Human Brain, Human Nature and Animal Instincts

Human Brain, Human Nature and Animal Instincts.

This is a serious chapter. Infact this is the most important chapter in this book. Here we are trying to understand HUMAN NATURE AND ANIMAL INSTINCTS. This chapter is the basis for all other chapters ahead.

‘Human beings are social Animals with smart brains.’ That makes us different from the rest of living species on planet earth. That is why, some feel ‘we dominate this planet and control the future and control the very existence of many species in this world’. This is a huge statement. This kind of statement is a product of imaginative, smart brain’s thinking, and we all know deep within that, the statement above is believable, a logical imagination but not necessarily the truth. We would like to believe that, we have the capability and we wield, the all controlling power, to control and decide the future of this world. All the progress we have made in science and technology seems to suggest that we could do anything in this world.

Lets study this example of ‘Not necessarily the truth’. Have we heard of a war waged by the Human beings against a particular revolting Animal species and a few more Animal species joining that species to stop the Human beings? in other words, Have we heard of Man fighting against an alliance of Lions, Snakes and Elephants to rule the world? No, we haven’t heard anything like that ever. Now, for many, this is illogical thinking, brainless imagination but for many others, an incident that has not happened and is only in one’s imagination, is as irrelevant as imagining that ‘we control and decide the future of this planet’. Because, ‘Controlling and deciding the future of this planet’ is a believable thought, and something that has not ‘happened’ and therefore is not necessarily the truth. We wish it were the truth but it might not be. Technically, it is ‘One’s imagination’.

If this is a bit confusing then read on….

So you see, your own smart brain is a boon and also a bane. It is the culprit, creating confusion in your mind. The confusion on the one hand here is, Do we control and decide the future of this planet? Yes or No? We already have two options and we are battling with which option is to be chosen over the other. Thankfully there is no third option offered by our brain in this case. Usually, your brain unleashes way too many possibilities in front of you to choose and you end up applying your own logic, or the collective logic of your environment, to these possibilities and end up picking up one possibility because in the end you have to choose only one, which many times becomes your decision. That is why it is important to deal with confusions, else you end up making wrong decisions. And to deal with the confusion you need knowledge.

Hold on, I am not blaming our brain, without the brain I would not be writing this and you would not be reading this book. All I am saying is our smart brain is great, it is capable of knowing a lot of things about this universe, our planet, our past, our present, it innovates and it discovers. We know the brighter and positive part of our brain anyway. You don’t need me to tell you that our smart brain, which imagines, is one of the biggest blessings god has given to Humans. Errr….what would life be without the power of imagination?......

Lets face it, the same brain is not equally smart in matters related to Human emotions, knowing future and limiting confusion.

There is definitely a darker side to our brain too. And we need to understand those areas of our brain very closely to be at peace with our brain. Human Brain is not perfect like ‘Nothing is perfect’. Imperfection is reality and a part of our everyday life, at least my life, I try to minimize it though. [I invite you to visit my city called Mumbai and travel on the streets at peak hours. You will not only believe that imperfection is a part of everyday Human life and it works (?), you may become a believer in God, if you are already not, because it must be God [?]who runs this city! as Humans surely aren’t doing it, can not do it. It must be Him. Anyway that’s a little diversion.]

Coming back and talking about imperfect brain, here are few examples of our brain’s failures and imperfections,

Our brain and subsequently we Humans have failed on numerous occasions. Otherwise, there would not have been huge wars and fights on emotional matters, People would not have hurt others in so many imaginative ways. [Oh Yes, this reminds me that hate is our own sole Human emotion, not found in any other Animal. Well, Animals could like or dislike you, not hate you. Other Animals compete and fight to mate, eat and protect the territory but not because they don’t like your color or your faith. On the positive note, kindness and empathy too are sole Human emotions] My confusion was a lot on these matters related to brain, now I slowly understand the reasons and I am at peace with the darker side and imperfection of our Human brain. The darker side includes a few of our Human and Animal tendencies that try to over power our Humanistic Human grace. Human grace is very important to live and let live in the modern Human societies.

