossly misconceived and how this misconception contributes to conflict and violence at all levels.

The second volume of this philosophy Meet your Playful Mind, Vol. II, that deals wit the fun loving aspect of the mind, covers the following subjects:

1.   Why of all beings humans are alone polygamous and monogamous at the same time, and why this renders our species the only beings that are sexually confused.

2.   What mental mechanism makes two people fall in love and over time, makes the sexual attraction between them fade, and how this often leads to infidelity.

3.   Why humans find joy in the seemingly frivolous acts of dancing and singing, and how we enjoy any type of art without knowing exactly what it is that we enjoy about it.

4.   What are the attractive elements in sports, and why they have global appeal.

5.   Having experienced the states of mind such as love, hate, spirituality, anger, fear, sorrow, happiness, glory, despair, and so on, we know they exist. Yet because of the absence of shape, weight, color, volume, and occupying no space, they lack physical presence. These nonphysical entities, however, cause physical action in all scales, which includes huge wars. Do we know how the mind and body interface and how the nonphysical entities cause all such physical action? This philosophy treats each of these lingering questions with a uniquely viable, new, and original approach and peels off many of the lingering human riddles. This perception avails itself to explain seemingly the inexplicable. This philosophy provides us with a new way of looking at these age-old subjects.

ON THE TRUE LESSONS OF HISTORY

Before we begin our in-depth study of the human’s inner faculties, it may be worth taking a brief look at our history, and more specifically, our history of conflict.

In one documentary, it was claimed, that in the previous 5,000 years there had only been 41 days where the whole world was at peace. During all the rest of the time, it claimed, there had been at least one war being fought, and frequently, multiple wars were fought simultaneously, independent of each other. Indeed, this amazing claim greatly intrigued me, and to verify its validity I decided to research how frequently three randomly selected ancient countries fought. The three countries I picked were China, Iran, and Russia. Astonishingly, these three countries had accumulatively fought each other and other countries for about 1,550 years during the previous 1,750 years. One can be sure that if all the countries of the world were included in this research, the years fought in this relatively short time span from a historical perspective would be a much greater number indeed.

Now, knowing how wars destroy people, afflict the survivors with lasting pain, and destroy their hard-earned means of survival and their countries at large in just a few short months, we could all conclude, without any hesitation, that this is not an intelligent way of living. No true paragon of intelligence, as we humans have claimed to be would choose such an unintelligent way of living. And, even the lower beings, devoid of the reasoning and intelligence which humans possess, do not engage each other so needlessly and so frequently. Anytime they engage in conflict, it is for a practical reason and out of necessity, for example, to protect their territory, to gain access to a food source, to earn the right to mate, to protect their young, and so on. Humans, however, relentlessly engage one another in fierce combats individually and collectively for no good reason at all.

While some may argue that wars have served the purpose of survival, one often has trouble justifying this when we look at individual wars to examine the validity of this claim. For instance, how did the need for survival drive Mongolia to conquer a great part of the world? Did they need more pasturing space for their animals that urged them to conquer so many countries all the way to the border of Spain? Was Greece’s occupation of so many countries all the way to India a necessity for their survival? These are nothing more than contrived justifications through which man can rationalize his irrational and inexplicable primitive mode of conduct. And the same can be said about all the wars that litter our colorful history. Hence, this unintelligent yet sustained behavior pattern seems to defy our claim to being the most intelligent species. And yet, there is also much evidence to the contrary.

For example, a brief glance at man’s endless achievements—large and small—compellingly reveals in an equally indisputable way that humans are indeed superbly intelligent. After all, it was humans who built the pyramids, invented the fax machine and the Internet, landed on the moon, and retrieved accurate and swift data from the distant planet Mars. Indeed, humans have every right to claim that their species is the paragon of intelligence. And thus, we have one of the most intriguing human enigmas: how can any species simultaneously be intelligent and unintelligent, both beyond dispute? This seemingly irreconcilable contradiction demands to be solved, and it is incumbent upon modern humans to solve it.

For solving this not only satisfies a deep intellectual curiosity about the human species, but also, helps us discover a profound evolutionary inequity between at least two mental components with far-reaching consequences.

From the time of Socrates and Confucius to the modern age, we see that this puzzle has remained unsolved, and has suffered immense and perpetual negligence. Thus, we have grossly ignored a mental faculty that more directly and forcefully affects our conduct. And as a result, we still lack a comprehensive formula—or at least a thought system—to help us better understand our species and ourselves. However, it seems that in recent years, scientists in the fields of neuroscience and genetics have more vigorously pursued this subject than philosophers have.

For instance, since 1990, earnest scientific efforts have been afforded to studying the brain, with some scientists even declaring the ’90s to be the decade of the brain and these recent years to be the decade of the mind. Of course, because the brain is the physical root of the mind, properly understanding either would inevitably help a deeper understanding of the other. Especially in recent years, much new information has been acquired in the field of human genetics. Unfortunately, however, these findings have not successfully translated into a better understanding of either the brain or the mind. Various well-known scientists in this field readily admit this.

Steve Rose, a neuroscientist and an author, in his book, The Future of Brain, admits that we are still in a data-rich and theory-poor era. He further states that as neuroscientists we don’t have anything very useful to say about the subject of what genes cause us to do this or that. For example, huge efforts have been made to understand the intense inclinations humans have toward religion or toward the arts.

Yet, Steve Rose quotes Wittgenstein, saying, We would do better to keep silent. This is because these studies have hardly anything new to add to our understanding of our species. They cannot explain why each of us likes or dislikes different things, or what accounts for all the good and evil our species is known for producing. And by the admission of the experts in these fields, we see that these studies have not answered these questions.

