1-The Mechanism of the Mind: To understand humans we must identify the mental forces that drive them and understand how they interact. Our species is known for its intellect, but the human mind consists of not a single pole of intellect, but it is bipolar and consists of the two forces of instincts and intellect. Yet, the role of instincts in human conduct is largely ignored. Each of these mental forces has distinct mission of its own and recognizing this is elemental for understanding humanity at large. The maternal instinct and the instincts of sexuality and aggression are universally known and accepted, while this study introduces 13 more, each of which induces its own brand of conduct. Instincts by nature are unchanging, stagnant and primitive. In a sharp contrast, however, intellect relentlessly grows and enhances itself. Also, instinct as the sole force that governs the world of lower beings is the essence of being animal, while intellect being unique to humans is the essence of being human. The contrasting natures of the progressing intellect and stagnant instincts result in a growing divide that widens with the progression of time. The implications of this growing divide in human mind are truly profound.
As these two mental forces of instinct and intellect coexist in human mind, inevitably they also co-function. Hence, all human deeds including all human dualities result from the joint function of instincts and intellect that one represents the beast and the other represents human in us. Understanding the nature and the properties of each of these mental elements and how they interact with one another is essential to understanding man.
The graph shows that the contrasting natures of stagnant instincts and growing intellect have resulted in a growing divide between them. The wider this gap grows, the more creative and able intelligence has become both constructively and destructively. In this unique relationship the brute and primitive instincts continuously overpower intellect and reduce it to a mere tool at its disposal. Hence, our growing intellect empowers our primitive and blind instincts. In doing so, it hinders human’s reasoning ability, distorts their judgment and thus, it naturalizes a huge portion of every humans’ intelligence at all levels. This combination increasingly augments human intelligence devoid of wisdom and it jeopardizes the future of human civilization that demands attention. While because of the complex nature of this phenomenon it cannot be fully covered here, suffice it to say that, instincts and intellect often fall into conflict. Instincts are basic with all beings capable of locomotion as compared to intelligence that is acquired through evolution and is secondary. Thus, instincts are intrinsically stronger and more assertive than intellect. When in conflict, instincts often defeat and silence the intellect and reduce it to a mere tool and commands it to employ all its faculties to achieve the objectives of the instinct active at the time, and intellect often complies obediently. Hence, ironically, the growth in intelligence as the mark of human progress reflected in the advancing science and technology, by empowering the primitive instincts, it, in fact, magnifies the animal in man.
All our deeds stem from the mind and each of the 16 selfish instincts drives one aspect of our conduct, while our intelligence achieves our instinctive objectives. It would not be difficult to imagine that using modern weapons today in a conflict such as the W. W. II would end the civilization. Such is the sad nature of the growing imbalance in human mind. Knowing this, it is incumbent upon modern humans to invent ways to sever the relationship between the progressing intellect and stagnant instincts to deprive the instincts from the fruits of this human advancing intellect to secure the human destiny.
Copyright© Mark Abraham