Sometimes, I feel envious of the Animal brain. An African lion or even a stray dog on Mumbai streets will be primarily concerned about matters like food, sleep, mate, protect and survive. This eliminates a lot of confusion that clutters one’s mind. For example, See this simple urban Human confusion, ‘Should I buy the hatchback or the long sedan? Hatchback is cheaper and helps me park it easily, while a sedan will impress my peers. They will think that I am rich and will respect me more. I can be a part of the high society. So which car do I buy?’ Keep thinking- confusion galore. Human beings are complex creatures and so are their brains and their problems. Animals are less complex creatures hence their brains are less complex and I would like to say their problems are less complex too [But I know they are facing huge problems.]. There is a predictable simplicity and straight forwardness in Animal thinking and actions.

Anyway, the good news is, if you are willing to face your own brain and deal with it smartly, I promise, from my own experience, you could overcome the problems and come up with solutions.

Now, I am not in the business of giving solutions [ Wish I was! There is big money waiting to be earned, out there. ] but am an analyst of Human and Animal behavior, and I would help you create your own solutions. I differ with ‘Solution providers’ on one simple account that, How can one single solution be apt for many? As there are different individuals the solutions required ought to be different for their different situations. It is best, when an individual takes control over his situation and designs a solution based on the knowledge available to him. It is a tailor made solution ‘by you and for you’. It is about taking the initiative, you take the initiative, analyze, use knowledge and get a solution, it is as simple as it sounds. But taking initiative may not be simple for many. In other words, It also means, ‘Move your butt, get off that sofa, take decisions from the given options and get into action.’

There are many books on whether the brain is as powerful as it is made out to be or not. Many have argued that there is a cosmic power, universal force that connects one and all. A few believe that the thinking is done by that cosmic or universal power, brain only executes. Also, The brain is just an organ like kidney, liver or heart. There are books on what the left side of your brain does and what the right side does. Brain science is serious business. But we are not going into that area because that will add more confusion of mystic and scientific variety. Let me confess, I am not an expert in those areas.

Mystical confusion will require complete faith and nothing else but the faith and the scientific one will require scientific knowledge, scientific data, and relevant supporting research.

I come from the East, yet believe me there are no miracles in my analytical approach. Because I come from the east a section of the readers may expect me to have an approach which involves miracles or mystical faith. I look for reasons, my faith in science is complete and for me knowledge is the real wealth. Yes, I draw inspiration from my eastern knowledge transferred through generations to us. It comes from mythology, environment around me, life in India, folk stories, music etc. You will see that any problem is dealt with ‘Analysis First’. Infact I put the ball in your court quite openly and squarely and urge you to analyze. You will get your solution. I am just a catalyst.

My area is more of a ‘Comment and Analysis’ on the behavior of Humans and Animals. I kick start a thought process for you. It is always easy to hold a cup of coffee, recline in your sofa and criticize [I am kidding, constructive analysis and criticism is so damn difficult]. Analysis is fluid, flexible, organic and for many, brainless. Yes, at a certain level it could be called brainless because after a point it comes intuitively, your brain is on auto pilot. I am not here to dictate, debate or propagate but to share the knowledge, provoke you to think and gain knowledge.

There could be sections in this book where you will not agree with me, skip it. No two individuals must agree on all the points they share.  It does not happen with married couples, forget the writer and the reader. That is the beauty about books. The reader has a better control over how he wants to understand the writer. He is in complete control over when, how, and where. We all have our own firm beliefs and we have all the right to stick to those, as those beliefs have stayed with us for many years and not really harmed us, if not helped us either. But, I urge you to question them, take a new, different approach and see them in new light. You may change your mind after doing that, who knows.

However, if you agree to my point of view, write to me, that would be interesting to know.

Discussions on Human Brain, basically takes us to the most important thing that forms the basis of my writing and my analysis process. I call it a ‘Human nature-Animal instincts Combo’. I like science and I believe that, thanks to science, we are not in the pre historic era, hunting in jungles, in half naked state. Science drives progress, it accelerates our evolution process. But I have great faith in something little unscientific too, if I may call it unscientific. Have you heard of something called a gut feeling, sixth sense? I like to call it ‘Animal instincts’. Science may not have a place for instincts but they are important.