This is because, as we all know, each of these subjects (the brain and genetics) is exceedingly complex in its own right and has proven mostly inaccessible in a meaningful way. Although each of these is a different field in science, they are interrelated, and it makes sense to study both for possible connections that have yet to be discovered.

Until then, however, the questions persist, and we are strangers even to ourselves. Failing to truly understand the mechanisms of our own minds, we intensely enjoy things without being able to identify what it is that we enjoy them for. To reiterate the questions posed before, exactly which portion of any art or sport so engrosses humans?

To raise another question, what is it that we get out of conflict? For instance, if being friends is so joyful, easy, profitable, and risk-free, why do we so eagerly resort to pointless quarrels and hostilities individually and collectively? How do our reasoning abilities fail us in such obvious matters and in such unjustifiable ways? Do we really understand how our reasoning functions? Is it possible for philosophy to take us where science has been incapable so far?

Furthermore, is it possible for us to explore what has hitherto been inaccessible?

Using an analogy might help us choose a more practical path for such studies. For example, when scientists try to study the sun, they do not penetrate deep into it to see what it is made of and how its particles behave, although this would seemingly be the best way to do so. Because of our distance from the sun and the intense heat it emits, it is inaccessible for conducting any hands-on experiments. Thus, scientists have learned a great deal about the sun and other stars and planets from observing the way they behave.

For instance, they have come to realize that relentless intense explosions take place on the sun, and that this creates intense heat, which converts hydrogen to helium. They have come to realize that these explosions tear the sun apart while at the same time, the force of gravity prevents it from decimating and so on. Increasingly, as science and technology improve, they become more confident about these findings based on observation.

The human genes, the mind, and the brain are neither as distanced nor as hot as the sun; they are reachable yet mostly inaccessible, and the mind, being metaphysical, is not physically accessible at all. Yet each of these three entities has been equally as inaccessible for such studies, as they are exceedingly convoluted and, thus, perplexing. Therefore, a relatively easier path to exploration might be carefully observing human conduct, sorting out the human behavior into distinct categories through deductive reasoning, and formulating how the mind works through philosophical observation. After all, the unified function of all these entities finds reflection in all aspects of human behavior. All human endeavors can be divided into two distinct categories, behavioral, and achievement. Thus, just as human conduct is distinguishable between two different categories of behavior and achievement, the human brain and genome, the role of each of the mental forces consisting of different instincts and the two segments of intellect as driving forces for human deeds, may also be categorically distinguishable. Thus, even if we cannot find precise addresses in the brain and the genes as the organic roots of these behaviors, we can at least continue our study of human behavior in hopes that it will serve as a conduit into the sciences that pertain to the brain and genome.

To further appreciate this approach as a method from a different perspective, the use of an analogy might be helpful. To be a mechanic, one must be able to disassemble an engine into its individual components. This person would then have to be able to explain the function and contribution of each part to the overall working of the engine. Furthermore, he would have to be able to show how these different components work together in unison.

The same thing is done in medicine. To become a doctor, one must learn the basics, and gradually, this knowledge is elevated to a more complex level. For example, in medical school, one learns about the internal organs, one of which is the heart, whose most basic function is to pump blood through the veins so it can reach the furthest parts of the body. One also learns that, in the course of this circulation, the bloodstream acquires nutrients and distributes them throughout the body. They also learn about other internal organs, such as those in the digestive system, which prepares these nutrients for distribution to the bloodstream. Then they learn about the respiratory system, which avails oxygen to be distributed by the same bloodstream. Hence, not only do they learn about these different organs, but they also learn about their coordinated efforts to keep humans and other beings alive.

If these rudimentary processes of learning what organs the body consists of, what each does, and how they co-function, or which component does what in an engine are skipped, one will never become a doctor or a mechanic. The human mind, too, consists of individual components, although unlike the two previous examples, they are not physical entities. As we shall see, despite the fact that these mental components are invisible and intangible, they are easily recognizable in our feelings, thoughts, and deeds.

Through this philosophy, an earnest attempt has been made to disassemble the mind into its individual components and study the properties, the function, and the mission of each separately. Then when you reassemble it, so to speak, you will know what the mind consists of and which component strives for what and why.

ON HUMAN INSTINCTS

In studying man exclusively from a logical standpoint, all the great thinkers of the past and most psychologists have virtually ignored the fact that our instincts determine every aspect of our behavior, as well as all human paradoxes, contradictions, and complexities. In studying humans, if one ignores either instincts or intellect, or how they interact, one will never fully grasp the species.

The frequent use of the sexual, aggressive and maternal instincts in spoken and written discourse proves that at least these three are universally accepted. However, this study has identified fourteen more that pertain particularly to the human species. They, too, induce their own brands of conduct, just as vigorously and relentlessly as the well-known three do. Thus, altogether, the seventeen instincts in a random order consist of:

Tribalism

Aggression

Sexuality

Territoriality

Adventure

Chauvinism

Social

Politics

Maternal

Survival

Laziness

Curiosity

Greed

Fear

Rhythm

Divulgence

Language

CLASSIFICATION OF INSTINCTS

Human instincts may be classified into three groups, based on their primary function and mission. Instincts implement their pursued objectives and accomplish their missions individually or in combination with each other.

Group I. This group consists of ten different instincts that have helped self-survival. The ultimate goal of these instincts has been securing the survival of each human individually.

Group II. This group consists of two instincts that continue to help the survival of species. The ultimate goal of these two instincts is to secure survival of the human species collectively.

Group III. This group consists of the instincts that help improve the quality of life. The ultimate goal of these five instincts is to improve the quality of life and provide enjoyment and pleasure to humans.