‘Animal instincts’ and ‘Human nature’ combined together are responsible for almost all of your actions and non actions. You could safely blame them or thank them for whatever you are doing in life. Your brain is subconsciously driven by Animal instincts and Human nature, while your brain gives its own logic and analysis for it’s actions and reactions, the kind of logic, perceived and understood by many other fellow Human brains.

As I have said earlier, ‘Human beings are social Animals with smart brains’, it is not a mere flattering comment about our brain but also a comment on our Animal status.

I am trying to give definitions to ‘Human Nature’ and ‘Animal Instincts’. This is serious stuff, let’s concentrate and analyze.

Human Nature is a behavioral pattern controlled by emotions found in Humans ONLY and not in Animals.

The followings are a few such Human emotions that control behavioral patterns.

1. Empathy
2. Kindness
3. Greed
4. Hatred
5. Forgiveness
6. Humiliation
7. Worship
8. Imagination

Let’s try to see how these emotions are exclusive to Humans, they are not found in Animals and also how they drive our Human nature.

Consider powerful social mammals from Africa for ANIMALS here. They are Lions, Elephants, Wild Buffalos. When we compare them with Humans we better think of all powerful species. The higher mammals.

Empathy- You may feel empathy towards the poor and the homeless in this world and may want to do something to improve their condition, that’s very Human. Animals like you or dislike you. They do not feel ‘Empathy’ for you.

Kindness- After feeling empathetic towards the less fortunate, the sick and the injured a Human being may behave kindly with them. He may help them to better their situation. The act of kindness is through gestures, real help, and encouragement.

Greed- A Human being could have an insatiable greed for wealth. Animals look for their basic needs. The immediate meal, meal for all and meal for tomorrow may be.

Hatred- Human beings could hate, and envy people, Animals don’t. Human beings could despise and hate somebody today, and they could harbor hatred, in their minds, the next day and will continue to search the object of their hatred and look for revenge. Some Human beings get a sadistic pleasure in tormenting their objects of hatred. Out of sight is certainly not out of mind for many of us. Animals are plain territorial. You are not welcome if you are eying their food or territory or females. And if you beat a hasty retreat then they don’t care whether you become the President of America later or vanish away, anyway. No congratulations, no hate mail from them, after you became the President. This means they may like you or not like you but they would not hate you, envy you for your success and would not care to know what happened to you once you are out of their sight.

It is a mighty comforting and a beautiful thought that some living things do not understand hatred. Look at the irony, Man considers Animals dumb but in a world divided by hate between races, languages, and religions, Animals do have some smart virtues and something we all could learn from them. Again, knowledge may come from any quarter, in this case some noble knowledge from Animals, only if we are open to accept it, keeping aside our ego.

Forgiveness- This is a great Human virtue - A Human being can be gracious and forgiving. He can show mercy to the enemy who has become weak and powerless, in the fight. Animals do not understand forgiveness. When Animals engage in serious fights, it is for food or to protect their territory and their folks. If you are his food, there is no way that the Animal is going to show mercy and let you go. If the Animal thinks that you are in his territory and a threat to his territory, and he is in a powerful position, it is less likely that the Animal will pardon you for your misadventure. Your life is in definite danger. The Animal conqueror shows no mercy. The looser is risking a serious injury or worse, death.

Humiliation- In a fight, a humiliated Human being may experience deep emotional hurt. A humiliated Human being would want revenge. He would experience extreme shame in the social and personal life. He would plan to strike back later, conspire, and ultimately be satisfied with the revenge. When an Animal [Lion, Cheetah, Leopard, Hippo] fights and looses, the Animal could hold a grudge and try to settle the score later but he is not humiliated or does not show any signs of feeling of shame, depression, and remorse. He is more concerned about physical hurt than the mental hurt. Serious physical hurt in the wild results in death. An unfit Animal has a very little chance to survive in the wild. Humiliation is a luxury Animals could not afford, infact they do not understand that feeling.

Worship- Human beings posses this unique emotion of worshiping the revered ones. The Human followers turn worshipers of their Gods, Deity, Messiah. They revere Saints. And when they worship, it is usually a devotion that lasts a life time. Animals [Lions, Elephants, Crocs, Hippos] respect the dominant leader of their herd but it is never permanent, nothing is forever in Animal kingdom, it is certain that he shall be thrown out by a new powerful leader one day. He is respected and feared by other members, when he is in total control but not worshiped. Once a Lion is outclassed, he lives a life of a loner away from his pride. His ex-followers do not accommodate him, the followers follow the new leader till another comes and takes over. There are no worshipers in the Animal kingdom.

Imagination- Human Beings are gifted with Power of  Imagination. We could enjoy many art forms and draw great mental satisfaction from them. That faculty is limited for the Animals, however few ‘higher’ Animals, like primates are better evolved than a few other Animals. A few monkeys, living close to Human life, are known to enjoy music and an occasional smoke too.

That was about Human Nature, what about Animal Insticts?

Animal Instincts are natural impulsive actions in Humans AND Animals. Animal instincts exist in BOTH Humans and Animals.  

These instincts are

1. Attack for Survival
2. Territorial for food and sex
3. Fight to posses
4. Reproduce to pass on genes
5. Expressive when joyous
6. Feel sad due to separation or death
7. Feel maternal/parental love
8. Hunt to eat.

We have Animal Instincts in our DNA, we have inherited these impulses from the caveman, the prehistoric man. It has survived and sharpened during the evolution of all living beings on earth. Animal Instincts are found in Humans as well as in Animals. Let’s see how.

I would prefer to consider social mammals as Animals for case studies and examples here. This is for the simple reason, that they are closely related to us than fish, birds and insects. When you read ‘Animals’, it will be biggies from Africa [ Lions, Elephants, Wild Buffalos, Hippos, Hyenas].

There are examples of mammals staying closer to Humanity like Cats, Dogs and Cattle too. 

Let’s study examples of Animal Instincts in Humans and Animals.

Attack for Survival- Humans as well as Animals could do anything necessary for their own survival. They could attack and defend viciously, a mightier aggressor, to save their own life and the lives of their young.

Territorial for food and sex- Humans are discreetly territorial in modern societies and Animals are always openly territorial. Both are extremely intolerant of invasion on their space. Being territorial is so very vital for Animals that in return they gain safety, control over food, and a chance for reproduction.

Humans and Animals plan many of their moves based on their sexual needs. Humans may do it discreetly though, even secretively or adhering to social norms. Yes, Hypocrisy is a great tool for Humans. Humans try to disguise the motive, manipulate but the urge is way too strong and basic, that it shows. Animals are open about their sexual needs and there are no stringent social norms but there is hierarchy. The competition is open and fierce to choose the partner to mate. The rebels challenge the dominance of stronger opponents, for their right to mate. The sexual urge is so strong that at times, to achieve their goals, they risk injuries and death from competitors. Humans and Animals are known to go to unimaginable levels to satisfy their need to mate and reproduce.

Fight to posses- Humans and Animals fight, pose, position to establish their dominance over others. Human beings dominate on other Human beings, to posses power, property, and sometimes to own wealth and women [in backward, extremely conservative societies]. Humans dominate aggressively [physically] or passively [non physically like, using money power, manipulating with mind power, using social status] and Animals dominate aggressively [Physical fights]. Animals could fight to own territories, food and partners. Modern societies offer equality for Humans to compete and own, there are social, economic systems that monitor fair play and sharing.

Have we heard of people going to those extremes to posses Knowledge? Na….Not yet. May be after some years.

Reproduce to pass on genes- Humans and Animals instinctively sire many offsprings to pass on their genes to future generations. Humans are more tolerant towards competition but Animals are ruthless and could kill the competition to give a better chance for the survival of their own offspring. Reproduction is the single most important goal in the lives for Animals. Everything else is secondary or supportive of the main goal. Reproduction instinct is the strongest of all instincts. They just have to do it, period. They know they got to reproduce as much as they can, before they die. The intensity and passion makes you feel that they are born with this single motive in life.

Hunt to eat- Humans and Animals kill to eat. Life surly survives on death. Humans, sometimes, could hunt and kill for pleasure but Animals hunt to eat. Both could kill to protect their territory, even when you are not their food. It is astonishingly shocking that the man is equally ruthless, like Animals, in killing his own kind, sometimes for invalid reasons. Of course, there are vegetarians in Human beings and in Animals there are herbivorous Animals too. That, surprisingly, is no indication for lack of aggression or hostility [Elephants, Rhinos, Hippos]. Vegetarian Humans and Animals have all other Animal instincts intact, except they do not kill to eat but they do kill. They could kill if you try to take their territory or attack their small ones.

Expressive when joyous and Feel sad due to separation or death - This is a real surprise, Humans and Animals both experience Joy and Sadness. It is commonly felt that these are exclusive Human emotions but they are not. Animals joyously run and engage in mock fights, chase each other in open fields to celebrate freedom, life and joy. Elephants are known to grieve for the departed member of their herd. Many Animals mourn the separation or death of their partner/mate.

Feel maternal/parental love- What about love? Human beings and Animals both show Maternal/Parental love. If you feel that you are the best Mom around, you should see how Animal mothers in the wild protect their cubs from the mightier aggressors. Nurse them under most trying situations. Maternal/Parental love is an Animal instinct.

What about romantic love? As the love for your partner. Romantic love is something that Animals do not understand. A few birds do though, like Penguins but these are exceptions. For Animals romantic love is way too complicated and unnecessary for survival. Animals may like or prefer a certain partner but I do not know if that could be called love. That could be because he/she is dominant, healthy or fertile. So shall we say, for Animals it is never ‘Love at the first sight’ but can definitely be ‘Lust at first sight’? Well, well, well…..more food for thought.

To sum it up, We should understand that, Human Nature and Animal Instincts are metaphysical, so they have no definite form and shape. There is no yardstick to measure them. No one could actually say that their definitions are rigid. Similarly, I do not claim that my definitions or analysis of Human Nature and Animal Instincts are the only definitions. It is my understanding of those ideas. Perceptions differ and points of view matter a great deal. Remember we are talking about senses and instincts, each take could be subjective. We are just trying to bring uniformity in that thought process. Some of the most simple things are most difficult to define. Have you ever tried defining Happiness? Try it. It is not easy.

Why is it so difficult to define such simple things? Because the truth is, these seemingly simple things in life are extremely complicated. Talking of happiness……Happiness originates from simultaneous dynamics happening between different emotions, between emotions and local environment, between emotions and relationships [this is when it is collective happiness for many individuals], much more and also much unknown. It is usually a culmination of a lot of things. There are way too many things at work to effectively achieve happiness for you. The simple fact that Happiness has survived the Evolution of Life on this planet means, it got to be complicated, complex, multi dimensional. Simplistic things are in a greater danger of extinction. Their defense is too feeble and single dimensional to survive the test of time. Anything whose effects range from, the known and much beyond our imagination, got to be complicated- some times beyond comprehension. So let’s leave happiness to our enjoyment and steer clear from defining it. May be some other day.

Try defining smile. That would be a great homework for you this Sunday. It is definitely not mere movement of a few facial muscles. Smile can change the situations, break the ice, and bring souls together.

Here is an interesting take on smile. Let’s look at the other side of smile. We all know the smile can kill. Can it kill literally?

Smile is a part of our Human nature. It is argued that smile is a huge manipulating tool too. Smile was the beginning of ‘deceit’ in the evolution process of man kind. Smile disguises the real emotion and creates an impression of pleasantness. The disguised emotion could be anger, jealousy, hatred but the exterior face is a pleasant smile. The man has used this technique to fox his opponents for thousands of years. Did I say man here? I should be damned. Well this includes women too.

Moving on, we must accept a degree of flexibility in understanding Human Nature and Animal Instincts. For example, I personally feel that Empathy is an exclusive Human feeling. Many pet owners may argue that their Dogs or Cats have shown that feeling regularly. And we respect that. I personally feel that Forgiveness is our sole Human emotion. Many Naturalists will tell us that Elephants may forgive but not forget. And they are probably right. These are exceptions, like all rules have exceptions. There are no stringent rules when things are related to real life, whether Animal life or Human life. I personally feel that Animals do not experience romantic love, parental love? Yes. Few Animal enthusiast may not agree to this and could offer examples of romantic love in Animals.

The point here is, we are kind of generalizing to understand a few points related to life. And we accept the generalization as well as the exceptions quite openly.

Are Dogs vegetarians? ofcourse not, but if there are any exceptions then we accept them. I know many vegetarian pet owners in India whose dogs are given only vegetarian food. So the Dogs are practically, vegetarians all their lives. We all have seen on TV, a Snake and a Mouse becoming friends in zoos and sharing the same confines. Havn’t we? Now, does that make the Snake community friends with the Mice community. NO! These are exceptions and those are not ordinary conditions. These situations add more intrigue and flexibility to these inter Animal and Animal-Human relationships.

Also, Primates and some domesticated Animals do show certain emotions closely associated with Humans. Primates are our distant relatives and the domesticated Animals live too close to Human life, allowing certain influences to enter into their lives. These are exceptions. They are Animals under extra ordinary conditions. They are not Animals in the wild, where the Animal instincts could be observed in the truest form.

Similarly for Humans, if the behavioral pattern of Humans is to be studied, then we would look for all normal situations. We shall probably choose a farmer from the USA or Europe as a specimen, who will be seen as ‘all acceptable’. He is living a normal life under normal civilized conditions and could safely represent Human life on planet earth. We are not going to choose a man from the US prison or a man marooned on a pacific island. He is definitely a respectable Human being, though unfortunate, but living an extra ordinary life under extra ordinary conditions and he could not be treated as a representative for all Humans. So let’s avoid the exceptions.

My deep interest in Animal Instincts generally comes under criticism for one simple reason, Why do we need to connect our Human life with Animal life?

My humble response to this is, ‘We are talking about problems related to Human life on this planet and this planet belongs to both- Humans and Animals. It is a fact that they influence each other, whether, you want it or don’t want it. Also, a Human being is a smart social Animal first and the Human being later. We are very different yet, Can we really disown our Animal status? Human and Animal life is entwined with each other, in this world since time immemorial. All we need to do is take a closer look and understand the complexities better.’

Also, We are only discussing our time here in this book. Let’s take this example from the past. Human life and Animal life have overlapped each other all the times. I know the known history of man kind in my country, India, which dates back to thousands of years, which is great. But I also know that the Animal history in my country dates much beyond. The Crocodiles have been moving in this country probably since 200 millions years, from the age of dinosaurs, and much before the Humans appeared here. And if we study Crocs closely, which is a very Human thing to do, Human beings love to study. Crocs teach us many survival tricks. Crocs must have influenced Human life during those thousands and thousands of years of coexistence. Nature is the biggest teacher of all. Why just Crocs?  Any Animal that came in our contact during those years of coexistence has taught us something. They could be the Cow, the Lion, the Dog, the Eagle, the Fish. We have been learning from them, always. It is our special ability. We learn from others. All we need to do is take a closer look and gain knowledge.

Note : I was typing confusion like ‘confussion’, with double S till the end of this chapter. Because my brain thought that the right way to spell the word was with double S, it is Compassion, Passion, Aggression. My computer had to remind me repeatedly, with it’s red underline that there is no ‘confusion’ about double S, it is single S.

This is a simple example of gaining small knowledge every time you make a mistake, and knowledge need not come from your own brain’s limited experience. Be smart, this is the age of outsourcing, the sources for knowledge are multiple. Like the computer in this case. Knowledge could come from Internet, Television, Some one else’s mistake, Watching others, Reading, Anything.

Though our conduct seems so very different from that of the higher ANIMALS, the primary instincts are much alike in them and in us.- Albert Einstein